Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks
PASTORAL SUPPORT OF NATIVE MISSIONS
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Emmonak)--The parish now has a regular priest: Fr. Stan Jaszek, who spends two weeks at a time in Emmonak celebrating the Mass and sacraments. He recently implemented weekly adult catechesis that includes a DVD and small group discussion. The parish also hosted two mission groups from the lower 48 states this summer: one that did maintenance on the church and another that put on a catechetical program for children.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Chevak)--One of the parish’s deacons passed away last fall, and now the full burden of pastoral care between priest visits falls on 68-year-old Deacon Peter Boyscout. The village also has experienced an unusually high number of tragic deaths recently, losing a 9-year-old and two young adults to illness and accidents.
St. Francis Catholic Church (Kotzebue)--Since the diocese was forced to sell St. Francis’s aged, run-down church building in 2018, the parish has seen a priest just one weekend a month for three days at a time due to the expense of lodging him in a nearby bed and breakfast during visits.
INTERIOR REGION COORDINATOR
To counter the high rates of alcoholism in interior villages, Br. Bob Ruzicka recently started sobriety support groups for men and women at churches in Nulato and Koyukuk. The women’s groups are thriving and meeting weekly, but attendance has been inconsistent in the men’s groups.
OFFICE OF FAITH AND FAMILY FORMATION
The OFFF sent four teens from St. Francis Catholic Church in Kotzebue to the Alaska Catholic Youth Conference in Anchorage in June. The office also hosted seven FOCUS missionaries in July, who traveled to St. Patrick Catholic Church in Barrow to host a weeklong “Faith Camp” for children and adults.
Y-K DELTA REGION ADULT FAITH FORMATION & EVANGELIZATION
Director Patrick Tam spent the summer following up with the 23 youth and young adults who attended the program’s regional retreat in April in Bethel. He also hosted a mission group from Kansas that put on a weeklong vacation Bible school at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Emmonak.
RURAL FAMILY LIFE PROGRAM
The four native couples that comprise the core team for RFLP continued to gather information about the needs of rural Catholic families. However, after having two scheduled meetings canceled due to weather, their August meeting was also canceled due to emergency family issues with two couples. They are planning to meet again in fall 2019.
Y-K REGIONAL MINISTRIES
The diocese recently installed a new priest from Poland to serve two villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. Father Stan Roz now serves as pastor of St. Catherine of Siena in Chefornak and Holy Family Catholic Church in Newtok.
NATIVE MINISTRY TRAINING PROGRAM
After 22 years heading NMTP, Sr. Ellen Callahan retired in June. Ideally, the program will be led by a native Catholic and the diocese is currently vetting several rural faith leaders to replace Sr. Ellen.
RURAL DEACON PROGRAM
Father Mark Hoelsken traveled to Toksook Bay to attend the funeral of Dcn. Nick Therchik, who died this summer. Deacon Therchik had served for 40 years, and was in the diocese’s first formation class in the 1980s. Deacon candidate Joe Lincoln, also from Toksook Bay, completed the first stage of formation, and will soon be trained to lead Communion and funeral services for the parish. He should be eligible for ordination by the end of 2020.
Y-K REGIONAL COORDINATOR
Sister Kathy Radich met with rural program leaders in June to determine how to maintain the Native Ministry Training Program after its long-time coordinator, Sr. Ellen Callaghan, retired. For now, Sr. Kathy, Patrick Tam, and Fr. Mark Hoelsken will share duties for NMTP until a new coordinator can be identified. The three are currently planning a workshop on the Gospel of Matthew for deacons and parish administrators in September.
