Approximately 200 attend day celebrating call to serve

Hello?" said Eric Haselhorst, answering his cell phone just moments after beginning his opening remarks for the Stewardship, Justice and Respect Life Conference, Aug. 25.

The 200 or so gathered in the cathedral fidgeted nervously, wondering if the call was a prank.

"That was God," Haselhorst, Associate Director of Stewardship, told the audience a moment later. "You never know when he’s going to call. You never know when he’s going to touch your heart; touch your soul. ... The Holy Spirit is alive in this building today. I can feel it. I hope you can too."

The day was a celebration of surrendering to God’s whims, to opening one’s heart and mind to how each one of us is being called to serve. It was the "Stewardship, Justice, and Respect Life Conference," Aug. 25 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Dodge City.

The day offered two conferences, one in English and one in Spanish. With the addition of "justice and respect life" to the annual stewardship day theme, the diocese this year presented workshops on such topics as Stem Cell Research, Just Faith (which focuses on social justice), End of Life Issues, the Benefit Bank (a bounty of help for those with low to no income), and, of course, stewardship.

More than 200 people from across the diocese attended day-long event.

As the day opened, the gathering area of the cathedral was filled with several booths, representing groups and activities such as "Word Working," Vocations, Called and Gifted, Catholic Social Services, and many others. People filtered around the booths throughout the day, grabbing up many free DVDs and informative brochures.

Besides several local guest speakers, the day included three keynote speakers, Bob Voboril, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Wichita, John Carr, director of the Department of Social Development and World Peace of the U.S. Catholic Bishop’s Conference, and (for the Spanish-speaking program) Josefa Fernandez, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Wichita.