News

Tapping talents to serve others

By Brian Kohls
Compass Correspondent

	GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT: Josh and Belen Raymond with some of the more than 40 pumpkin and pecan pies they baked as a Kingdom Builders' activity to serve others. (Rick Evans photo)

ALLOUEZ -- Twenty families in Resurrection Parish tapped their talents and used their resources to help build the Kingdom of God among adults and children in Green Bay, Mississippi, Asia and U.S. military serving in Iraq.

On Dec. 6 and 9 families who participated in Kingdom Builders explained what they had done over the past three months during the parish's Generations of Disciples program.

"This is the first time we did something like this," said Shelia De Luca, pastoral associate and faith formation coordinator.

At the first Generations of Disciples session in September organizers asked for family volunteers for Kingdom Builders, each of whom received $100. "They had 90 days (to use it to help build the Kingdom)," De Luca said.

Kingdom Builders, which is based on the Parable of the Talents from the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, focuses on Christian charity and service to others.

Erik and Karen Hepp, Jeff and Heidi Piette, and Josh Raymond were three of the families who gave reports on Dec. 9.

The Hepp family used their $100 to create Christmas cards for St. Vincent Hospital patients and craft project bags for pediatric patients on the hospital's 10th floor.

"We made craft bags and filled them with construction paper, erasers, foam shapes, glue sticks, and candy canes," Karen said. Her family decorated the bags and added additional craft items. "We also bought five Dora the Explorer DVDs for use on the floor," she said.

The Piette family decided to spread Christmas cheer to U.S. servicemen and women serving in Iraq. The family used part of their $100 for a popcorn sale, which earned them additional money. Thanks to a donation from Wal-Mart and the Kingdom Builder funds, they created care packages that included canned tuna, microwave popcorn, hot chocolate, personal care products, cameras, cards and lip balm. The packages were shipped to Iraq so the servicemen and women would have them by Christmas.

"Six men and two women will receive care packages," Heidi Piette said. "We are excited about ... the packages."

The Josh and Belen Raymond family focused their energy on multiplying their $100 to earn enough to buy a snow blower for Paul's Pantry. They used the money and donations from Copps Food Center to buy ingredients to bake cookies, brownies and pies. Individuals and families paid the Raymond family $25 for six weeks of homemade desserts. One contact the Raymond family made during this effort resulted in a donation of a free snow blower from Ariens to Paul's Pantry.

"Forty-six people signed up (for our desserts)," Josh said, meaning that he and his family made and delivered dozens of peanut butter, Halloween, and chocolate chip cookies, brownies weekly Oct. 19 to Nov. 17 and a pie during Thanksgiving week. The family earned more than $1,000, which was donated to Paul's Pantry.

De Luca said she was impressed by the amount of work each of the 20 families put into their Kingdom Builders' project.

"Some (families) pooled resources," De Luca said. "Several tapped into local resources."

The families of Fred and Amy Fullerton and Rick and Wendie Groeschl jointly put together homeless kits for families at the Howe Neighborhood Resource Center and birthday bags for Howe Elementary School students.

The families of Mark and Sue Haupt and Frank and Jackie Jocewicz pooled their efforts to obtain and deliver supplies, including donated sheets and blankets from the Radisson Hotel, for the Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Community Shelter.

Other families used their funds to reach beyond the United States. Dave and Amy Curran's family bought educational supplies for a classroom in Kyrgyzstan. The family of Sean and Stacy Herriott sponsored a child in China and set-up a liaison in that country that will take the child and their family on a shopping trip.

Jeff and Mary Zellner and their family split the $100 that they had been given between providing money to help two people at Resurrection's sister parish in Okolona, Miss., to obtain their GED certificate, and to buy supplies for the COTS program, which serves the homeless, in Green Bay.

Kingdom Builders was a success, De Luca said. "It gives people ideas of what they can do ... in the context of faith formation."

The project was well suited for this year's Generations of Disciples focus: Catholic social teaching.

Rosemary Baloun of the Resurrection staff said each family did well because of the teamwork between adults and children.

"This was a great thing," Baloun said. "They all prayed (about their project). They thought (about it). Adults involved the children. That impressed me."

De Luca said the Kingdom Builders project could not have been planned, researched and run without the effort of parish and school staffs. Staff members brainstormed, obtained funding, did Internet research on the program, and encouraged participating families.

"It was a team effort," De Luca said.

Individuals who contributed to Kingdom Builders include De Luca, Baloun, Jane Lyon, Michele Becker, Mary Meisinger, Sue Nervegan, Bp. Robert Morneau (pastor), and Jane Schueller, principal.

Funding for Kingdom Builders came from the estate of Helen Voelker.