Serving those who have been hurt

Friday I was in Eagle Butte for a Cheyenne River Indian Outreach (Sacred Heart Center) Board meeting. The adolescent program seems stable, and is gaining the confidence of tribal and state placement agencies so it has been running close to capacity. Some youth in need of services have had to be put on a waiting list until a bed opens up, or referred on to other programs. The question we started discussing was keeping the program running as it is, or working at licensing for a greater number of children to meet the need. The tough issue is training and retaining enough reliable staff to keep up a good quality of service. The needs are great, and I applaud the Center’s mission of working to eradicate violence and serve those who have been hurt.

I traveled up and back with Fr. Joe, who is pastor of six parishes on the two reservations the SCJs serve. Personnel is an issue for him as well. The two religious sisters who have worked for many years among the people are both being called back to their community. It may be hard to find replacements, in which case the Pastoral team will have to work closely with the parishes to encourage local leadership to come forward to a greater degree.

Saturday morning I met with a young couple I’ve enjoyed working with for marriage preparation, and spent a couple of hours answering letters. With the previous days’ travel and meetings, I took the afternoon off for some rest and relaxation.

President’s Day weekend is an extra long one for our high school students, who were free of classes on Friday, and again on Monday. Many of them are checked out for the weekend with family. The Sheehy boys are on their annual ski trip to the Black Hills, and the Hogebach girls went to Sioux Falls on a shopping expedition. With so many away, we had a noticeably smaller crowd in church.

Today after mass, I visited the Rooney Home (6^th-8^th grade boys). I try to have a meal in each of the homes at least once a quarter, to be in touch with what students and houseparents are up to. Today’s visit meant I completed a round of all 18 homes, and will start the rotation all over again. What I noticed about the Rooney boys was that they have hearty appetites. Brunch consisted of waffles, sausage, eggs and hash browns. In some of the homes the kids eat and run. This group ate and talked and ate some more and told a few stories and ate some more . . . luckily they have a little more for food in their budget than the 1^st- 3^rd graders do!

Our local SCJ group gathers at least once a month, and this afternoon we met to go over budgets for the year. At the evening meal, it was our turn to eat and talk and tell stories. With everyone finished with church for the weekend, there was no hurry to rush off, but rather a leisurely time together for catching up and fellowship. Living as part of a religious order, that mutual support is not just appreciated, but necessary to keep a vocation healthy and alive.

 

Enrichment activity at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Hello everyone from the Rec Center staff,

Our American Indian youth love playing these games!

Hey, did you know that on Wednesday nights St. Joseph’s Indian School has a night of activities for the homes called “Enrichment Night?” That’s where we get two homes from each community, for two hours that night and either teach them a new game or revive an old game for fun. We work on teamwork and certain skills. We also have “Enrichment Swims” going on at the same time for different homes.

Most recently, at our 6:00 pm time slot, we had our 1^st – 3^rd grade homes (Raphael & Afra) for our Enrichment Night Activities. They played a game that some of you might know from TV, “Minute To Win It.”  One game we played was call “Loner” which is when one person has to roll one marble at a time to knock down a pencil standing 15 feet  away in one minute!

Savannah did a good job in the “Bite Me” game and Trinity and Jarrett were excellent in their games as well. Even the houseparents were involved in some of the games as well. Thanks to Aleece, Leonard and Christine and Mike for all their help. We also played, “Stack Attack” and “Movin’ On Up,” which are plastic cup games.

The 7:15 pm time slot was with the 6^th – 8^th grade homes (Rooney & Fisher) who were involved as well last night. They were involved in a different night of activities. We called them “Tag Games.” “Swatter Tag” was a big hit with Josh and Adrian and the game called “Dead Ant” was a smash with the boys as well. Jeremiah and William were really into the game “Frogger.” These are games that build teamwork and are fun at the same time. Thanks to houseparents Tony and Roman for their help.

Next week for Enrichment activities at 6:00pm, we will have the 4^th and 5^th grade homes (Cyr and Perky) and at 7:15pm we will have the 6^th – 8^th grade girl homes (Mathias & Stevens).

Thank you,

Your friends in the Rec Center

 

Welcome back everyone

After a two-week vacation, our Native American students returned to St. Joseph’s campus shortly after noon when our homes opened.

Today, was still the legal holiday for our year round staff, so morning was very quiet in the office. I’m going to miss the uninterrupted times to work on projects. But, I missed the students and child services staff being away even more, and was delighted to welcome them back.

I made rounds of most of the homes. Early in the afternoon, when only a handful of students were back, proved to be a good time to check in with houseparents about their holiday break. Closer to supper time, more of the children were around. Some were unpacking or doing laundry. Since our students come from across the state, they may not get to see each other when they are home. Many were checking in with the friends they hadn’t seen in a while.

All of the kids were so happy to be back at St. Joseph's Indian School.

Twenty-six degrees seems cold, but when I came by the football field,  the Ambrose boys (1^st-3^rd grade) were out under the lights and were having a great time tossing a ball around and dreaming of one day playing in a Bowl game. I’m glad that our students are more likely to play games outside than watch them on TV. I am concerned that when like most kids, they have a tendency to overdo the video games.

The health center was a hub of activity. After each student dropped their belongings at their homes, they came to see our nurses for a brief examination, a screening for head lice and a check on medications, cuts, bruises or injuries needing attention. We try to keep a close check on health issues, fully buying into the maxim that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Semester breaks are also times of student transitions. I met Kayla and Anthony, two of the new students we accepted from our waiting list once we had an opening. They are both excited about the opportunities here and scared about how they will fit in. I tried to learn their names right away. It’s important as a child when adults know you as an individual and can call you by name. (Something biblical about that as well!)

School starts tomorrow. Welcome back everyone!

 

Focusing on faith

Greetings everyone, Richard here! May I wish you all a blessed Christmas time and my prayers for all to have a healthy and joyous new year. Now that the frenzy of shopping hopefully is over … except for the returns … let us take a moment to reflect of the meaning of this season and what the message of the Gospels is all about. Christ came in peace and lived in peace, yet His simple message has eluded humanity since His birth.

On December 11, in the Chapel of our Lady of the Sioux, we had the First Rite of the RCIC program. It is the Rite of Welcoming. We had twenty-five Lakota (Sioux) students partake in this ceremony conducted by Fr. Steve. This is the Rite where students ask to join the community in learning about becoming Catholic. The students ask for acceptance and the community pledges to support their endeavors. The community also prays that I be guided in teaching the students about faith issues. As part of the Rite. Fr. Steve blessed their senses and their hands and feet so they may walk in the path of Jesus. Each student at the conclusion received a Bible for them to read, as we journey on path to receiving First Holy Communion.

Before break, Fr. Anthony conducted class Masses for the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.  Each class had their own Mass in the morning before the start of the day. The students reflected on the experience and all said it was the best Mass they ever attended. They liked the shared intimacy and members of each class helped serve and did the readings of the day. It was a good experience for the students.

Before break, we also had confessions for the students. Many students who are not Catholic also attended and had the chance to speak and pray with the priest in the confessional; it gives the student an opportunity to focus on their spiritual development.

Until next year!

 

Laughter and reconnecting with old friends

My name is Mary Jane.  I work with the alumni of St. Joseph’s Indian School.  Each year we try to have three to four alumni luncheons at various places in South Dakota.

On Sunday, December 18, a group of us traveled to Rapid City, South Dakota for an alumni luncheon.  Four of our high school students, RJ, Erin, Cody and Makayla along with another staff member, Maija who was a houseparent and is currently working with our high school students.

During the course of the luncheon we had twelve alumni along with their families join us.  We had a total of 40 people for lunch.

We had so much fun reconnecting, sharing and learning what was new with each other.

Henrietta, who currently lives in Rapid City went to St. Joseph’s Indian School in the 50’s.  Henrietta’s cousin LeAnn attended St. Joseph’s in the 70’s and also joined us for lunch.  Both ladies shared their stories with Erin and others about their times in the dorms, school days and chores that they had.  Currently LeAnn owns her own cleaning business.  She stated that she learned to clean so well as a student at St. Joseph’s.  Erin, our high school senior, shared her stories of being able to travel to Florida for a donor luncheon and Germany for an exchange with our sister school.

Three others had been students here during the transition from the dorms to the homes and were able to share many experiences.  Kory, David and Janice all were classmates in the sixth through eighth grades during those days.  Kory and David were in the high school program and a year in the college program together.  It was amazing to watch them reconnect, share their stories and learn what each other have done since their ‘St. Joe’s days’.

Parents of several of the alumni came as well.  They too talked about how much they appreciated all that St. Joseph’s had done for their children while they were here.

Steve, our 7-8^th grade science teacher and Kara, our 2^nd and 4^th grade teacher also came.  They too enjoyed seeing former students and joking about their times together in ‘the olden day’ as they call it.

The day was filled with laughter and reconnecting with old friends.

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The youth at St. Joseph's Indian School had so much fun with Santa!

While we haven’t had much snow this December, it is definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Today was the day for our Christmas store. Our staff pulls aside many new or like new items that are donated and our Native American youth get a chance to “shop” for presents for their family. Each child has a book of tickets, some good for baby clothes, others for jewelry, toiletries, books and games etc.

Staff and other volunteers help wrap a few of the gifts and Santa makes his appearance to find out who has been naughty and who has been nice.

The High School Native American club held an Indian taco sale outside of our downtown Thrift Store. They are raising money for their annual powwow and other activities. I went downtown for lunch, and the food was all mouth-watering. But while our young entrepreneurs were great cooks, they forgot some of the other essentials, like paper plates to put the tacos on, or even utensils to dish out the food. Luckily our Thrift Store was able to come to the rescue until reinforcements arrived.

Our 7^th and 8^th grade basketball teams traveled to South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. They attended a men’s and women’s college basketball double-header. Hopefully seeing life on a college campus gets a few of our students thinking along those lines.

Tomorrow is the Dancing Dolls and Dudes recital, so I had a special evening mass for the four younger girls homes so they could have extra time to get hair and makeup ready in the morning. The students seemed to enjoy the smaller, more intimate liturgy, and I had plenty of willing volunteers for the help I needed. Appropriately, our closing song was “Lord of the Dance.”

 

“This is Carla, how can I help you?”

Hi friends! I was excited when Fr. Steve invited guest bloggers to write a little something for our readers.

My name is Carla and I’m one of the staff who answers the telephone when you call, so there’s a good chance we may have already visited with one another.

I was born and raised in Chamberlain and during my lifetime, I have seen St. Joseph’s Indian School make a difference in the lives of thousands of Native American children. I can’t say it often enough, but I am fortunate to work in such a caring environment. St. Joseph’s truly cares for these children and for their staff.

I truly enjoy visiting with friends of St. Joseph’s. Many people call for information about the school and the children, to give a credit card donation or to have their mail tailored to their special interests. If I don’t have the answer for you, I’ll find out who does and be certain all your questions are answered!

It is my pleasure to record and schedule your Holy Mass requests for Fr. Steve. I am also happy to fill out forms and confirm corporate matching gifts from your company. Many people don’t realize companies match donations from both active and retired employees and even their spouses, widows or widowers. It’s an easy way to make your gifts go even further.

We do everything here hand-in-hand with you. With your help, we are able to bring a brighter future to these very special Lakota (Sioux) children. Now be sure to give us a call (1-800-762-2162) if you have any questions. I am waiting to visit with you!

 

Behind-the-scenes at St. Joseph’s

Thursday, August 05, 2010

St. Joseph’s renovations
I didn’t have many meetings today, so I was free to move about campus and check in on what’s been going on.

I talked with Tom, head of our facilities department. Tom updated me on all the summer projects our maintenance crew has been up too. It’s obvious what they do when you see one of the homes being gutted and remodeled.  There’s so much behind-the-scenes work that goes on; people may not notice.

The campus was surveyed for drainage to improve problem spots. The electrical system on our geothermal Templifier was upgraded, so we won’t have problems heating the campus this winter.  Our crew takes great pride in all that goes into keeping the campus safe and beautiful.

I checked out our pool after it got a paint job and a new surface on the surrounding deck. I ran into Patrick, a houseparent I hadn’t seen for about a month. There are so many folks on campus I so enjoy sitting down to share with … even if I only take a few minutes to catch up.

Silent auction brings new friends
There’s been lots of activity at the pavilion where we’ve been silent auctioning off furniture we’ve replaced over the years.

First, we gave staff on campus the chance to look over what we have and switch out anything they could use for offices or campus homes. Now, we’re making a few bucks and clearing out needed storage space. Seems like the biggest spenders were parents of college kids, looking for some worn but usable couches and chairs for setting up an apartment. You’d think they’d buy more of the bookshelves, but no!

Our Lady of the Sioux chapel visitors
Over at the chapel I saw a man kneeling in prayer and another looking at the artwork. I turned on more lights so they could get a better look. They were two priests visiting from Massachusetts, on the way to Alaska. I answered questions about the school until their traveling companions showed up and urged them to hit the road on their westward journey.

Fr. Peter, an SCJ from Ottawa Canada, also surprised us with a visit. He’d been on a tour of many of the National Parks, and just stopped in for a cool drink and the chance to say hello before he continued his journey east. We’re at a real crossroads this time of the year, but don’t get a whole lot of visitors in February!

 

Success begins in the heart

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Feast of St. John Vianney
I doubt I’ll ever spend 18 hours straight in a confessional; but I pray I can be a humble and good priest, and help people feel both the need for conversion and the love of God. To do that I have to fully accept both those realities in my own life.

Visions for St. Joseph’s
Our management meeting dealt with a broad array of topics. Some issues are immediate like reshuffling janitorial duties, or how we’ll split our presentations to the all staff gathering next week. Other topics require long-term planning, such as adding on to the museum or starting our next strategic plan.

Four years ago our staff came together and worked out our vision for St. Joseph’s, which laid the groundwork for much of what we’re doing now. Our next plan will take us to 2017; so we’re laying out a time frame for that process now.

Celebrating birthdays with conversation
Two of my three member management team, Kory and Donna, have birthdays this week. After our meeting we went out to lunch to celebrate. It’s fun to visit with staff when you’re not just talking business and getting to know each other in a more personal way. If you’re going to have good teamwork, it’s important to build relationships.

 

How do you want to be remembered?

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Saying goodbye
Ron, a 69 year-old rancher from my former parish in Stephan, died after a long and painful battle with cancer. He died in the same house he grew up and lived all his life. He knew the cancer was terminal. When I talked to him a few weeks ago, he had come to a sense of peace and acceptance about that.

Ron knew a lot about many things; but, what I admired most was that instead of pontificating about what he believed, he asked, “What do you think about . . . ?” He was anxious to learn, and because of that, he had a lot of wisdom.

Remembering Ron
I spent the day helping with the funeral. Afterward, at the luncheon, I heard family and friends telling the stories of how he will be remembered. One of his sons recalled how Ron would give them a ranch chore and then pressure them to get done by a deadline; however, he wouldn’t tell them HOW they had to do it. Many of their days were spent experimenting with homemade gadgets that sometimes worked great; other times leaving them working late to make up for their mistakes. In allowing them to try different things, they learned.

The freedom to grow
I think God is like that too. We all have a broad outline of what we have to do – love God and our neighbor – but we each have to find unique ways to do that. In giving us freedom, God allows us to make mistakes … and hopes that we can learn from them.