**Our Lady of Lourdes embraces Synod; plan moves forward

PITTSBURG -- The timing of the Third Synod was nearly perfect for Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.

A few months ago, when Joe Dellasega, a member of the Pittsburg parish council, stepped back and compared the needs of the parish with the intent of the Synod, his thought was, "Oh my gosh, what a great opportunity."

Much of the parish had the same reaction at a meeting Monday, April 12, at the Pittsburg's Memorial Hall. It was an event unlike any other the parish has ever experienced.

At the two-hour meeting, 550 parishioners heard testimonies that helped them to better understand Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted's vision of how the Synod priorities could be used for the fundamental purpose of the church: to sanctify each of its members.

Because the meeting's purpose was a secret to most of the parish, a few rumors sprouted and began to grow beforehand.

After their pastor, Father Tom Stroot, joked with the parishioners regarding what the meeting was not about -- no, he wasn't being named bishop -- he explained that what the parish was doing that night would be something that parishioners in 25 or 30 years would marvel.

"Don't fear where we are going," he said, "because we are already on our way." Father added that he was more excited now than he had ever been in his 15 years as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes. "We have a broad base of leadership and a vision for our future."

Dellasega said the recent movie about Christ's passion gave him courage. "If Mel Gibson had the courage to risk his career and put his own finances at risk, then we should have the courage to have a meeting in public about holiness."

He looked even farther into the future than his pastor. "My hope is that 100 years from now that our grandchildren and great-grandchildren sitting in an auditorium somewhere will talk about the passion and courage their ancestors had 100 years before."

The meeting was highlighted by the presentations passionately made by nine parishioners who, in a matter of a few minutes each, explained the goals of each of the Synod's priorities.

Ray Ryan, a Pittsburg businessman, talked about youth and stewardship, about how he grew up above his parent's laundry business and how he received a free Catholic education because of the stewardship of those before him.

He and several of the presenters became teary-eyed during their presentations as they talked about vocations, family, youth, evangelization and the other topics of the Synod. The audience was transfixed as they, too, began to weep.

One parishioner said he was spellbound and was "totally engaged with what the next presenter was going to say."

The meeting April 12 was the result of months of planning.

Our Lady of Lourdes' brick and mortar parish council is making a transition to a visionary pastoral council that is primarily concerned with the care of souls. The Synod's pastoral priorities were perfect goals for the parish to set its sights on, Dellasega said.

"The Synod dealt with holiness and spirituality, and in our parish we're dealing with pragmatic issues: facilities and finances -- in our case the tremendous challenge of K through 12 education."

Dellasega, a partner of U.S. Awards, a company that manufactures sports and other awards, said the parish will open a new grade school in the spring of 2006 as the result of a gift, but the parish still has financial challenges.

"The ministries said they didn't feel they were 'vibrant,'" he said. "That leads to a question of whether the ministries were addressing the needs of the parish."

Dellasega said he suggested to Father Thomas Stroot that parish finances and ministries should be addressed simultaneously. "We can take all of these in one comprehensive approach and turn it into our pastoral plan."

The first step was to transform the six-member parish council into a 17-member pastoral council.

"Fr. Tom went through and diversified the group so that we had a whole parish represented," he said. "We began meeting with the idea of 'how do we transform ourselves?' It was an incredible process with a lot of time spent in prayer."

The parish then assessed its needs.

A parish-wide survey was conducted at all the Masses last November. There was also a parish-wide Synod study for three weeks that month when over 100 parishioners met weekly to study the Synod's priorities and discuss how they affected the parish.

The timing of the parish's introspective study was serendipitous in another way: Our Lady of Lourdes Church with its beautifully restored interior was constructed in 1904. It is beginning its second century of service to the parish.

After thousands of hours of work by hundreds of parishioners, the parish drew up plans for its second century in the shadow of its church, a "Century of Hope."

"The outcome is a plan that will guide our pastor, our council, our advisors, our ministry leaders, our educators, and our parishioners for years to come," the pastoral plan states.

The plan addresses each of the nine areas of the Synod. It calls for an outside independent study of the parish's schools, a continuing effort to upgrade the parish's facilities, and a need to bolster the finances of the parish.

Century of Hope is not a fund-raising campaign, it states.

"It is a comprehensive process to identify our needs, respond to the diocesan Synod, evaluate our opportunities to do better, lay down plans for the future, and to extend an invitation to all parishioners to work together in the spirit of collaboration."

Dellasega said he's proud of what the parish has accomplished.

"Father Tom has truly led us," he said. "He hasn't been a manager, he's been our spiritual leader -- he's been right there with us."

Ray Ryan, chair of the parish finance committee, said he believes the parish is now addressing its spiritual needs.

"I have not seen so much enthusiasm in my 60 years of activity in Our Lady of Lourdes parish," Ryan said, "we have truly been blessed."

Another parishioner, Janis Ward, agreed.

"We are truly blessed at Our Lady of Lourdes to have pastors and parishioners so willing to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and to give so generously of their time and talent."

She said she has seen an increased attitude of excitement, spiritual growth, and spiritually-based hope of the future direction of the parish.

"Throughout this process, the council has asked for, and relied on, prayer by the entire parish to help them in their task of listening, formulating and planning," Ward added. "God willing, their efforts will help lead our parish into a truly holy, truly Christ-centered 'Century of Hope.'"

**Building a Future Full of Hope

Pastoral Priorities for the Implementation of the Third Synod of the Diocese of Wichita

Introduction

The celebration in the Year 2000 of the Great Jubilee of the Birth of Jesus made us more aware of the deep desire of Christ to meet each member of our Diocese and bring us to fullness of life. Whoever meets Christ meets truth and mercy. Whoever meets Christ is blessed with a gift beyond all measure and at the same time is given a share in Christ's mission for the good of others.

Over the course of the past 32 months, since Bishop Gerber convoked our Third Diocesan Synod at the Chrism Mass in April 2000, we have reflected on our Catholic faith and our responsibilities from Christ. The mission of this Synod was to evaluate the ways we, the people of the Diocese of Wichita, are encountering Christ and how we are responding to Him and to the action of His Holy Spirit. Based on that evaluation, the Synod members would propose pastoral priorities aimed at enhancing our ability to make Christ better known and loved in our families, parishes and communities.

On October 12, 2002, the members of the Synod completed their mission and presented their recommendations to me. Today, after eight weeks of further study, prayer and reflection, I now issue the pastoral priorities for implementing our Third Diocesan Synod.

**The Key Questions

These pastoral priorities respond to ten key questions that I articulated a year ago, on the basis of a Youth Survey and 80 Listening Sessions held in parishes and institutions throughout our Diocese. It is my conviction that these key questions are the most important pastoral questions that we Kansas Catholics face now and for years to come.

One of these ten is what I call a foundational question, since it forms the basis for all the others. The foundational question is: "How do we build hope that holiness is accessible for everyone through participation in the community of Jesus, the Church?" Once we discover we are called to holiness, once we know we are dearly loved by Christ, once we realize that He forgives all our sins, unites us with Himself and sends us out as His disciples to live in loving solidarity with others, once we truly appreciate the way He continues to be present in the world through His Church, then we become confident in His love and trust in our ability to be holy as He is holy.

Holiness is the secret to true joy, and holiness energizes us for our mission of evangelization, i.e., for our mission of making Christ known to all, beginning in our own homes and with our neighbors.

I trust that the pastoral priorities I promulgate today will help us carry on the grace-filled work of evangelization that has been happening in Kansas since the arrival, centuries ago, of Padre Juan de Padilla and his Franciscan companions. And I pray that it will move us to embrace the kind of holiness we have seen in two other saintly Kansans, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne and Father Emil Kapaun.

**Truths of Faith

Before listing the pastoral priorities that respond to each key question, I shall list a few truths of faith. These truths, drawn from the Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition, will continue, I trust, to throw light on each key question under consideration. They will help us understand in greater breadth and depth the Gospel challenge and our responsibility.

**Pastoral Priorities and Proposals Needing Further Study

The Pastoral Priorities that I set forth today have all been proposed to me by the members of the Synod, working in prayerful discernment and faithful communion. I entrust these to everyone in the Diocese -- to individuals and families, to our pastors and parishes, to our diocesan offices and institutions, calling all of us to begin their implementation.

After having presented the Pastoral Priorities for the Foundational Question and for each of the other Nine Key Questions, I shall then list some additional pastoral proposals that require further study before they can be enacted. In due time, I shall look to our Diocesan Presbyteral Council and a newly established Diocesan Pastoral Council to take up this study.

**The Ten Key Questions

Foundational Question

Build hope that holiness is accessible for everyone through participation in the community of Jesus, the Church.

Truths of Faith

1. Christ loved the Church. Ephesians 5:25

2. Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before Him. Ephesians 1:4

3. Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2:20

Pastoral Priorities

1. Provide an experience of the Liturgy and Sacraments that internalizes active participation.

2. Provide teaching and study of the person of Jesus Christ and encourage reflection on each one's encounter with him.

3. Describe what holiness is, show that holiness is livable and proclaim that, within our culture, holiness is possible.

4. Deepen the experience of community as one of fellowship and union with Christ and one another in order to grow in holiness.

5. Provide formation for individuals and families to learn how to pray the Bible so as to deepen their desire to live the Gospel message.

6. Develop an understanding of social justice in every parish so as to facilitate works of charity and solidarity with the poor in body, mind and spirit.

7. Promote fidelity to all vocations as pathways to holiness.

8. Promote awareness of holiness as a lifelong journey in God and to God through experience, reflection and education.

9. Promote an understanding of the basics of conversion and spiritual growth.

10. Promote an understanding of how to form one's conscience, taking into account the Gospel, the moral and social teachings of the Church and the universal call to holiness.

**Question One

Promote greater appreciation of the Sacred Liturgy, especially the Sunday Eucharist, and all the practices and traditions that keep the Lord's Day holy.

Truths of Faith

1. Where your treasure is there also will be your heart. Matthew 6:21

2. This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad. Psalm 118, v. 24

3. Active participation in the Sacred Liturgy on the Lord's day is the primary and indispensable source of Christian life. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #14

Pastoral Priorities

1. Urge all members of the diocese to give their time gladly to Christ on Sunday by making family and parish primary in their schedule for the Lord's day.

2. Provide ongoing reflection on the liturgy and the sacraments so that the Sacred Liturgy is celebrated well -- with full, conscious and active participation.

3. Provide catechesis on the issues intimately connected with the Eucharist, especially the real presence of Christ, the practice of justice and charity, and the Eucharistic sacrifice as the source of community.

4. Promote and provide devotional prayer forms, such as the liturgy of the hours, Eucharistic adoration, praying the Bible, scriptural wake services, the rosary, the way of the cross, and family and individual prayer.

5. Provide continuing formation for priests, deacons, lay ministers and all the faithful aimed at fostering a more prayerful celebration of the liturgy according to liturgical norms.

6. Promote the observance of Friday as a day of penance, encouraging the practice of abstinence from meat and other penitential practices such as personal sacrifice and additional prayer.

Pastoral Proposals for Further Study

1. Expand the opportunities for the formation of liturgical ministers (e.g. lectors, musicians, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist), especially in the deaneries outside of Wichita, identifying qualified individuals to assist in their formation.

2. After proper catechesis, experiment with quarterly celebrations of the Rite of Benediction and the communal Rite of the Sacrament of Penance in each deanery or cluster of parishes.

**Question Two

Be grateful stewards of the mercy of God the Father.

Truths of Faith

1. His mercy is from generation to generation. Luke 1:50

2. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. I Peter 4:10

Pastoral Priorities

1. Evaluate and re-vitalize stewardship so that it becomes more fully a way of life and a joyful personal expression of discipleship.

2. Provide leadership through active stewardship committees within each parish.

3. Develop a common catechesis on stewardship for all members of the diocesan family, focusing on stewardship as a continuous response to God.

4. Foster a spirituality of gratitude that captures the unique blessings of each person, family, and parish.

5. Engage in the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, connecting those who want to serve with those who need to be served so that all can realize the mercy of God.

6. Promote sharing of time, talent and treasure between parishes.

7. Promote a sense of communal solidarity both within and outside parish boundaries, including community organizations.

**Question Three

Facilitate the acceptance of vocations from God, especially to priesthood and consecrated life.

Truths of Faith

1. The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for the harvest. Matthew 9:37

2. Come, follow me. Mark 10:21

Pastoral Priorities

1. Teach everyone in the faith community to recognize the dignity of all vocations and to be open to the call of the Holy Spirit.

2. Emphasize that vocation promotion is everyone's responsibility.

3. Strive to build a stronger family environment supportive of vocational discernment.

4. Continue to promote prayer for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, especially in the family and in chapels of Eucharistic adoration.

5. Provide opportunities for the young to encounter Christ in the liturgy, devotional prayer, service to the poor and retreats, which may elicit a response of commitment.

Pastoral Proposals for Further Study

1. Commit resources to provide a coordinated and consistent diocesan vocation effort through the Office of Vocations.

2. Provide ongoing formation for viable parish vocation committees.

3. Develop a "come and see" program with diocesan priests and religious congregations and provide frequent opportunities for the youth to interact with priests and religious.

4. Acquire a camp for all youth and young adult ministry whose programming includes the discernment of vocations.

**Question Four

Inspire and equip the family to fulfill its mission in the Church and in the world.

Truths of Faith

1. They are no longer two but one flesh. Matthew 19:6

2. This is my commandment: Love one another as I love you. John 15:12

3. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. Ephesians 5:32

Pastoral Priorities

1. Promote and foster the dignity and sacredness of marriage through the expansion of marriage enrichment initiatives, especially in the early stages of marriage.

2. Assist parents in their mission as the primary educators and evangelizers of their children, especially in the formation of their faith and as responsible members of society.

3. Help families understand that they are a domestic church and assist them with prayer resources and service opportunities.

4. Develop a mandatory comprehensive program for marriage preparation for all age levels that addresses the remote, proximate and immediate preparation for marriage, including spirituality, chastity, Christian financial management, natural family planning and education in parenting.

5. Recognize, support and involve families with special needs, such as blended families, single parent families, and the elderly.

Pastoral Proposals for Further Study

1. Develop regional resources and services for all hurting families.

2. Promote Catholic family values by proclaiming that the mission of the family is to guard, reveal and communicate love: God's love for humanity and Christ's love for the Church. The family fulfills its mission by: forming a community of persons, serving life, participating in the development of society and sharing in the life and mission of the Church.

**Question Five

Engage American culture, and subcultures within, through Catholic education and on-going formation.

Truths of Faith

1. You are salt of the earth. Matthew 5:13

2. Go and teach all nations. Matthew 28:19

3. Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:7

Pastoral Priorities

1. Develop programs to equip parents as primary faith educators of their children, accommodating those with cultural or language differences.

2. Extend religious education resources into homes and parishes using various methods including technology.

3. Improve coordination of the various diocesan education programs.

4. Provide educational and formational opportunities for catechists, DRE's, and Catholic School teachers to enhance their ability to use various technologies and methods to attain religious certification.

5. Provide spiritual and faith formation for our catechists enabling them to help their students encounter Jesus.

Pastoral Proposals for Further Study

1. Develop a diocesan-wide plan to share various resources (including financial) among parishes for Catholic education.

2. Provide more support for PSR programs by recruiting professional teachers and offering incentives (such as stipends and scholarships) for professional and personal development of catechists.

3. Provide opportunities in our diocese for religious educators to study, even to obtain a master's degree in such areas as theology and catechetics.

**Question Six

Engage our youth in the life and mission of the Church.

Truths of Faith

1. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope. 1 Peter 3:15

2. Say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. Jeremiah 1:7-8

3. Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

Pastoral Priorities

1. Help our youth to love Jesus more through participation in sacraments and youth-oriented liturgies.

2. Starting at an early age, teach the young that stewardship is the way of life in Christ.

3. Encourage youth and parents to prioritize and balance their lives with respect to worship, family, school, extracurricular activities, work, play and rest.

4. Provide opportunities for youth to share their faith and experience faith in action (i.e. retreats, camps, trips, service to the poor and interdenominational programs.)

5. Engage youth and young adults in the Church by listening to and including them in parish and diocesan planning.

Pastoral Proposals for Further Study

1. Increase personnel and other diocesan resources, including technology, to provide help and leadership for youth programming, throughout the entire diocese.

2. Always mindful of cultural diversity, invest human and other resources in catechesis, leadership and formation opportunities for youth and young adults and those who work with them.

3. Establish a year-round youth oriented camp/facility to supplement catechesis, formation, leadership development and recreation.

4. Perform a critical review of the current system to provide a quality education for all students (Catholic Education and PSR) and development of materials, technologies and facilities.

**Question Seven

Provide integral formation for the laity in their role of evangelizing the world.

Truths of Faith

1. They went out and spread word of Him through all of that land. Matthew 9:31

2. Go into the whole word and proclaim the Gospel to every creature Mark 16:15

3. God is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more fully prepared for the sowing of the Gospel. John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio

Pastoral Priorities

1. Expand and develop programs to evangelize the unchurched and to re- evangelize inactive Catholics at the parish level.

2. Establish outreach programs (e.g. through the Spiritual Life Center, Newman University, the Hispanic Pastoral Center and other diocesan entities) to address the diverse spiritual, educational and cultural needs of the faithful, especially the formation of adult religious educators in all parishes of the diocese.

3. Develop programs of ongoing spiritual renewal and faith formation through a variety of means including programs at the Spiritual Life Center, in parishes or clusters of parishes, and through lay spiritualities related to religious communities.

4. Create an understanding of evangelization, deepen awareness of the need for it, and issue a call to the laity of all ages, including youth, to share their faith.

5. Develop a technology delivery system for adult education and faith formation programs.

Pastoral Proposals for Further Study

1. Foster adult Christian renewal through the use of Lenten faith-sharing groups, small faith communities, the use of parish missions, and the development of new programs.

2. Offer leadership development services to youth, adults, and priests to build their skills to lead and manage the temporal affairs of the parishes, the diocese, and society.

3. Train lay leaders to assist priests with their non-priestly duties and responsibilities.

4. Study the merits of establishing the permanent diaconate program in our diocese.

**Question Eight

Defend human life and promote human dignity.

Truths of Faith

1. Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40

2. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you. Jeremiah 1:5

3. Choose life that you and your descendents might live. Deuteronomy 30:19

Pastoral Priorities

1. Develop catechetical materials with formal age-appropriate objectives stressing John Paul II's Gospel of Life and Theology of the Body. Communicate a consistent message on social justice and respect life issues, including abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty.

2. Reclaim the power of prayer, liturgy and public witness for promoting life and justice in parishes, homes and public forums.

3. Emphasize three strategies in every Respect Life and Social Justice committee:

* Education/awareness

* Advocacy (speak for those who do not have a voice)

* Intervention, direct service, and support.

4. Challenge both voters and candidates for public office to represent the consistent life ethic of the Catholic Church.

5. Promote and encourage the healing of people with wounded hearts by individuals reaching out in love, seeing the face of Christ in all, and through parish ministries and diocesan programs (e.g. visiting the lonely; Rachel's vineyard retreats, etc.).

6. Encourage an attitude of "What can I do?" as a steward of God's love, to promote and practice respect for life and justice.

7. Strengthen cooperation between the Diocesan Office of Respect Life / Social Justice and the Kansas Catholic Conference, to educate and coordinate activities to support parish respect life/social justice committees, and to coordinate with other parallel community organizations.

Pastoral Proposals for Further Study

1. Support the mission of Catholic Health Care systems and form a panel of experts to advise the Bishop on medical ethics and technology.

2. Establish and support a working panel of the faithful in each deanery ( or parish cluster) to study and to implement plans and projects that promote the social teachings of the Catholic Church, as expressed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (dignity and sanctity of the human person, the call to family and public participation, rights and responsibilities of state and individual, preferential option for the poor, the rights of workers, solidarity, and care for the environment.)

3. Form an Office of Media and Communication at the diocesan level to promote the Gospel of Life, and to educate our people in the influence that the media has on our lives, counteracting the culture of death.

**Question Nine

Offer hospitality to all, welcoming the stranger, the disabled, and persons of various cultures and backgrounds.

Truths of Faith

1. Do to others what you would have them do to you. Matthew 7:12

2. Whatever you did for one of these least of my brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40

3. Perfect love casts out all fears. I John 4:18

4. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. Hebrews 13:2

Pastoral Priorities

1. Make a concerted diocesan effort to value human dignity based on each individual's intrinsic worth as a child of God, and not on anyone's race, national origin, sex, economic status, disability or age.

2. Awaken a culture of hospitality through faith formation and skill training so that all feel welcomed in our parish communities, and give witness to these values in our day-to-day living.

3. Begin the process of conversion of heart through ongoing opportunities to learn and celebrate other cultures' unique customs and traditions, and by seeing Christ in our brothers and sisters who may be different from us.

4. Ensure that parish facilities are user-friendly to all, including those with special needs.

5. Promote ways to determine and bring forth gifts of all parishioners including handicapped, matching their gifts with needs.

6. Communicate and expand current programs that aid the stranger, the disabled, and persons of different cultures, to avail themselves of the opportunities provided through our Catholic schools and our diocesan offices and social services.

7. Teach individuals to identify their own fears and prejudices related to the differences of others -- in the work place, Church, or other realms of society.

Pastoral Proposals for Further Study

1. Prepare seminarians, and the staff of parish and diocesan offices to provide multi-lingual services, including making the sacraments and other opportunities to worship available in native languages when possible.

2. Create a comprehensive tool to guide parishes in assisting immigrants in their social integration and citizenship journeys.

3. Promote rotation of leadership in parishes and invite people of all cultural groups to accept leadership positions in our parishes.

4. Recognizing our oneness in the universal Church, promote attitudes and activities to express our solidarity with the People of God in other countries.

**The Implementation Process

To assure an effective implementation and fruitful outcomes, we will need the active commitment of each member of the Church, young and old, English-speaking or not, from all ethnic and cultural traditions, and we will need the capable leadership of our priests. At the diocesan level, our diocesan offices will have key roles to play and so will the Spiritual Life Center, our Religious Congregations, the Presbyteral Council and similar consultative bodies.

**A Diocesan Pastoral Council

In order to continue the collaborative work that proved so helpful in preparing for our Third Synod, I am establishing a Diocesan Pastoral Council, made up of representatives from across the Diocese. I trust that this Council will prove especially helpful as we assist individual Catholics and our families and parishes in implementing the Synod's pastoral priorities.

Our new Diocesan Pastoral Council will be established for two and a half years, i.e. until June 30, 2005. It will meet bi-monthly if possible and more often if needed. It will work alongside the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese and the leadership of our Diocesan Offices and of the Spiritual Life Center to facilitate the implementation of the pastoral priorities.

**Renewal of Parish Councils and Stewardship Committees

The blessed experience of our Third Synod has underlined the irreplaceable role of the laity in the Church, first in their own families and in their daily work, and also in their expert advice offered for the good of the Church. With this in mind, I ask our pastors to work even more closely with their parish councils, their parish stewardship committees, and other similar advisory bodies to implement these pastoral priorities in each parish and to face together other pastoral challenges that arise.

**Conclusion

Jesus assures us "I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20)." With whole-hearted trust in this promise of the Lord, we willingly yet humbly take up the work that Christ has entrusted to us as members of the Church.

It is, after all, Christ's work even more than it is ours. He comes to meet us, He calls us by name, He converts our minds, He gives us a share in His own communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and He sends us forth to carry on His mission of salvation.

We have every reason to expect that He will be with us every step of the way. He has richly blessed our ancestors in Kansas in the past and He will bring about in our own day a renewed evangelization. Let us never be afraid. Christ is with us. He is the reason we know we have a future full of hope.