Fr. Dan Wittrock, is the pastor of St. Augustine parish in Winnebago, in addition to St. Joseph in Walthill, Our Lady of Fatima in Macy and St. Cornelius in Homer all parishes in Nebraska. The parish has been busy with the annual harvest of Indian Corn which is a fundraiser to send parishioners and members of the Kateri Circle to the National Tekawitha Conference. The Indian Corn is considered a sacred plant by Native Americans. The tradition of planting and harvesting the crop at St. Augustine Indian Mission goes back many years.
This is no easy task to harvest the Indian corn. Sr. Deana, from the Mission, coordinated more than 30 volunteers over a 3 week period to help in picking, husking, boiling, skewing (taking the kernels off the cob with a spoon to ensure getting the entire kernel), drying, and packaging the corn. This year over 300 packages were produced. The corn, along with roast or deer meat, is made into a soup which is served for special occasions, such as birthday parties or memorial gatherings.
Sr. Hilda Choi has been busy planning the RCIA program and the children’s religious education classes for the fall. Her goal this year is to focus on faith sharing and evangelization of the gospels to others. She hopes to instill in the candidates and students that it is important to share your faith but to live it is another form of sharing gospel of Jesus.
Bridget Tighe, the Mission’s part time musician, has been very busy supporting all four parishes under the Mission. The music at the masses allows the parishioners the opportunity to praise God through the parish music ministry program.
