Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Fr. Anthony had a morning all school mass for students and staff. Fr. Guy is away for a few days, so I covered the evening mass in the parish. I expected a very small crowd, since it was at the same time as the Chamberlain school Christmas program. But with our St. Joseph’s high school homes all making the trek downtown, we did have a good group and good spirit.

Our Akta Lakota Museum had their pre-Christmas open house for staff today, with discounts on Christmas gifts. As a way of thanking our school for the business we do in Chamberlain, several businesses donated very nice door prizes. Our kitchen staff put together some tasty treats, both healthy and otherwise. This time of year, I have a particular weakness for the holiday shaped sugar cookies.  While that was going on inside, outside the construction crews were pouring cement and preparing all the inside footings for the museum expansion. We’ve been blessed with some mild December temperatures so far, and the work has been able to proceed at a good pace.

Kermit, one of our child care workers from our sister organization, the Sacred Heart Center (Cheyenne River Indian Outreach) in Eagle Butte, was on campus today for continuing education for our staff. They covered Lakota (Sioux) star knowledge and world view.

Fr. Gary is a retired SCJ who lives here in Chamberlain, South Dakota. We invited him over for lunch and to celebrate his birthday.

Tonight was our final girls basketball game of the season. After Christmas, the girls will switch to inter-city and the boys will begin playing other schools.