Tag: Chapel

St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Saint

Greetings to you!

Yesterday was the Feast Day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lilly of the

Fr. Anthony is St. Joseph’s Chaplain
Fr. Anthony with the Lakota children

Mohawks.  She is the first Native American to be canonized and holds a special place in the heart of the Native American people.  I’ve had the privilege of visiting the village where Kateri grew up in in New York State.

One of the stained glass windows in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel on St. Joseph’s campus is dedicated to Kateri.  We ask for her intercession that the Great Spirit will give His blessings and strength to all who seek to follow her dedication and commitment to follow Jesus.

On behalf of all the SCJs, I thank you for your prayers for the success of the recent Provincial Chapter held last week in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. I had the chance to join with Fr. Steve Huffstetter, SCJ and 42 other priests and brothers to discuss various issues to help the members of the Province be supportive of one another and renewed in our dedication to serving the people of God as ‘prophets of love and servants of reconciliation.’

Thanks to your prayers, the Spirit helped move the Chapter in a very positive direction.

We also got to do some celebrating.

Fr. Leonard Tadyszak, SCJ, celebrated the 70th anniversary of his vows. Among Father’s various ministries was his time serving in north-central South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.

The next day, we celebrated Br. Clay Diaz, SCJ, and his Final Profession of Vows.  As part of his training, Br. Clay served at St. Joseph’s Indian School.  His next assignment will take him to northern Mississippi.

On a sad note, we received word that Fr. Larry Rucker, SCJ passed away.  Fr. Larry had served in South Dakota and many in this area still remember him. Please keep Fr. Larry in prayer.

As we continue moving through the summer, various rodeos and powwows will take place throughout central South Dakota. The powwows at Lower Brule and Fort Thompson will take place in early August. I hope to see you at St. Joseph’s annual powwow on September 13.

Remember, you are always welcome to stop in and visit St. Joseph’s Indian School and see the good you are doing for the Lakota children!

May God continue to bless you and keep you in good health. Know we are praying for you, in gratitude for your generosity.  Pilamaya – thank you!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

My Christmas spirit is definitely building

I went over to the school and couldn’t find anybody!

I spent most of the day in my office,  answering mail, fielding phone calls and had a meeting about fundraising and strategic planning. About 3:00, I realized I hadn’t spent any time with the students, so I walked over to the school. That begins their normal study hall time and is a good time to make the rounds. With no formal classroom instruction going on, it’s a little more laid back and I can wander around and find out what the students have been learning. Because the students have some specialist classes and move around to different classrooms, I didn’t think anything was amiss when I found the first two classrooms empty. But after three and four empty rooms, I wondered what was going on. The 7th and 8th graders were away on a field trip. The rest of the classes were over in the chapel, practicing their songs for Wednesday’s Christmas program. As we wind down the semester, the excitement and Christmas spirit is definitely building.

Our girls 7th and 8th grade basketball teams had some fun time together to finish up the season. The girls played basketball and followed that with a pizza party. I shot around with the girls for a while. It’s a great ice breaker and while often you don’t talk about a lot significant, it builds up trust and rapport.

Fr. Steve’s updates

I went to the clinic for a blood draw and my levels have stabilized, so I don’t have to change the medications. I won’t need a further check for a month.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Our summer day camp is finished, and campus is much quieter … for a few weeks. We still have four homes open for our students who need to be here over the rest of the summer months. However, quieter in one way makes for busier and noisier in other ways.

With fewer children around, our construction and remodeling projects are moving into high gear. I went into the church basement to check on the stabilization project. They are driving pylons 60 feet down to bedrock to keep the church from shifting further – one of the disadvantages of living at the edge of a river.

We’re also shingling the church roof, which is no small project. But it’s all on track to be finished by the start of the school year.

The traffic of folks stopping by increases over summer months, and I spent some time at the museum with donors from Washington and Maryland. It is exciting when folks who’ve known about St. Joseph’s for a long time finally get to come visit. It’s sort of a pilgrimage for them. I enjoy talking and answering questions when I’m able. I’m still not walking too far, so I have to leave it to other staff to conduct the tours.

I went to the clinic for a blood draw and my levels have stabilized, so I don’t have to change the medications. I won’t need a further check for a month.

I took a 3 ½ hour nap in the afternoon, so a) my body must have needed it, and b) it makes it very hard to get anything done with the day. I’ve just had to accept the limits.