Blessed Trinity The Cluster Volume 14 Issue 8 • September-October 2014 1 Anonymous - Thank you for your support Journey The first week in August, Father Joe and eight members of our Cluster traveled to our sister parish, St. John Paul in Rutledge, Tennessee. Students from Solon, Ia., their youth minister and a chaperone shared space with us at the Glenmary Mission House. We did and saw a variety of things during that week. Each day began with prayer and breakfast, then off for the day. We helped at a large food pantry that distributes food to over 200 families once a month. Another day, Brother Craig gave us a driving tour of the two counties served by the Glenmary Mission Outreach. It was nice to see and feel how loved and accepted Brother Craig is by the people in the area. We took Communion to a couple of shut-ins on this tour. I really wish I knew how many miles we covered that day. Repair was made on a couple of homes to stop water damage inside and out. Many Solon students worked on this project for a couple of days. Those nights in prayer it was mentioned more than once by the students “They have so little but are so happy.” Some students and adults went to Kingsmount, a home for children, spending time playing with them, reading to them and giving hair cuts before the start of school. Repair and handy-man jobs were needed at the Glenmary Mission also. Lawn mowers were repaired and used. A fire pit was moved and restored and a new clothes line was installed. Cooking and cleaning responsibilities fell on all of us, volunteers lead prayer before meals and we teamed together leading prayer to end each day. The week flew by. There were other jobs and activities too numerous to fit into this space. Cleaning and painting the church took part of each day and was completed in time for our bilingual Mass on Thursday evening. All Glenmary Mission House guests and staff celebrated Mass together as well as the local parishioners. It was a great way to celebrate our work and end our week. The people in Tennessee were friendly and thankful for our help. The Solon students were wonderful. It worked out nicely to have two groups from Iowa in the Mission house at the same time. The weather was comfortable and bug free. The mountains really do look smokey, especially during and after a rain.The countryside is blanketed with trees and narrow winding roads. The Parish leadership of St. John Paul are dedicated, sincere and hardworking as they faithfully serve the physical and spiritual needs of the people in the area. As with most volunteer experiences, I think I can safely say, we each gained much more than we gave. Being Happy with So Little W f Brother Craig Digmann Submitted by Jody Doyle
JourneyThe first week in August, Father Joe and eight
members of our Cluster traveled to our sister
parish, St. John Paul in Rutledge, Tennessee.
Students from Solon, Ia., their youth minister and
a chaperone shared space with us at the Glenmary
Mission House. We did and saw a variety of things
during that week. Each day began with prayer
and breakfast, then off for the day.
We helped at a large
food pantry that
distributes food to
over 200 families once
a month. Another day,
Brother Craig gave us
a driving tour of the
two counties served
by the Glenmary
Mission Outreach. It
was nice to see and
feel how loved and
accepted Brother
Craig is by the people
in the area. We took
Communion to a couple of shut-ins on
this tour. I really wish I knew how many miles
we covered that day.
Repair was made on a couple of homes to stop
water damage inside and out. Many Solon
students worked on this project for a couple of
days. Those nights in prayer it was mentioned
more than once by the students “They have so
little but are so happy.”
Some students and adults went to Kingsmount,
a home for children, spending time playing with
them, reading to them and giving hair cuts
before the start of school.
Repair and handy-man jobs were needed at the
Glenmary Mission also. Lawn mowers were
repaired and used. A fire pit was moved and
restored and a new clothes line was installed.
Cooking and cleaning responsibilities fell on all
of us, volunteers lead prayer before meals and
we teamed together leading prayer to end each
day. The week flew by. There were other jobs and
activities too numerous to fit into this space.
Cleaning and painting the church took part
of each day and was completed in time for
our bilingual Mass on Thursday evening. All
Glenmary Mission House guests and staff
celebrated Mass together as well as the local
parishioners. It was a great way to celebrate our
work and end our week.
The people in Tennessee were friendly and
thankful for our help. The Solon students
were wonderful. It worked out nicely to have
two groups from Iowa in the Mission house at
the same time. The weather was comfortable
and bug free. The mountains really do look
smokey, especially during and after a rain.The
countryside is blanketed with trees and narrow
winding roads. The Parish leadership of St. John
Paul are dedicated, sincere and hardworking as
they faithfully serve the physical and spiritual
needs of the people in the area. As with most
volunteer experiences, I think I can safely say,
we each gained much more than we gave.
Being Happy with So Little
W
f
Brother Craig Digmann
Submitted by Jody Doyle
Anonymous - Thank you for your support
Immaculate Conception, Saint John, Saint Mary & Saint Patrick
2
The Cluster Journey is published bi-monthly by The Blessed Trinity Cluster, 119 W. Fayette St., Manchester, Iowa.
MANCHESTER — Mary Wilson can no longer make it to Mass on Sundays at the parish she’s belonged to for over 70 years, but an important ministry keeps her connected to her church and to God.
Every week, after the 95-year-old watches a liturgy on television, a eucharistic minister from St. Mary’s Parish in Manchester brings her a host that was consecrated that day.
“I love Communion,” said Wilson. “I don’t want to be left out. I like to receive it because I feel that’s the culmination of the whole Mass. I wouldn’t feel like I had really gone to Mass unless I had Communion.”
Health problems make it difficult for her to leave home, though she still lives independently by herself in the house she and her late husband Howard built. Aside from providing the grace of the sacrament, the weekly visits by different volunteers keep her in touch with her parish community.
“Some of them are a little more chatty than others, but we have a nice visit,” she said.
Wilson is one of about 20 homebound parishioners who receive Communion each week from St. Mary’s
ministry. Eucharistic ministers also visit many other Catholics at a local nursing home, hospital and assisted living facility.
A group of about 35 volunteers — including some from Immaculate Conception, Masonville, and St. Patrick, Ryan, part of the Blessed Trinity Cluster with St. Mary’s, make up the ministry. Although many parishes around the Dubuque Archdiocese have similar programs, the one begun at St. Mary’s, Manchester is one of the
first and most vibrant in large part due to the dedication of the couple that started it.
Loras and Shirley Schlichte have been the driving force behind the eucharistic ministry to the homebound and sick at St. Mary’s since around 1978. The pastor during that period, the late Father John J. Walsh, asked them if they’d get involved. At the time, it wasn’t common for lay people to administer the Eucharist at Mass, let alone at somebody’s home or at a hospital.
Nonetheless, the Schlichtes took on the challenge. Shirley started by calling eucharistic ministers to help. Then, Loras started doing it. After a phone call Thursday night, volunteers would get a list of names. The organizational responsibilities flowed back and forth between wife and husband over the years.
“We knew some people we kind of had acquaintances
Bringing Jesus to Homebound PeopleBy Dan Russo, Witness Staff Writer
Loras and Shirley Schlichte, leaders of the eucharistic ministry to the homebound and sick in the Blessed Trinity Cluster, visit with Mary Wilson, a homebound senior in Manchester who receives Communion weekly. (Witness photo by Dan Russo)
with,” recalled Shirley Schlichte. “It’s just a matter of ‘hey, can you help?’”
The Schlichtes spend at least a couple of hours a week managing the program. Only about six volunteers are sent out each Sunday, with the rest rotating in on a regular basis. The Schlichtes used to regularly go out on visits too, but now spend most of their effort in administration..
Janice Loecke, St. Mary’s parish nurse, has known the Schlichtes for years. She says they are the leaders of the eucharistic ministry.
“They do it very silently, but very dedicatedly,” said Loecke, whose husband Dave is a deacon at St. Mary’s. “They’re humble people.”
Jody Doyle, a volunteer who has been with the ministry since the beginning, also reflected on the Schlichtes.
“We recently celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (June 22),” said Doyle. “The Schlichtes have celebrated the body and blood of Christ every Sunday and every holy day. They enable us (the volunteers) to be the hands and feet of Christ to the people we visit.”
The couple believes the ministry has benefited them as well as helped others. They continued doing it even while mourning the loss of their 16-year-old son, who died in a diving accident many years ago.
“We leaned on our church and our God,” recalled Loras Schlichte. “I don’t know how anyone could get through it without that.”
The Schlichtes remember some poignant moments over the years visiting with people.
“We had a woman that didn’t answer her phone and we found out she passed away that day,” said Loras Schlichte. “To know you’re the last person
to give someone Communion, it just makes you feel different.”
Kevin Kleitsch, a St. Mary’s parishioner who has been volunteering with the eucharistic ministry to the homebound for the past year, knows first-hand its importance to families.
“My mom passed away a couple of years ago,” he said. “She received Eucharist through the homebound ministry.”
Volunteers generally follow a guide from the church during visits. They meet in the sacristy after the 7:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mary’s to pick up the hosts. Volunteers have to be mindful of the person’s schedule and health conditions. They pray with the recipient and usually read Scripture from the day’s liturgy of the word.
“You get a perspective on life,” said Kleitsch, a young father. “People are usually caught up in their day to day (routine). You see people in the latter stages of life. The ones I’ve met are very happy that I come in.”
“As a volunteer, you really gain more than you give,” added Doyle.
The technology used to manage the ministry has changed from notebooks and rotary phones to text messages and emails. The Schlichtes have adapted over the years. Shirley believes all the work she, her husband and the rest of the volunteers have put in is worth it.
“In Mass yesterday, we sang the song ‘We are many parts, we are just one body,’” said Shirley Schlichte. “I think (the song) tells why we stuck with it. It takes our whole parish, our whole church, even if it’s one little part. It makes us feel like we are doing our little part.”
This article has been reprinted with permission from the Witness To subscribe to the Witness call 563-588-0556.
The Quiltmaker’s Shoppe - Kathy Wilgenbusch, Owner - Thank you for your support
www.blessedtrinitycluster.org
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Bringing Jesus to Homebound People, continued
4 Cy and Charley’s Firestone, Inc. - Thank you for your support
Immaculate Conception, Saint John, Saint Mary & Saint Patrick
Country Car Wash - Brian & Kathy Oberreuter, Owners - Thank you for your support 5
www.blessedtrinitycluster.org
St. Mary School
First Day of School AssemblyWednesday, August 22, 2014
Back to School Open HouseMonday, August 20, 2014
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Immaculate Conception, Saint John, Saint Mary & Saint Patrick
Thole Electric - Rick & Kris Thole, Owners - Thank you for your support
St. Mary BaptismsMarin Allan Rave, son of Philip and Tiffany
Alexis Jean Meyer, daughter of Travis and Tifany
Amelia Ann Reifel, daughter of Randolph and Sara
Caleb Broghammer, son of Steven and Jenny
St. Patrick BaptismsKaden Thomas Kuhn, son of Bryan and Rachel
Claire Lucile Quint, daughter of Ben and Erin
Toxy Gordon Reilly, son of Tobin and Rebecca
Emma Arlene Grage,
daughter of Edward and Tracy
Leighton Rae Gudenkauf,
daughter of Tim and Chelsea
There were two Baptisms at St. Patrick church on August 17th.
Emma Arlene Grage, daughter of Ed and Tracey Grage pictured with Father John Kremer
Leighton Rae Gudenkauf, daughter of Tim & Chelsea, pictured with Father Kremer and her
godparents, Christa Recker and Andrea Koopman
Seeds of Hope Update
Harry Blobaum, Treasurer of Seeds of Hope, reports that the total for the “Seeds of Hope” offering from the 12th Annual Strawberry Point Ecumenical Vacation Bible School held recently at Emanuel Lutheran was $231.56. Thank you to everyone on behalf of Seeds of Hope, which grows crops located near Strawberry Point, Manchester, and Ryan!
