Extension magazine - Summer 2023

40 IGNITE
Parish partnerships
Extension | Summer 2023 41
Being Catholic means getting
outside our own ‘bubble’
Connecticut parish supports Catholics
on Native American reservation
BELOW Children
learn about the
rosary at the
Tekakwitha Center
on the White Earth
Indian Reservation
in northern
Minnesota.
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish
in Oxford, Connecticut,
is about 1,500 miles
away from the White
Earth Indian Reservation
in northern Minnesota.
Yet the parish made a very
intentional decision to partner with
Catholic Extension to support the
Tekakwitha Center, which provides
religious education services for the
six remote parishes on the vast reservation
located in the Diocese of
Crookston.
Marcia Franko, who heads St.
Thomas the Apostle’s social justice
committee, said committee members
decided to support the Catholic
faith formation of Native American
children based on their desire
to be part of the universal Church
beyond their own parish. “We
are one, holy, Catholic, apostolic
church,” said Franko. “We really
need to think outside of our own
little space and our own problems
because it’s not just us, it’s
everybody.”
The Tekakwitha Center provides
children with a nurturing Catholic
environment in an area that is
no stranger to struggle. High unemployment
and addiction rates are
sadly commonplace. With outside
funding, children are transported
from across the reservation to the
center where they receive warm
meals and enriching knowledge
about the faith.
St. Thomas the Apostle was
looking to support a faith community
in need that was embedded
in a culture different from its own.
Thanks to Catholic Extension’s Parish
Partnership program, it was
able to learn about the needs at the
Tekakwitha Center, where even
basic resources like catechetical
books and supplies are cost prohibitive
for families.
One body, one Church
Not only did St. Thomas make a
financial impact at the Tekakwitha
Center, which will help 100 children
on the reservation grow in
their faith this year, but the parish
also gave witness to the Catholic
Church’s universality.
“We have to look beyond the
horizon for ourselves,” said Father
ABOVE The
Tekakwitha Center
on the White Earth
Indian Reservation
in northern Minnesota
provides religious
education for more
than 100 Native
American children
each year.
Tom Shepard, the pastor of St.
Thomas the Apostle.
For their part, the catechists at
the Tekakwitha Center are weaving
the example of St. Thomas’ concern
and generosity from afar into their
lessons with the children.
“We are many parts of one
body, and we all belong to each
other,” explained Janet Lhotka,
director of the center. “This is an
opportunity to teach our youth, to
share with them about your support
from across the miles.”
Catholic Extension’s Parish Partnership program
With a compelling list of urgent projects to support our Church, Catholic
Extension has created a turnkey fundraising program that is easily adapted
for any parish and provides materials and guidance. Please contact Natalie
Donatello at ndonatello@catholicextension.org for more information.
“It is so important to know that
we are not an island in our quest to
pass on the love of God to our children,”
added Jean Horack, a catechist
at the center.
In the past 10 years Catholic
Extension has supported religious
education in 1,000 communities,
a large portion of which are Native
American missions, like those on
the White Earth Indian Reservation.
The support of Catholic Extension
parish partners such as St.
Thomas the Apostle helps keep
these religious education ministries
going across many reservations and
tribes where resources are often
scarce. The Tekakwitha Center is an
example of how funds are stretched
and put to great use.
“We take great pride in meeting
the standard of a wonderful experience
for the children each week,
and we thrive in watching them
grow, learn and achieve understanding
of spiritual matters,” said
Father John Cox, OMI, pastor of
St. Ann’s Church in Waubun, Minnesota,
who ministers at the center.
“At the Tekakwitha Center, we
are all God’s children, teaching and
learning together. We model for the
wider community how to interact
positively.”
The Catholic Church’s universality
is more fully expressed when we
take a leap beyond our own bubble
and work in solidarity with one
another across time zones, cultures
and socioeconomic realities for the
betterment of our Church.
We thank St. Thomas the Apostle
and the Tekakwitha Center for
being the latest iteration of the good
that is possible when we open ourselves
up to the wider Church.