April Distributions

April, 2015
2014 ANNUAL CATHOLIC APPEAL DISTRIBUTIONS
Ministry Spotlight:
Guatemala Mission
Distributions as of April 1, 2015 $543,003
Forming Our Faith
$27,509
Honoring the Past and
Serving the Future
$9,800
Loving Our Neighbors
$69,444
Nurturing
Vocations
$241,886
Enriching Faith
Communities
$100,309
Two Guatemalan Boys take a snack break during a
family visit to Clinica Maxena for medical assistance.
The Diocese of Helena has maintained a
mission presence in Guatemala since 1964.
The mission lies in the coastal highlands of
Guatemala, about 100 km (66 miles) westnorthwest of Guatemala City, not too far
north from the City of Mazatenango.(Read
more on page 2)
Assisting Our Parishes
and Missions
Building the Culture of Life
$29,303
and Family
$64,709
2014 Annual Catholic Appeal Progress
Goal $2,000,000
Total Collected
$1,519,610
Distributed as of
April, 1 2015
Beginning this month the Annual
Catholic Appeal Distribution Report will
be found at: www.diocesehelena.org
Questions or concerns may be sent
to Glenda at:
[email protected]
Outstanding Pledges $325,219
Unfunded $155,171
GIFT ENVELOPES ARE AVAILABLE IN ALL
DIOCESE OF HELENA PARISHES. TO MAKE A
ONE-TIME GIFT BY CREDIT CARD OR DIRECT
DEBIT, CLICK ONLINE GIVING AT:
www.diocesehelena.org
The Guatemala Mission
The mission complex contains a residence for the priest, Father Kevin Christofferson; a
residence for the Clinic Director, Sheila McShane, accommodations for volunteers and
visitors who serve there and at Clinica Maxena, the medical clinic. La Asuncion School is
about 3 miles from the central complex and Santo Tomas Apostol Church, the center of
the parish community, is only a few blocks away.
La Asuncion School
Education has been a strong point of the mission throughout
its years of operation. Under the direction of Father Jim
Hazelton, a combination junior-senior high school was opened
in 1996 in Xejuyup, a small community three miles north of
Santo Tomas. La Asuncion or the Institute, as the school is
called, enrolls approximately 400-500 students, with many of
the students receiving some kind of financial aid or
scholarship.
Bishop Thomas with a student
at La Asuncion School.
Santo Tomas Apostol Church
The main Church is located in the community of Santo Tomas la Union in
Departmento Suchitepequez. Mass is celebrated there every weekend.
The other Churches, located both in Departmento Suchitepequez and
Departmento Solola, are served on a rotating basis. People walk to the
closest Mass – often from great distances. The territory served by the
mission lies in two dioceses – which provides its share of challenges both
to the respective bishops and the mission staff.
The day a community has Mass, they often also have instructions in their
faith; celebrate Baptisms, marriages, and the Sacrament of the Sick –
whatever the needs of the area are at the time.
Clinica Maxena
A Guatemalan boy serving at
the annual Stations of the Cross
Procession.
The Clinic provides medical consult Monday through Friday, offers treatment for
hydration, gives transfusions, monitors acute symptoms and utilizes a complete
Diagnostic Laboratory. Approximately 30 patients are seen daily and over 9,000
Laboratory Diagnostic tests were performed in 2013. When needed, patients are
transferred by town ambulance to the nearby National Hospital. A small Emergency
Room treats patients with injuries from accidents and those in health crises. For complex
diagnosis, such as Cancer, Aids, and some surgical procedures, the Clinica Maxeña has
made alliances with local and other Missionary Health Programs.
Learn more and donate to the Mission at: www.diocesehelena.org