YOUTH RALLIES - MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL

Wow! Our diocese is very blessed to have such great volunteers and talented people to put together a youth rally of the caliber that the Middle School Rally in Belle Fourche was! On Sunday, November 17, over 300 kids in grades 5-8 came from all across the diocese and Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska.

The middle school rally is put on each year by Deanery 2, which is Belle Fourche, Spearfish, Sturgis, Lead, and Deadwood. They have proven that all it takes is the right people with the enthusiasm for and love of Jesus to accomplish great things. Anna Scally from Cornerstone Media, Inc. in California showed the kids how to bring out the love of Jesus from the music that they listen to everyday. Local presenters taught the youth how to make good choices about addictive substances, the dignity of life, stress and anger.

The high school rally is coming up on Sunday, November 24, at St. Thomas More High School. They have hired John Crudele from California to be their keynote speaker. John will use humor and quick wit to invite the youth to Choose Life, Choose Love, Choose Christ.

ROME - A TRIP OF A LIFETIME
By Pat Roe

I was fortunate enough to make the Centennial Pilgrimage to Rome with Bishop Cupich and 48 other people from across the Diocese of Rapid City. We left on Monday, October 14, and returned on Thursday, October 24. It was awesome!

When I was asked to write about my experience I wasn't sure how to begin. Should I tell about all of the sights that I saw, the experiences that I had, the beautiful Masses that I participated in, the insight that I gained, or the feelings that I had? I wanted to share all of this but it would be take many pages and you would probably get bored with my babbling.

I decided to share my feelings and insight. I was so honored to be able to participate in this trip. It was one of those humbling experiences that change you for a lifetime.

Italy is a beautiful country with so much history about our saints and our Lord Jesus Christ. My perspective of "church" is much broader after just one trip. After visiting Italy and all of the church history I realize that I was very narrow-minded. The Church is so much more then the United States and its problems and successes. These people have a great joy and zest for life even though they do not have all of the luxuries of Americans. They live on top of each other with narrow streets and little grass. They drive like maniacs but have very few accidents. I asked why this was and I was told that everyone knows that they have to watch out for the other guy. Interesting, huh?

Shopping and eating are a great time of socializing for the Italians. They think nothing of spending 2 hours on a meal, especially an evening meal. They drink wine with their meals but abuse of alcohol is taboo. Because they have such little space they do not have the luxury of parking close to the shop that they wish to visit. They walk or park 2-3 miles away. This means that they shop for produce every day and buy only what they need for that day. Their food is always fresh. Shopping is an experience as their shops are very small and specialized. Ladies clothing shops do not sell shoes, handbags, underwear, or jewelry. Those things are sold in individual shops.

You must go to a pharmacy to purchase lotions, soaps, medicines, etc. Perfumes are sold in a separate shop. There are very few department stores. The Italians do not appreciate it if you go into their store and start going through their racks and shelves. They will help you with your purchases. You just wait until they have helped the person in front of you. Again, patience!

After being immersed in the culture of the Italians I understand why the church seems to move so slowly to Americans. The whole world does not move at the pace of America. They do not have the same values and sense of society that we have. They are not so ready to discard the old and try the new. They hold fast to their traditions and treasure their history, as it is part of who they are as a people. This is true for Americans, too, but their history is so much longer than ours is.

I truly hope to return to Italy some day. I would love to share this experience with my husband and family.

New Meal Sign-up

We will again be needing families to serve the meal on Wednesday evenings. A sign-up for January - April will be available on the table in the gathering space in December. Please consider helping us with this worthwhile project!

Christmas Program

The church Christmas season begins on Christmas Eve and ends on January 12. To stay in accordance with this season, we will have our Children's Christmas Program on Sunday, January 5 at 9:15 am. A reception will follow in the church basement. Children will practice their songs during regular music time on Sunday morning. However, because we do not have class 2 weeks prior to this date, we will have rehearsal on Saturday, January 4 at 2 pm.

Everyone is welcome!

Baseball in Heaven

Two old guys, Abe and Sol, are sitting on a park bench feeding pigeons and talking about baseball. Abe turns to Sol and asks, "Do you think there's baseball in heaven?"

Sol thinks about it for a minute and replies, "I dunno. But let's make a deal: if I die first, I'll come back and tell you if there's baseball in heaven, and if you die first, you do the same."

A few months later, poor Abe passes on. One day soon afterward, Sol is sitting there feeding the pigeons by himself when he hears a voice whisper, "Sol... Sol..."

Sol responds, "Abe! Is that you?"

"Yes it is, Sol," whispers Abe's ghost.

Sol, still amazed, asks, "So, is there baseball in heaven?"

"Well," says Abe, "I've got good news and bad news."

"Gimme the good news first," says Sol.

Abe says, "Well... there is baseball in heaven."

Sol says, "That's great! What news could be bad enough to ruin that!?"

Abe sighs and whispers, "You're pitching on Friday."