Committee on Home Missions awards special grant to New Ulm diocese

by Mark Kemmeter, diocesan Coordinator of Staff

The Committee on Home Missions, an apostolate of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has awarded a special grant of $20,000 to the Diocese of New Ulm. As a "home mission" diocese, New Ulm also receives a regular grant of $120,000 to fund important diocesan ministries such as The Prairie Catholic, Hispanic ministry, and formation programs.

The special grant is to be used for ministry training. Having just completed the diocesan Plan for Parishes, three key areas were identified: training in collaboration skills, Spanish language studies, and formation in discipleship.

Some of the funds will be used to provide collaboration skills training for pastoral leaders, parish and diocesan staffs, and parish leadership. Collaboration skills are essential for the implementation of the Area Faith Community model in the diocese. This training will be facilitated by Br. Loughlan Sofield, ST and Sr. Carroll Juliano, SHCJ. Both facilitators have extensive experience working with dioceses and Catholicorganizations.

Another beneficiary of the grant will be a summer Spanish immersion course. While the number of Spanish-speaking Catholics in the diocese has dramatically increased, the number of Spanish-speaking pastoral leaders. Therefore, in conjunction with the College of St. Catherine, a two-tracked program for intermediate and beginning speakers is being planned for the summer months. The two-summer program has attracted considerable initial attention from pastoral leaders.

The final portion of the grant will be used to conduct a Discipleship Formation Program. This program was outlined in the March issue of The Prairie Catholic. Additional funding will be provided through the Bishop Lucker Lecture Fund.

The grants to the Diocese of New Ulm are a part of the $12 million which the Committee on Home Missions distributes to mission dioceses. The money goes everywhere Catholics need a special boost – to Appalachia, the Deep South, the border states, the Rocky Mountain states, missions in the Pacific and Caribbean, and even New Ulm.

This year, the Catholic Home Missions Appeal is scheduled in parishes for the weekend of April 24-25. Please give generously. Fellow Catholics, in southwestern Minnesota and around the country benefit from your help.