BHSU Catholic Newman Center
844 N. 5th St., Spearfish, SD 57783 | www.BHSUNewman.com
March 2015
Student Profile
Introducing
Shannon Maher
We would like to
introduce you to Shannon Maher. Shannon
is a junior who comes
to us from the parish
of Blessed Sacrament in
Rapid City. Shannon is
working on a major in
Mass Communications with a minor in
English, who has a passion for writing
and helping others with their writing.
Shannon works in the writing center
and helps students at the Newman Center with written projects. When not at
school, work, or hanging with others
at the Newman Center she is on one of
her horses, either training or running
barrels.
When asked what she enjoys most
about the Newman Center she said, “I
think the one thing I enjoy the most
is that it serves as a home away from
home where I can surround myself
with people who I can share my faith
with and can grow into a better person.
In the hustle and busyness of college,
the Newman Center serves as a safe
haven. It serves as a home away from
home with a feeling of family while
also serving as a “home” to where I feel
connected to my faith. In the confusing and changing college lifestyle it’s
nice to have one thing that stays the
same always, the Catholic faith. In the
end, the Newman Center provides that
home and the family and the community to build me up.”
Although not necessarily front and
center Shannon is a true servant leader
helping to take up the slack when
fellow students’ schedules change to
lead the Rosary walk, making sure the
Newman Center building is locked up
when students are there late and even
volunteering with St. Joseph’s Life Teen
program. Shannon participates at all
our events and it is a rare day when she
is not there. As she looks to the future
she hopes to stay in the Spearfish area.
A MADD
Start to the Semester
I have a quote that I am reminded
of -and I keep it at my desk- from 2
Corinthians 12:9-10 “…When I am
powerless, it is then that I am strong.”
It amazes me when the students of
The BHSU Newman Club continue to
blow my mind in the things that they
do and where the Holy Spirit takes
them. The Newman Club are busy
again this semester, below are the
highlights:
It WAS the White Rabbit who
killed Tweedeldee!!! The Newman
Club Students hosted a late evening
event this year featuring a Murder
in Wonderland. This was a dress-up
evening of conspiracies and who done
its. With ten actors and all the guests
playing detectives, the result was the
White Rabbit had done it. The Newman Students really came together to
pull this off after coming back from
their holiday break. From working on
decorations and making fiftyish mad
hatter mini hats and planning the
treats to drinking tea and enjoying
finger sandwiches, they really transformed a simple evening in to one of
mystery and excitement.
Four students -Jack Nelson, Kate
Griffin, Mikaila Murtha and Marisa
Sokoloski- stepped forward this semester to help with various ministries at
St. Joseph’s, which they will also do
for the Newman Center at our Masses,
taking on roles of Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors. We held training for
them on January 20th. They will be
stepping into those roles in March!
Students were so impressed with
the success of last year’s 3-on-3
basketball tournament that they are
planning to do it again! This year’s
event is on Saturday, April 25 from
8:30am-4:00pm. The 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament fundraiser helps raise
money for student trips and retreats.
Finally, the students have decided that they want to continue to
visit nursing homes and the wildlife
sanctuary to help where they can. The
Newman Club students are always
looking for different ways to get out in
the community and give back.
One of the things that came up
when they came back from their SEEK
trip was finding the time for personal
prayer. Malinda Hetzl, Executive Director, has introduced the thought of
doing a form of Liturgy Preparation
using Lectio Divina. We are still in the
early stages where it is very simple. We
read the Gospel of the day and spend
some time reflecting on the passage,
slowly working up to twenty minutes;
then we end the time together with
Compline (Night Prayer) praying for
our supporters and special needs of
the students as they come up.
As you can see, these busy students have only been back to school
two months and they have already
solved a murder, taken on new roles,
began planning for what looks to be
an annual event, filled in the gaps
with community service and decided
that they needed more of a personal
relationship with Jesus!
Malinda Hetzel
Executive Director
Our Ministry Team
Msgr.
Michael Woster
Pastor and Newman Center
Chaplain
[email protected]
Fr. Tyler
Dennis
Associate Pastor
[email protected]
Malinda
Hetzel
Newman Center Director
[email protected]
Tracy
Manning-Egge
Newman Center
Campaign Coordinator
[email protected]
The goal of the
BHSU Newman Center is to
reach all Catholic college
students attending BHSU!
This ministry is funded in part
by contributions from Catholic
Extension Agency, St. Joseph Parish,
and the generous contributions of
people like you.
To make a contribution to the
building campaign or for progrm
& operational expenses of the
Newman Center, please send your
donation in the enclosed envelope
or visit www.stjosephspearfish.
weshareonline.org, or
scan this QR code with
your smart phone.
Page 2
2015
Bishop’s Ride
Riding Season is just
around the corner. And if
you love to ride a motorcycle or just want to be part of
something special, then mark
your calendar and join us for
the 2nd Annual Bishop’s Ride
Poker Run & Rally on Sunday,
July 19, 2015. This year our
ride will start at Terra Sancta
in Rapid City, SD with a mass,
continental breakfast and
blessing of the bikes. Then
we will take off with Bishop
Gruss for a scenic ride through the Black Hills of South Dakota ending up back in
Spearfish. Inlcuded in the days festivities will be a poker run, silent auction, and
barbeque. All proceeds go towards the Newman Center Capital Campaign. Please
check our Facebook page for more details.
Friendship
An examination of the history of the
Catholic Church reveals an extraordinary number of saints who arrived at
sainthood in pairs. Examples include
Sts. Felicity and Perpetua, Sts. Basil and
Gregory, Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi,
Sts. Benedict and Scholastica, Sts. Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, and
many others. There should be, however, nothing especially surprising about
this phenomenon. Christ, after all, did
not wander through Judea only to establish a classroom and offer instructional
videos about himself. Rather, he invited
a community of disciples to follow him,
to live with him, and to grow in communion with him. Likewise, following
his resurrection, he founded a Church
in which believers would exist as a community of disciples.
That Christ himself was concerned
that his followers exist as a community offers a valuable lesson about the
importance of Newman Centers on
college campuses. To live as a follower of Christ, though rewarding, can
sometimes be extraordinarily difficult.
It is not unusual for students to speak
to the priests about the tremendous
loneliness and isolation they sometimes
feel while in college. This loneliness can
be intensified when one feels as though
their attempts to live as virtuous men
and women are met with contempt and
apathy on the part of their peers. In
situations such as these, it is important
for students to know that they are not
alone in their struggles. Certainly the
men and women mentioned above
underwent their own periods of loneliness and isolation. Many of them admit
as much in their own journals. In those
instances, however, they found encouragement and support from a friend.
Their friends shared their values, their
convictions, and their desire to become
holy, and when life presented obstacles
to the accomplishment of their goals,
these saintly friends reminded each other that the goals were worth pursuing.
A Newman Center offers the same
sort of support to Catholic Students
today. Through periods of prayer, opportunities for service, and community
building events, young men and women are able to find a network of support
that reminds them that regardless of the
obstacles obtaining a college education
might present, it remains possible and
worth the effort to also pursue holiness.
It is a goal of the BHSU Newman Center
to provide a place wherein this sort of
support is the norm, and wherein young
men and women will find the friends
who encourage them toward sainthood.
Every human being is called by God
to become a saint. While many factors,
most especially one’s own willingness
to cooperate with God’s grace, contribute to that outcome, one must never
underestimate the necessity of a community and of friends to encourage one
along the way. Here in Spearfish, we are
pleased to see a faithful community of
young people that is growing, and many
friendships blossoming. By his grace,
we pray that the good work God has
begun will be brought to completion.
Fr. Tyler Dennis
Associate Pastor
Donor Profile - Dana Dental Arts
Many of you have been asking about
the Newman Center Capital Campaign.
We are now at 40% of our fundraising
goal since beginning our campaign efforts in March 2014. A huge reason for
our great success is due to the generous
support and commitment from various
donors from St. Joseph’s Parish and from
individuals and businesses in the Spearfish community.
In our newsletter we will
be profiling some of our
donors who are making our
dream come true. Dana
Dental Arts, of Spearfish, is
a family run business that
focuses on your dental needs
and the dental needs of
your entire family. They offer full service
general and cosmetic dentistry, as well as
complete smile reconstruction in a warm
and caring environment.
Mick Dana established Dana Dental
Arts dental practice in 1974, recently
celebrating their 40th year in practice.
During this time, Jo Conda managed the
business side of the practice, while also
managing numerous rental properties,
including some on the land on which
the Newman Center will be built. They
have six children, Brad, Shannon, Jesse,
Raquelle, Nicole and Monique. Mick has
passed on his love for dentistry to his
children. Brad, Nicole, and Monique are
dentists practicing at Dana Dental Arts,
while Raquelle is a hygienist and manages the office. Jesse is an orthodontist
with Meyer Dana Orthodontics. Brad,
Nicole and Monique also share in their
father’s passion for improving their own
dental knowledge and skills.
They have each recently
been awarded both their
Fellowship and Mastership
in Dental Implants from the
Rocky Mountain Dental Institute, and their Fellowship and
Mastership with the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
Shannon is a Certified Financial Planner
in Denver. Dana Dental Arts has offices
in Spearfish, SD, and in Rapid City, SD.
While they are busy in their professional lives, the Danas always find time
to volunteer and support their civic and
parish community. They have been
members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
since 1974 and Mick, Jo Conda and five
of their children attended Black Hills
State University. The Danas have gen-
Spiritual Growth
As college Catholics it is sometimes hard to make time for
God or really dig deep to have a better, deeper relationship with
him. With the help of many wonderful people, a hand full of
us students were able to attend the SEEK conference in Nashville, Tennessee. SEEK was like a giant retreat where 10,000 college Catholics were able to gather, worship, and listen to God.
We were at SEEK from January 1st to January 5th. Each day
we started with daily mass. We then broke out into men and
women talks. After this we were able to choose one talk from
seven different talks. There were two breakout sessions for talks
with different talks at each session. At the end of the day we
Newman Center
Capital Campaign
Goes Social
erously supported the Newman Center
Capital Campaign because they know
that our vision for the Newman Center
intersects with the vision and hopes
they have for college students of faith in
our community. They also realize the
positive impact the Newman Center will
have on the life of young people not
only while they attend Black Hills State
University, but also in their families,
parishes, and communities in which
they will soon become leaders. Jo Conda Dana commented “I remember how
exciting it was in the ‘70s when Msgr
O’Connell came to Spearfish to establish
the Newman Center. It will be great to
see his vision come to fruition under
Msgr. Woster’s guidance.”
The Danas invite and encourage you
to join in supporting the Newman Center Capital Campaign. To learn more
about Dana Dental Arts, please visit their
website at www.danadentalarts.com.
Fraternally,
Msgr. Michael Woster
had one last talk where all of us could gather and listen. Each
night, after the night talk, there was a different event. One
night there was a concert, a different night a large dance, the
next night was Adoration and Confession, and the last day
there was a comedian.
Each day was a blessing and each event was a stepping stone
to a closer relationship with God. All of the students that were
able to go to this event came back changed, even if it was just a
new way to help them in their everyday life. One student, Jessica Kirby, commented on Adoration saying that, “Adoration is
always special for me but it was just amazing to me that 9,000
students were there to worship God and talk with him. Part
of what made it special was that everyone was in one room
to worship God.” The amazing thing about SEEK was that
not only was Adoration amazing, but everything was. Marisa
Sokoloski, the Newman Public Relations Officer, explained her
SEEK experience as, “the greatest experience I’ve had in discovering myself and my faith. To explain what takes place at SEEK
I could try to use every word in the dictionary, but my feelings
still could not be conveyed.”
SEEK was a great way to kick start a deeper relationship with
God and even give you new ways to make your relationship
with God better. The changes that everyone encountered will
stay with them forever and their love for God will grow because
of this trip.
Krystal Steinbeisser
Like our Facebook page today to keep updated on the Newman Center capital campaign
progress. Here we will be posting the latest fundraising news, event news, donor profiles,
and much more. Please go to this link and like our page at
www.facebook.com/bhsunewmancapitalcampaign
Page 3
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BHSU Newman Center
844 N. 5th St.
Spearfish, SD 57783
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What’s
Inside...
• Donor Profile
• Bishop’s Ride
• Friendship
• A MADD Start
to the Semester