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A Spiritual Journey Celebrating The 50th Anniversary Jubilee of the Diocese of Dodge City Bishop Gilmore to make historic year long spiritual journey 2001 Leadership Meetings and Pilgrimage Visits
My Dear People:  Making a pilgrimage is a rich and ancient tradition of our ancestors in faith. A pilgrimage is making a journey, a spiritual journey, to a place that has historical or religious significance for those who visit. Journeying to a pilgrimage site allows one to get in touch with the stories of that place, to discover the lives of the people of that place, to become aware of the holiness of that place.
I will be making such a pilgrimage journey throughout our diocese over the course of the coming year and I invite you to join with me, physically and spiritually. My desire for these visits is two-fold: first, I wish to engage each cluster community in prayer to continue and strengthen the movement of spiritual renewal throughout the diocese; secondly, I wish to meet with the leadership of each parish to encourage and offer direction for continued growth and vitality in their faith communities. At each host site, we will begin our time together in a spirit of prayer, asking God's blessing on our gathering. I invite you to join in that prayer by coming to the church and lifting your mind, heart and voice to the Vesper psalms and canticles. During my meeting with the leaders of the parishes, I encourage others to continue that spirit of prayer by spending time in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. If attending the host church is not possible, I encourage your prayerful support by asking you to spend quiet time in prayer at your own parish church or in your home. Let us be pilgrims together, journeying together, truly making each city "God's City." Our jubilee continues ... a jubilee of joy and gratitude for the past 50 years of faith and growth in southwest Kansas. May God's spirit continue to be with each of us and with each of our parish communities throughout this grace-filled year 2001. Sincerely yours,
Starting January 14, 2001, parishes across the Diocese of Dodge City will be opening their doors to welcome Most Rev. Ronald M. Gilmore as he makes a year-long pilgrimage across southwest Kansas to celebrate the message of renewal amid the anniversary year theme, "Gather to a Greatness." The bishop will meet at parish clusters - a single parish with representatives from other parishes in close proximity - where he will pray at the church among its people before moving on to a meeting with parish leaders. His pilgrimage will begin at St. Joseph Church in Liebenthal, where parishioners and parish leaders from St. Michael Church, LaCrosse will join in, and conclude Dec. 9 with the dedication of the new Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. But in between, he will travel 22 weekends throughout the year to as many parishes, where groups of one to two nearby parishes will join with him in prayer. All parishioners across the diocese are invited to join in prayer with the bishop as he meets at their parish or parish cluster, and are asked to remain in prayer while the bishop meets with their parish leaders. "My desire for these visits is two-fold," the bishop wrote in a letter to the diocese (see next page). "First, I wish to engage each cluster community in prayer to continue and strengthen the movement of spiritual renewal throughout the diocese; secondly, I wish to meet with the leadership of each parish to encourage and offer direction for continued growth and vitality in their faith communities." Sister Janice Grochowsky, Secretary of the Spiritual Renewal Committee, explained that those who cannot pray at the particular church where the bishop is visiting, may choose to go to their own church where they can pray simultaneously. That way, she said, the entire diocese will be "spiritually at one with that community." The dates and locations of the parish clusters the bishop will visit are listed inside this special section of the SWKR. "He particularly wants to meet with the leaders, where he will have the opportunity to share with them his vision, and have them share their concerns," Sister Janice said. The pilgrimage will also offer the bishop the occasion to travel a faith journey with his flock during an important time in the history of the diocese. The Spiritual Renewal Committee was formed late in 1999 to oversee the spiritual formation aspect of the jubilee year, which will culminate with the 50th anniversary of the diocese Sept. 12, 2001, and the dedication of the new Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 9, 2001. Their job is to help create spiritual programs and events in the diocese that will help the community come together in a sort of spiritual union as the anniversary approaches. They are also pressing the idea of reconciliation and renewal, so that when the new cathedral is dedicated, the people of the Diocese of Dodge City can feel a sense of re-dedication of their faith-life. According to the committee, the purpose of the bishop's pilgrimage is also "to offer the invitation and challenge to build communities of holiness. In other words, 'How do we allow the parish to become God's city?'" "It will also be a model for future pastoral visits," Sister Janice said. "It will have a spiritual as well as practical purpose."  |
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Last Updated: 8-Feb-01
©2001
