News Briefs: Church anniversary in Glen Haven GLEN HAVEN -- St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Glen Haven will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the current church on Sunday, July 18, with a concelebrated Mass with Bishop Robert C. Morlino and Pastor Fr. John Norder. The noon Mass will be followed by a potluck lunch and parish picnic. All past and current parishioners, friends, and neighbors are invited to come and help the parish to celebrate. Catholic Daughters anniversary in Cuba City CUBA CITY -- The Catholic Daughters of the Americas (CDA) Court Cuba City #4 is planning a celebration in honor of their 100th anniversary with a Mass at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 11, at St. Rose of Lima Church. Bishop William H. Bullock, bishop emeritus, will preside and preach at the Mass. The CDA was organized in July 1904 with the assistance of the Knights of Columbus. The Cuba City court was the fourth court established in the nation and is now the second oldest existing court in the country. Certification for Ministry MADISON -- Bishop Robert C. Morlino will preside at the Conferral of Certification for Ministry at the 10:30 a.m. Mass Sunday, July 11, at St. Raphael Cathedral, 222 W. Main St. Candidates for the Conferral of Certification for Ministry include: Jacqueline Childs, Patricia Clark, Robert Clark, Marilouise Durkin, Patricia Hendrickson, Connie Hultman, M. Susan Hundt-Bergan, Jean Jozefowicz, Annette Kiesow, Mary Ann Lukesic, Catherine Schneider, Kathy Siberz, Jerrilyn Sutter, and Sharon Zimmerman. A reception will immediately follow. Peer support groups MADISON -- Peer support groups for those hurting from separation, divorce, or loss of a significant relationship are open to all ages/faiths at two Madison parishes. People do not have to be members of these parishes to attend the meetings. Friends on a Journey meets 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, July 1 and 15, at Our Lady Queen of Peace nursery, 401 S. Owen Dr. For information, call 608-862-3613. New Directions meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 8, at St. Dennis Parish Center, 413 Dempsey Rd., top floor. For information, call 608-821-3170. Private college week MADISON -- Selecting a college is a big decision for students of all ages. Wisconsin Private College Week, scheduled for Monday, July 12, through Saturday, July 17, is designed to make the job a little easier. For the eighth straight year, all of Wisconsin's 20 private colleges and universities will hold open houses throughout the week-long event, offering guided campus tours and giving students and their families a chance to meet with staff from the admissions and financial aid departments and to visit classrooms, residence halls, and other facilities. There is an added benefit for students - a waiver of application fees at each campus they visit. To arrange campus visits, contact any private college or university, or to learn more about Wisconsin Private College Week, contact the WAICU at 1-800-4-DEGREE. Or check the www.wisconsinmentor.org for direct access to individual college home pages and online applications. Children's music camp SINSINAWA -- Sinsinawa Mound will hold a summer music camp July 19-23. Times are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and 12:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday. The Friday sessions conclude with a pool party at the Galena Water Park. The music camp, now in its ninth year, is for grades three to 10. Its theme is general music education, with an emphasis on singing. The camp is free to members of the Children's Choir this past year; $80 for all others. For more information, call Sr. Marie Juan Maney at 608-748-4411, ext. 807.
	Nominate someone for "Profiles from the pew" To nominate someone to be featured in "Profiles from the pew," download a nomination form (PDF file). "Profiles from the pew" runs in the Catholic Herald print edition NOTE: The nomination form is 269 KB in size and may take a long time to download on a dial-up Internet connection. It is a Portable Document Format file, also called a PDF, which can be viewed using the freely available Adobe® Reader® software. Many computers already have this software and will automatically open the document when you click the nomination form link, above. Adobe Reader is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

Hmong refugees: Madison area prepares to meet needs

By Julianne Nornberg
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF

MADISON -- Thailand is closing a Hmong refugee settlement for 15,000 people and as a result the refugees will begin to settle in the United States this summer.

An estimated 200 to 300 refugees may settle in the Madison area. Thirty-two families - 194 refugees - will begin arriving at the end of July and the beginning of August. They will continue arriving through December, according to Mary Sobota, social worker for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Madison, which is assisting the new refugees.

When the refugees arrive, they will need language training, job placement, help with housing, food, mental health services, and medical care.

To prepare to meet the needs of these refugees, several agencies have joined to form the Dane County Refugee Task Force. It includes Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Madison; United Refugee Services of Wisconsin, Inc.; Mental Health Center of Dane County/KajSiab House; Community Action Coalition; Freedom, Inc.; Madison Metropolitan School District, city and county agency representatives, and public health departments. The Diocese of Madison Catholic Multicultural Center in Madison is also collaborating with Catholic Charities in offering support.

"It is a community effort," said Arthur Upham, program developer for the United Refugee Services of Wisconsin, Inc. (URSW), during a recent Task Force meeting. He noted that the role of the Task Force is to be supportive of what agencies are already doing.

Relocating refugees

In information from URSW, Upham explained that the Thai government is in the process of closing the last Hmong refugee settlement, Wat Tham Krabok.

The settlement "has been home to some 15,000 Hmong refugees who have sought refuge there following their escape from Laos, after that country fell to the communists not long after the withdrawal of CIA and American support in the 1970s," said Upham.

"Because these Hmong supported the U.S. in opposing the North Vietnamese communist takeover of Laos, they soon found themselves fighting superior number of enemies and gradually forced to flee into Thailand to save their lives and their families.

"Now the Thai government wants these non-Thai residents to relocate - most are not free to return to Laos safely so they must find new homes. The U.S. government has agreed that those who can find sponsoring family members already in the U.S. can apply to join them here," he said.

With federal assistance, Catholic Charities will help the refugees during the first 90 days.

"United Refugee Services and Mental Health of Dane County/KajSiab House will then receive limited funding to continue efforts to help the Hmong refugees become established," said Upham.

Living with families

Sobota explained that at the national level there are 11 volunteer agencies working with immigration and refugees. Each agency has a contract with the state and all are religiously affiliated, she said.

"Everyone from the camp comes through one of these 11 agencies," she said. She explained that families already living in the United States sponsor relatives coming from overseas. Arranging for refugees to live with relatives who already live here helps because they already know the language, said Sobota.

According to Upham, about 5,000 Hmong currently live in Madison.

"Free cases" involve refugees who do not have a relative with whom they can stay. In these cases, parishes can raise money and find housing for these refugees. Such cases are referred to other dioceses, said Sobota.

How to help

Needed donations include items such as beds, bed frames, chairs, tables, lamps, bedding, and household goods such as dishes, towels, and baby items. Sobota noted that clothing should go to existing centers (such as St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores). There are already many poor people in the community and we want to make sure there are enough items to help everyone, she said.

Volunteers will be needed to transport refugees to appointments or volunteer with classes in English. To help, contact Mary Sobota, Catholic Charities social worker, 608-256-2358, or Arthur Upham, United Refugee Services of Wisconsin program developer, 608-256-6400.

The next meeting of the Dane County Refugee Task Force is 11 a.m. Friday, July 2, at the Catholic Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St.

St. Coletta of Wisconsin celebrates 100 years of believing in people

JEFFERSON -- In 1904, providing routine custodial care for persons with developmental disabilities - or rather for persons often referred to as "slow" or "backward" - was the prevailing service model of the day.

Disability was a mystery to both the general public and to the medical profession. The philosophy of the time was that people with disabilities could not learn or have productive lives and that they needed to be hidden away from society.

Seeking Catholic school

It was against this backdrop that the family of a girl who was mentally retarded found themselves looking for a Catholic school that could provide for the unique needs of their daughter.

Front-page sidebar: • St. Coletta centennial celebration • St. Coletta mission statement

At the time there were a few state institutions but nothing that provided a faith-based educational environment focused on achievement.

They approached a priest with their predicament. He consulted with the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi of Milwaukee, who were known for their educational initiatives.

Opened in 1904

With this simple conversation, history was made as St. Coletta Institute for Backward Youth opened its doors in Jefferson in September 1904 with an initial enrollment of four students.

While the organization's founding name might seem outdated by today's standards, St. Coletta has always championed the full inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life.

Today this advocacy extends to working with people who are opposed to group homes being established in their neighborhoods.

Mission continues

According to Anthony LoDuca, who is just the third lay president of St. Coletta, "These opportunities to talk directly with people who have misconceptions about people with disabilities are a true extension of the original vision of the Sisters and of the organization's mission."

As a result of Public Law 94-142 mandating the inclusion of people with disabilities in public schools, St. Coletta School graduated its last student in 1996.

Where once the school program was the flagship of the organization, today the organization offers residential and vocational programs and services for people age 18 and older in locations throughout southern and southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

What began in 1904 at the simple request of a family continues nearly 100 years later as a wonderful testament to the conviction of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi; the commitment and love of staff, families, and benefactors; and, most importantly, to the power of the human spirit to overcome obstacles.

Campus missionaries:
Aim to build leaders for Catholic Church

By Julianne Nornberg
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF

MADISON -- Two by two they come - from as far west as New Mexico and as far east as New Jersey.

As recent college graduates themselves, they come to college campuses to establish a Catholic presence there or to work with the existing campus ministry.

They go where they are needed, with one goal in mind: to build leaders for the Catholic Church.

They are missionaries in the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

Currently approximately 100 FOCUS missionaries and staff members are attending their annual five-week training. This summer the training is taking place at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center in Madison.

Spreading the word

Headquartered in Greeley, Colo., FOCUS was started in 1997 by Curtis Martin. He aimed to foster a campus-based ministry that would reach out to college students and offer a relationship with Jesus within the Catholic Church, according to Matt McCartney, regional director and director of formation for FOCUS.

The mission of FOCUS is "To know Christ Jesus and fulfill his great commission by first living and then communicating the fullness of life within the family of God, the church."

The vision of FOCUS is to go out two by two and teach people how to teach others about Jesus and the church, said McCartney.

"The goal is to find leaders on campuses and invest in them so they can invest in others," he said.

He said they want to live out Matthew 28:19-21, which says, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

Receiving their assignments while in training, the missionaries go onto Catholic, private, or public campuses in teams of four. As missionaries, they must be willing to be sent anywhere we need them to go, said McCartney.

"We go where we're invited," he said.

FOCUS charges campuses a fee for a team of four to be there, which covers the training and assistance they need throughout the year. In addition, each team member is responsible for raising his or her own salary.

Some campuses they go to already have established Newman groups; others have nothing and FOCUS is the only Catholic presence. FOCUS works with existing campus ministries or sets one up if none exists.

FOCUS missionaries stay at least one year on a campus. On campus, FOCUS missionaries hold community nights, Bible studies, and work with individuals to lead Bible studies on their own.

"That's spiritual multiplication," said McCartney.

Madison's Bishop Robert C. Morlino has been an active catalyst for FOCUS in Montana and here, he noted.

Using Jesus' model

College campuses are the best place to go to find leaders and give the vision of Christ that will change their whole lives, McCartney said. "It's a pivotal time in people's lives."

"Nothing could be more effective because we're using the model Jesus Christ used himself, that St. Paul used, that all the apostles used," said McCartney. "There's nothing new about this. We're just trying to follow the model shown to us."

If it's God's way, we need to leave the results up to Him, he said.

FOCUS is now established at 18 campuses in 10 different states.

Summer training

Veteran FOCUS missionaries and new FOCUS missionaries all gather for the summer training, during which they attend courses and lectures.

Courses cover topics that range from management for veteran FOCUS members to theology for returning members to fundraising and apologetics for new members.

Most courses are taught by FOCUS founder Curtis Martin; Dr. Ted Sri, a theology professor who was instrumental in the development of FOCUS; and Dr. J. Reyes, FOCUS vice president. Guest lecturers such as Dr. Scott Hahn, a nationally known author, are brought in to enhance the curriculum.

During training, a typical day includes morning prayer, three class sessions, fund raising, and Mass. Twice a week they also have men's and women's groups that meet for discussions.

"We are truly blessed," said first-year FOCUS missionary Michael Kearney from Chicago, Ill. "We have had fabulous speakers and there is a family atmosphere here. The reason FOCUS is great is that it feeds a hunger."

Discerning vocations

In order to pour themselves into the FOCUS ministry, FOCUS missionaries must be willing to commit to not having a romantic relationship for one year, said McCartney, noting that this serves as a great time for one to discern his or her vocation.

According to McCartney, since FOCUS began, approximately 50 men involved with FOCUS have entered the seminary for the priesthood and more than 20 women have entered religious life.

FOCUS families

Many FOCUS staff members have gotten married and have children as well. Several families involved with FOCUS are currently staying at the O'Connor Center or at a nearby hotel during the training.

McCartney himself has a wife and daughter. Last year he was married one week before the summer FOCUS training. This year he and his family bought a new home in Greeley, Colo., and then had to leave it to come to this summer's training.

"It teaches us detachment," he said.

Teaching the truth

What motivates FOCUS missionaries?

"We've seen what a college campus is like," said McCartney. "We wish to be tools for God to work through to bring his message: He is our loving Father and that we matter and are loved."

They want to bring the truth of Jesus' Gospel to college students, many of whom don't recognize that there is truth out there, he said.

"Even though this is such a scary endeavor and we think we'll be rejected, we are amazed at how hungry the youth is for the Gospel," he said. "It's amazing how students respond when given this truth."

For more information, visit www.focusonline.org