‘Heaven Sent for Haiti’

Schools are using Catholic Schools Week activities

to raise funds for island nation, other charities

As Catholic Schools Week begins, students at several Catholic schools in the Diocese of Dodge City are combining Catholic Schools Week activities with service projects to raise needed funding for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.
Karen Moeder, principal of Holy Family School in Great Bend, said prior to Catholic Schools Week that the students were studying the island country as a precursor to a penny drive.
“We’re researching it and learning a lot about it,” she said. “We learned that it’s 80 percent Catholic.”
During Catholic Schools Week, the school will take part in a “penny challenge,” in which classes vie to raise the most money. Part of the proceeds will go to Catholic Charities for their work in Haiti.
“We figure raising money is the best thing right now that we can try and do for them,” Moeder said.

Scott City parish center dedicated

‘It is a dream come true for many parishioners’

Thirty-five years after the idea of a new parish center was first discussed, parishioners at St. Joseph Parish in Scott City stepped over the threshold of a brand new center. On Jan. 9, the center was officially dedicated. With parishioners past and present gathered, the event began with a Mass celebrated by Father Warren Stecklein, pastor, and Father Robert Schremmer, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia.

Following the Liturgy of the Word, the parishioners followed the two priests as they moved along the 16,000 square foot space. Father Schremmer then blessed each room as the parishioners sang the Litany of the Saints. Part of the structure houses a new gathering space with accessible bathrooms, a social hall and a kitchen. Another section includes classrooms with an ITV (interactive television) room.The new parish center also houses the parish offices.

Father Jimmy Barrozo welcomed 

during special 'Ritual for the

Receiving of a Missionary'

By David Myers
Southwest Kansas Register

Father Jimmy Barrozo, a priest from the Diocese of Sorsogon in the Philippines, was visibly moved when representatives from parishes in Meade, Fowler, and Plains warmly accepted him “into their midst” with a round of applause during a special Mass Jan. 24.
At St. John the Baptist Church in Meade, “Father Jimmy” was officially welcomed by Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore at the special "Ritual for the Receiving of a Missionary," as parochial administrator of St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Patrick Parish, Plains, and St. Anthony Parish in Fowler.

A Special Letter to all Priests

‘We thank God for each and every one of you’

Editor’s Note: The letters on this page were submitted in answer to a request for letters about how a priest positively influenced your life. How has a priest influenced your life in a positive way? Send your story to: Priest Stories, Southwest Kansas Register, 910 Central, P.O. Box 137, Dodge City, Kan. 67801 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The following was submitted by the Aaron and Denise Wheaton family of Lewis.

As we begin 2010 during this “Year for Priests,” my family and I thank God with all our hearts for the many holy priests who have come into our lives, become our friends, blessed us and ministered to each of us over the years. There is absolutely no way for us to name only one particular priest as being that special priest, because each and every priest, each and every one of you that we have ever met has been an inspiration and awesome blessing to us. We thank God for each and every one of you and pray for God’s most abundant blessings, love and peace, to be upon you.
YOU were the priest who baptized us.

Diocese jumps onto the Facebook and Twitter bandwagon

Which begs the question:

What are Facebook and Twitter?

The Diocese of Dodge City recently opened Facebook and Twitter accounts, which can be accessed through the diocesan website, www.dcdiocese.org.
The new accounts were initiated and are managed by Eric Haselhorst, Director of Stewardship for the diocese.
Despite their growing popularity, if you’re not sure what exactly Facebook and Twitter are, you’re not alone. The SKR recently posed several questions to Haselhorst about the two programs:

Southwest Kansas Register: Facebook is a social networking site where individuals can, basically, create their own personal website. Through this website they can find and communicate with friends, old and new. Is this the only purpose of Facebook?