OUR PARISH MISSION STATEMENT
We, the parishioners of St. Wenceslaus in Verdigre, and St. William in Niobrara, rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in Communion with the Catholic Church, strive to nurture charity, integrity of faith, and respect for all. We are committed to spread God's love to all through faith worship, compassion, and fellowship. We seek to become grateful stewards and faithful Disciples of Christ
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SUMMER MASS SCHEDULE
The Alpha Program
THAT MAN IS YOU!
The Bulletin
Ministry Assignments
Faith Formation Calendar 2018 - 2019
Parish Calendar
Getting a New Roof (Photos)
From The Desk of the Pastor:
Fr. Kizito Okhuoya
Christianity is a monotheistic religion founded on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who is truly God and truly Man, and here lies the mystery of Christianity. This divine and human commingling is reflected in every aspect of the Church. It does seem that once in awhile the human elements tend to overshadow the divine elements causing confusion, pain and disbelief as we have seen, heard and experienced in recent times in the Catholic Church. The pains and sufferings of the victims of sexual abuse that happen within and outside the Church should and must be heard. The evil of the past must be remedied immediately. This is destroying the Church, families and the moral fabric of our society. However, the healing that is needed will not solely depend on the moral and ethical efforts of our leaders. We must turn to Christ, the foundation of our faith. It is Christ who suffered and died to redeem and raise the lowly, the righteous and sinners who make up the Church. It is essentially for this reason that we must not flee from the Church but fight for the soul of the Church while advocating for the victims and families of priests' sexual abuse. Let it be clear that the moral failures of any individual leader in the Church is not that of Christ or his teachings; for the power of the Cross transcends every human weakness. This is what makes the Church Holy. Although leaders of the Church who fail to understand the sacredness of their position, power and authority, deserve to be stripped of their position, they also need our prayers for repentance and forgiveness. So, let me urge everyone to be courageous and fight. I understand the anger and frustrations of many, even within our churches, and rightly so, but we must come together to fight through prayers and constructive human actions that will make our faith communities a place of encounter with God and a safe place for all. Let our voices be heard as we redirect our anger to courageously engage our fellow Catholics to bring about the change and transformation we would like to see in the Church. Let us collectively, relying on the grace of God to save us, eschew the evil things that defile us and the Church, our homes and communities. We must all be part of this process of purification within the Church. It is upon all Catholics to rediscover the foundation of our faith in Christ and to embrace what constitutes true religion, to hang unto the words of truth, to welcome the word that has been planted within us to save our souls, to be doers of the word, to care for orphans and widows and to keep oneself from the corruption of the world. I will make myself available if anyone would like to chat, vent or offer suggestions for how we may heal as a community.
LOOKING TO THE FUTUREFrom the desk of our pastor,
Fr. Kizito Okhuoya
Pastoral Leadership Team comprising of parishioners from both communities is to help the councils and myself create a vision for our churches. This effort has been supported by a grant from the Archdiocese for leadership coaching for the team and myself. My ministry has been given a new life because of the sacrificial effort, dedication and enthusiasm of my leadership team. We are building trust with one another and growing in faith and friendship. Over the last few months, through coaching and several meeting sessions we have dissected the ministries of our churches, based on the feedback we collated from the “Listening Session” and the survey using the SWOT. During this time, too, we have been working on crafting and fine tuning the “perfect” vision statement for our communities! Vision statement is designed to give direction to what we do and provide justification for why we do what we do (purpose). The Pastoral Leadership Team has shared a draft of the vision statement with the Parish and Financial Councils in Verdigre. This will be shared with the St. William Council in a few weeks and subsequently with all ministry leaders and organizations. Once this is completed the vision statement will be shared with the entire parish. The Pastoral Leadership Team will continue to focus on developing strategies for implementing priorities and values associated with the vision statement. This will impact every aspect of our parish life. The changes would neither happen in one swoop nor be implemented in a linear manner. I am grateful and excited about the future of our churches as we have begun to implement Alpha which is only the beginning of a process in moving our churches from maintenance to mission. The goal of the process is to help us focus on the purpose of the church and to rediscover the beauty of discipleship and relationship with Jesus. I am convinced that properly embraced, this vision will inject a new spirit into our churches, ministries and communities where we are called to be bold witnesses of the gospel of Christ. It is an opportunity for spiritual reawakening and growth. It is a time to invest in people and souls as we lead ourselves and others to encounter Jesus in a new way, building a church of missionary disciples. This means change in many ways. Though hopeful I know that some may resist with cynicism because change is a lot of work! I pray that we can all work together with the Holy Spirit leading this charge to become the disciples we have been chosen to be. Please, pray for patience, perseverance and unanimity of vision as we proceed. One thing is clear if we refuse to change, our churches will continue to empty out and our faith will become religious artifacts, tucked away on a beautiful shelf.
"THE CHURCH TEACHES"
Links to Check Out. . .
Bishop Barron's Top 15
YouTube Videos of All Time
Scripture Readings for Today
FROM THE USCCB:
St. John Paul II Spoke to us about the family.
JOHN PAUL II TO THE EPISCOPATETO THE CLERGY AND TO THE FAITHFUL
OF THE WHOLE CATHOLIC CHURCH
ON THE ROLE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY
IN THE MODERN WORLD
Pope Pius IX speaks here about Mary.
Click below.
The Immaculate Conception
Pope St. John Paul II wrote on many subjects worthy of meditation. He was very close to the Blessed Virgin Mary and on March 25, 1987, he gave us an Encyclical Letter on the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church.
Click here to link to
(Mother of the Redeemer)
St. John Paul II spoke to us in REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS.
Click on the following: