St. Mary Parish, Mapleton

4 ✝
diocese
THE CATHOLIC GLOBE
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2011
St. Mary’s serves rural parish community
St. Mary Church, Mapleton
By KATIE LEFEBVRE
Globe staff reporter
MAPLETON – Set in a “down-toearth” farming community, St. Mary
Parish in Mapleton brings together parishioners who are “imbedded in the land,”
said Father Brian Danner, pastor.
“It is a real joy for me to be invited out
to parishioners’ homes to bless their
homes, join them for dinner and experience the down-to-earth nature that is so
much a part of their lives,” said the priest,
who has been pastor since August 2010.
“They are very hard core working class
people. That characteristic is part of their
makeup. It is important for us, as parish
leaders, to respect that tradition and history.”
About 150 families are members of St.
Mary’s, including many farmers and
retired farmers, mentioned Father
Danner.
“Like most of the state of Iowa, our
rural communities are suffering due to the
lack of jobs in the rural areas and the primary focus of jobs in the urban areas,”
said Father Danner. “We have a decline in
membership at St. Mary’s and area parishes.”
There are several elderly in the parish,
noted Father Danner, so the focus “leans
towards serving them.”
“We average about 10 to 15 funerals
here a year,” he said. “When someone is
lost, it can have a significant effect on the
parish, both in their involvement and
stewardship.”
Parish involvement
The ministries and programs that the
parish offers include ladies guild, Knights
of Columbus (a cluster council based out
of Danbury), religious education, youth
ministry and Bible study (after Mass, usually on Thursdays).
“Once a week, both here and in Oto, I
have been offering a Scripture study for
those who are interested and able to
come,” said Father Danner. “We usually
have a small but faithful group that
comes. The area parishes are also invited
to join us.”
The parish has a rich tradition, Father
Danner said, of starting the Easter vigil
outside. He hopes to expand that for the
Palm Sunday procession.
St. Mary’s is clustered with St. Mary’s
in Oto, St. Joseph’s in Anthon and St.
Mary’s in Danbury. Father Danner is also
the pastor in Oto.
Educating youth
There are more than 40 students in the
religious education program at St. Mary’s
who attend class on Wednesday evenings
in the school building on the parish
grounds.
Deacon Ray Rosburg mentioned that
the class sizes are shrinking. The current
eighth grade class, he said, is the last sizable group and there are only eight or
nine students in that class.
“A lot of the catechists have been
teaching here for a long time,” he said.
“There isn’t a lot of turnover. We have
very good catechists who are well trained
and well versed in the Catholic religion.”
Deacon Rosburg has been part of the
program for several years. He currently
teaches the high school students in the
confirmation program. The freshman,
sophomores and juniors are part of this
program and confirmation is held once
every three years.
“I love teaching. I am a catechist at
heart,” he said. “I find it very pleasant and
easy to build a rapport with the students,
especially the high school students. They
are eager to learn and hungry for the
truth.”
Father Danner mentioned that the
parish is in the process of developing a
youth group for the high school students.
“We have invited the high school
youth to take a more active role in the
liturgies,” said the pastor. “We have invited them to participate in serving the area
poor and elderly parishioners’ needs.”
History
The Catholic presence in the Mapleton
area dates back to the early 1890’s when a
few dedicated pioneers began plans for a
church and a search for a pastor. The first
church was built in 1894 on the northeast
corner of the present parish property.
Father George Cooke became the first
resident pastor in January of 1897. In
1898, a parochial residence was built and
a building was constructed for the pastor’s
horse and buggy. All this was done at a
cost of $2,298.95.
In 1899, an addition was built onto the
church to provide classrooms for a school
and living quarters for the Sisters of St.
Francis of Dubuque. This cost about
$4,500.
The present church was built in 1909
and a new school was built in 1926. The
school also served as living quarters for
the Sisters until a new convent was built
in 1959.
The school closed in 1971 due to the
shortage of nuns and the convent was
then remodeled to serve as the rectory for
the pastor.
More than 10 years ago, the ladies
guild remodeled the church basement.
New cupboards were put into the kitchen
and new window treatments were
installed.
The priests who have served the parish
are Father George Cooke, Father Gustave
Weinhold, Father Aloysius Wagener,
Father Lambert Schenkelberg, Father
Henry Dries, Father Herman Kramer,
Father Anton Ocken (who served the
parish for almost 30 years), Father Walter
Bruch, Msgr. A. W. Behrens, Father John
Brennan, Father Edmund Tiedeman and
Msgr. Mark Duchaine.
The three native sons who have
become priests are George Theobald in
1916, Bruce LeFebvre in 1973 and
Timothy Friedrichsen in 1984.
Deacon Ray Rosburg is the first deacon
at St. Mary’s. He also serves as deacon for
the parishes in Anthon, Danbury and
Oto.
He said he enjoys everything about
being a deacon – being deacon for Mass,
serving as a spiritual director, adult catechesis and visiting the nursing home residents and shut-ins.
Seven women from the parish went on
to become religious sisters including
Ronald Dirksen, Josephine Flammang,
Jane McGrain, Mary Reinbold, Consilia
Schoenherr, Eileen Schoenherr and Mary
Theobald.
Mapleton ladies guild brings fellowship, events to parishioners
By KATIE LEFEBVRE
Globe staff reporter
MAPLETON – The ladies guild at St. Mary’s in
Mapleton offers many events for the parish community.
All of the women of the parish are part of the guild.
There are about 150 women in the parish and about 130
of them are active with the guild. The women meet the
first Monday of the month, September through May.
“There is a fellowship that you gain by being together,”
said Sharyl Bruning, guild president. “You go to Mass
together on the weekends and some daily Masses and say,
‘hi, how are you?’ When you work on projects together,
you get to know them better. Whatever you are doing,
you are working for a common goal. You are helping each
other and learning about each other.”
She said that when new people come into the parish,
they are invited to the guild.
“It is a good way to get them going and started in the
parish,” said Bruning. She hopes the guild creates friendships and “a common mission to serve others and to grow
together in Jesus.”
The women of the guild have “secret prayer pals” who
they pray for throughout the year. The ladies draw names
and at the December meeting the women find out who
has been praying for them.
According to Bruning, the main mission of the Ladies
Guild is to be available in the event of a funeral of a
parishioner. The guild provides the food and serves the
funeral lunches.
“Our ladies guild does an excellent job of serving grieving families and the poor at various times during the
year,” said Father Brian Danner, pastor at St. Mary’s.
The guild also plans fundraisers during the year. The
main meals that they provide are a Valentine’s Luncheon
in February and a Turkey Supper in October.
Bruning mentioned many men of the parish come to
help with the funeral lunches and other events as well.
“They help with things as much as the women do. The
men have been awesome help,” she said.
At Christmas time, the guild adopts several families
from the local food pantry. Parishioners are provided with
a list of items to bring in donations based on the needs of
the families – food, clothing and monetary donations.
The guild members use the money to purchase the
remaining gifts on the list.
The guild recently partnered with the Knights of
Columbus to purchase Bibles for the confirmation students. They also held a reception for them.
“We do support various missions,” said Bruning. “The
Clare House in Sioux City is one of them. We also send
a donation to the Carmelites.”
The guild has started making rosaries to send to Father
Lloyd Fiedler, a Remsen native who is a missionary in the
Philippines.
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Women from the local bank enjoy the meal during the
Valentine’s Day Luncheon put on by the ladies guild in
the basement of St. Mary’s Church in Mapleton.
“We send him money around the first of the year. A
letter that came about a year ago thanked us and stated
some of the activities that he does over there,” said
Bruning. “He was talking about the great need for
rosaries. One line said, ‘we need thousands.’ We sometimes don’t realize here how great the needs are some
places.”
They sent 500 over to him last May. Bruning said this
is a project she would like to see continue.
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PARISH
INFORMATION
Pastor:
Father Brian Danner
Deacon:
Ray Rosburg
Youth Minister:
Kathy Westergaard
Mass Times:
Saturday – 5 p.m.; Sunday
– 10 a.m.; Weekdays –
Three days a week at 7:30
a.m. (see bulletin); Mass
in Oto – Sunday, 8 a.m.
Complete Auction Service
Auctioneers: Dick Schleis
Larry Feddersen
Steve Kuhlmann
www.schleisauctions.com
Mapleton, IA 51034
(712) 880-7000
Confession: Saturday – 4
to 4:45 p.m.; Sunday –
9:30 to 9:50 a.m.
Address:
703 Heisler
Mapleton, IA 51034
Mapleton, IA
Ph. 712-881-1131
Member F.D.I.C.
www.valleybankmapleton.com
Danbury, IA
Ph. 712-883-2441