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Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation - Registration for the next cycle for online courses through the University of Dayton’s VLCFF program is now open. Certificate programs are available for catechesis, leadership in ministry, youth ministry and more! As a diocesan partner, you can register for courses at a discounted cost of $50 for 5-week sessions and $40 for 3-week seminars. English and Spanish courses are available. All courses in the VLCFF can be used to help with the Catechist Formation Process. Visit https://oldsite.dio.org/catechesis/approved-formation-programs.html for more information. Or contact Kyle Holtgrave at (217) 698-8500, ext. 154.
Catholic Committee on Scouting -The next meeting for the diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting is Sunday, August 29 at 4:00 PM at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Springfield. Contact Kyle Holtgrave, (217) 698-8500, ext. 154 or email for details. Scout leaders and those interested in helping Scouts tend to their Duty to God are welcome. The Catholic Committee on Scouting website is http://scouts.dio.org .
Ad Altare Dei Emblem - Members of Scouts BSA are invited to learn more about our faith, particularly through the sacraments, by earning the Ad Altare Dei religious emblem from the Catholic Committee on Scouting. To earn the award, one must be a registered member of a BSA unit (Scouts BSA or Venturing Crew), be in 7th grade through high school age, and active in your unit for at least 6 months to be eligible. A class schedule for the Springfield area during the 2021-2022 school year has been announced, see http://scouts.dio.org for details. For more information or to schedule classes in other areas of the diocese or to be trained as a Counselor, please contact the Catholic Committee on Scouting at or call (217) 698-8500, ext. 154.
Parish mailing lists – This summer, please work with Cindy Callan who handles subscriptions for Catholic Times to go over the mailing list of your parishioners. Catholic Times wants to ensure all new parishioners receive the magazine and anyone who has moved away or died doesn’t keep receiving the magazine to avoid unnecessary costs. Whomever in your parish handles your mailing list, please email Cindy at letting her know that you are the contact person for this. Then, Cindy will email you the mailing list Catholic Times has on file for your parish. We then ask you to review that list Cindy sends you and to add any parishioners who are not on the list and delete anyone who is no longer an active parishioner. We understand this is can be an arduous task, but we thank you very much for helping us keep our mailing lists as accurate as possible.
Help people get to confession – The July 25 edition of Catholic Times featured a comprehensive look at confession: why, how, and where to go to confession; inspirational stories and quotes; and what our priests think about the powerful sacrament. If you are a priest, lay parish leader, PSR instructor, and/or Catholic school teacher, you can use this document (taken from Catholic Times) to help your instruction when teaching people about the sacrament, explaining why they should go, or if one needs inspiration or a tutorial on how to go to confession.
Dive Deep: The Latin Mass. What is it? On the heels of Pope Francis’ announcement of restrictions to the Latin Mass, Dive Deep explores the history, differences, and traditions of the Latin Mass. Go to dio.org/podcast to listen and subscribe.
Promoting Tax Credit Scholarship Program – The tax credit scholarship program, part of Illinois’ Invest in Kids Act, is a win-win-win. The first win is for the students, who despite financial hardships, can now attend Catholic schools, be surrounded by our positive and holy values, and receive a higher academic experience. The second win is for our schools, who now have these students in their classrooms. The third win is for donors, who receive a 75% state income credit on their donation.
Here are several documents that can help your parish/school promote the tax credit scholarship to parents, your school community, business leaders, and church donors. Attached are several documents to help you do that:
Bobby Sylvester, Regional Director of Empower Illinois (the organization that coordinates and grants all the scholarships), can visit your school/school board/parish council to answer questions:
Chant Workshop: Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology is creating the Saint Meinrad Institute for Sacred Music to promote liturgical music and to support and educated pastoral musicians. A chant workshop will be held January 24-28, 2022. For more information, visit www.saintmeinrad.org/chant-workshop or e-mail .
Unfolding the Mystery:Eliot Kapitan, former director of the Office for Divine Worship and the Catechumenate, recently published a book titled, Unfolding the Mystery of Christ: Sunday by Sunday Formation of Catechumenspublished by Liturgical Press in 2020.It won two awards in 2021 from theCatholic Media Association for 1st place in Faith Formation and2nd place in Pastoral Ministry --Catechetical.Details and a free Faith Sharing / Study Guide are available athttps://litpress.org/Products/6555/Unfolding-the-Mystery-of-Christ.
20th Anniversary of September 11th: The Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions has a compiled a resource that may be used on the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks at the World Trade Center. The resource is available at https://www.fdlc.org/sites/default/files/Twentieth_Anniversary_9-11.pdf.
Litany of St. Joseph: Some weeks ago Pope Francis approved new invocations in the Litany of St. Joseph. English translations of these invocations have been added by the Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship to the English translation of the litany, which is available at https://www.fdlc.org/sites/default/files/JosephLitany2021.pdf.
The Curia is Hiring! - We are hiring for two positions:
Please check out our listings at oldsite.dio.org/jobs and include them in your parish bulletins!
COOP Collections - As a reminder: The manner of taking up the collection for COOP Missionaries is determined by the pastor. Parishioners should make donation checks payable to the parish. The missionary should not take envelops or the funds collected from the parish, nor a list of names of contributors. Please do not publish the address of the mission organization in the bulletin. Envelopes with the groups’ mailing address are not allowed. No missionary group may employ professional soliciting agencies while making an appeal in the parishes of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. At the time of the appeal, no subscriptions to magazines or periodicals are to be promised or solicited. No child sponsorships or other relationships may be solicited.
Parish bookkeeper please submit a check for the proceeds collected to the Office for the Missions within thirty (30) days of the missionary’s visit.
Missionary Childhood Donations (MCA) - To be eligible for any award recognition during October’s Mission Mass, schools need to turn in all MCA funds collected for the 2020-2021 school year by August 1, 2021. Checks should be made out to the Office for the Missions and mailed to the attention of the Office for the Missions. Any questions, contact Cindy Callan: 217-321-1137.
Catholic Social Teaching – Care for God’s Creation - A video on “Care for God’s Creation” is one of a seven-part series on Catholic Social Teaching, designed to educate and have Catholics reflect on each of the social teachings. Pope Francis has declared September 1 as a day of prayer for creation. Making this video available to parishioners is one way to acknowledge this day of prayer for creation. The video series is co-sponsored by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All videos can be seen on the CRS YouTube channel www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSnXuCxiHXE
Catholic Social Teaching – Care for God’s Creation Speaker - Pope Francis has declared September 1 as a day of prayer for creation. In anticipation of this day of prayer you may want to invite Fr. George Knab, OMI, to give a talk or parish mission on the theme of Care for God’s Creation. Fr. Knab can be reached at .
Our Lady of the Snows Presentation - When Mental Illness Hits Home - The Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is hosting their annual conference - When Mental Illness Hits Home. The theme for this year’s conference is “Surviving and Thriving in Turbulent Times”. The conference is Friday, August 29, from 9 am – 4 pm. They are offering 4.5 CEUs for counselors, social workers and nurses (APRN, RN, LPN). For more information and to register go to: When Mental Illness Hits Home Conference – Our Lady of the Snows
Short Tidbit from Project Rachel: Additional Healing Services: Masses and Retreats: Working with Retreat Models – Various post-abortion healing retreat models are now offered through diocesan programs or independent of diocesan offices. Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries, Entering Canaan, Land of Milk and Honey, and Bethesda Healing Ministry have been effective in working in collaboration with, or as part of, diocesan Project Rachel offices. (PR Manual pg 63)
Formation in Preparation for Quinceanera - Is there a young woman in your parish ready to celebrate her Quinceanera? A six month formation program is available through St Alexius Parish. The formation is available in person and virtually. Formation gatherings occur the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month for one-hour. For more information contact Sr Ema,
Parishes and Schools should continue to host LIVE Protecting God’s Children training sessions. - Now that the State of Illinois has entered Phase 5, allowing for businesses, conventions, large-scale events, and other venues to operate at full capacity, live session trainings are no longer limited. While online Protecting God’s Children training remains an option, in-person trainings are still necessary for some. Facilitators, please contact the Office for Safe Environment with the location, date, time, and materials needed for your upcoming live training sessions. Thank you so much for your continued efforts in our mission to protect children and young people.