IN THIS ISSUE ...
Visitor Stories:
• St. Cloud Diocese forms task force to support people with mental illness
• Multi-generations of Motzko Cousin Clubbers cook up memories and stir traditions
•Diocese works to forge a new day for veterans and their families
FAITH ALIVE
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“Our goal is to come up with
concrete ideas for how we as a faith community respond to the needs of our soldiers and their families”
– Chris Codden
“Parish personnel should be aware when someone in the community is serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, and ask if the
family left behind needs some
support”
– Norm Hanson,
“Showing veterans and their families we care is a good mission for the church”
– Sharon Schlick
“Parishes can pray for soldiers and their families, and offer to help spouses and their families at home in any number of ways.”
– Deacon Kampa
Deacon Chuck Kampa, who serves St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud, is also an Army Reservist 1st Sgt. He served a one-year deployment in Baghdad, Iraq, returning in Feb., 2005. SCV archive photo
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St. Cloud Diocese forms task force to support people with mental illness
by Sue Schulzetenberg
Visitor Staff Writer
ST. CLOUD DIOCESE — Enhancing support for parishioners with mental illness and breaking down stigmas — that’s the agenda for a new task force that is forming in the St. Cloud Diocese.
The fledgling Diocesan Mental Health Task Force met for the first time Oct. 31 at the Pastoral Center in St. Cloud, with 15 people in attendance. Among them were parish nurses, heads of diocesan offices, people who have experienced mental illnesses themselves and others concerned about mental illness issues.
The purpose of the diocese-wide task force is to formulate means of support for people with mental illness and to break down stigmas surrounding mental illness, said Sister Chrisann Mortensen SSND, consultant for persons with ability differences for Catholic Education Ministries (CEM) of the St. Cloud Diocese.
The task force will meet about every month or two, she said. Linda Kaiser, CEM director, said it is time to reach out and embrace those struggling with mental illness.
Multi-generations of Motzko Cousin Clubbers cook up memories and stir traditions
by Sue Schulzetenberg
Visitor Staff Writer
ST. ROSA — You may be familiar with Culture Club or the Cotton Club. You might belong to a Coin Collectors or Computer Club. But a tight-knit group of Minnesotans from St. Rosa belong to a club of a different color — a Cousins Club.
Many years ago, when Mary and Stanley Motzko’s grandchildren were still youngsters, they formed a special club in the basement of their grandparents’ home in rural Browerville. The children met regularly, had a special club apron and even collected dues. They called their club “Motzkos’ Cousin Club.”
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Susan Krauel mixes and Nancy Krauel stirs during the Motzko Cousin Club coffee-cake-baking gathering Nov. 4. When they were young, the grandchildren of Mary and Stanley Motzko formed the Motzko Cousin Club. The club’s spirit continues on, with reunions and other gatherings which include all Mary and Stanley Motzko’s descendants. (SCV photo by Sue Schulzetenberg) |
Years later, the now-grown cousins still meet for club gatherings. But the “club house” had to grow also. Club gatherings now include the cousins’ own children and grandchildren — and even some of the original Cousins’ Club parents. Thus the Cousin’s Club gatherings have turned into fun for many generations.
Their latest multigenerational club meeting was Nov. 4 at St. Rose of Lima Church in St. Rosa where club members made Polish coffee cake, a traditional treat for the family. They followed a recipe their aunt Edna Hengemuhle submitted for a cookbook sponsored by St. Mary of Mount Carmel Parish in Long Prairie.
Diocese works to forge a new day for veterans and their families
by Joseph Young
Visitor Interim Editor
Veterans Day is celebrated annually on Nov. 11 to honor those who have served in the armed forces of the United States. Although it is associated usually with servicemen and women from past wars, this Veterans Day — given the many men and women serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — may be an opportune time to begin honoring also present-day “pre-veterans.”
“Support the troops,” depending on one’s perspective, may be a patriotic rallying cry, an axiomatic national motto or a piece of clichéd campaign rhetoric ... or all of the above. But most Americans seem to agree it is a good idea to support the troops, even though they may not agree on how exactly to accomplish that mission.
The St. Cloud Diocese apparently agrees that supporting the troops is the right thing to do. And it is working on how it can join forces, so to speak, to make it a “mission accomplished.”
The diocesan Office of Marriage and Family met at the Diocesan Pastoral Center Sept. 28 with a group of about 20 present and former members of the armed services and their spouses to brainstorm ways the church in central Minnesota can support troops on diocesan, deanery or parish levels. The group, which also met Oct. 12 at the St. Cloud VA (Veterans Administration) Medical Center, consists off about 26 members, said Chris Codden, Office of Marriage and Family director, and is called the “Support the Troops Military Group.”
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Norm and Judy Hanson center front, and their family: from left, Steph and Eric Hanson, Renee and Jason True, Brett and Cyndy Hanson, Kara and Dana Schleicher. (Photo courtesy of the Hanson family) |
“Our goal is to come up with concrete ideas for how we as a faith community respond to the needs of our soldiers and their families,” she said.
Codden said she will report on the progress of the group’s initiative at the Diocesan Pastoral Council and Presbyteral Council meetings in February.
The seeds of the diocese’s support the troops initiative were planted during a Dec. 6, 2005 meeting of Bishop John Kinney and 40 priests and members of the curia (diocesan office leaders) with Major General Larry Shellito, adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard.
“Be aware of who’s deployed and who’s at home,” Shellito told those present, “and drop in and say ‘hi’ to those at home.
“The clergy and others who minister in the church shoulder a great responsibility” for the well-being of soldiers and their families, he added.
Members of the diocesan “support the troops” group echoed the spirit of those sentiments.
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