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| Tom Nelson, far right, member of St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Monroe, works in the St. Thomas Aquinas outreach garden in Madison. With him, from left, are St. Thomas Aquinas parishioners Neil Vassau, Paul Scheffelman, and Tom Hartberg. (Photo by Jane Lepeska Grinde) |
MADISON — “Our bishop has planted the seeds, and now we must cultivate and tend the row so the harvest may be fruitful and sustaining across the heartland of our rural diocesan home,” said Tom Nelson, diocesan rural life coordinator in announcing three Rural Life Listening Sessions to be held this month.
The first session will be on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Ss. Anthony and Philip Church, 726 Main St. in Highland.
The next session will be on Monday, Nov. 16, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at St. Clare of Assisi Parish, St. Victor Church, 1760 14th St. in Monroe.
The third session will be on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, St. Lawrence Church W4926 Hwy. 18. in Jefferson.
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison plans to attend all three sessions.
Nelson has been working on rural life issues and projects for farming communities and rural parishes and their pastors for the last 16 years.
With Fr. Bernie Rott, pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in Dickeyville and Immaculate Conception Parish in Kieler, and Fr. Jim Murphy, pastor of Ss. Anthony and Philip Parish in Highland and St. Thomas Parish in Montfort, parishes in Highland and Montfort, Nelson has been “struggling to keep the rural life message alive in this diocese [that is] so Madison-centered.”
Bishop ‘enthusiastic’
Nelson said Bishop Hying has been more than enthusiastic about a rural initiative.
The two met in January. At that discussion, the bishop asked Nelson to serve as diocesan rural life coordinator and put together a Diocese of Madison Bishop’s Rural Advisory Group.
The first meeting, set for March 19, was put on hold as a result of the cancellation of all public events of more than 10 people because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bishop and Nelson stayed in touch through the shutdown.
As things started to open up again, “the new date was set and all the original members were willing to come to St. Joseph Parish in Dodge-ville where we met outdoors under a giant oak shade tree on August 20.”
The next week, Bishop Hying’s Catholic Herald column told of his meeting with “a dedicated group of priests, social workers, and farmers who care deeply about the troubling crisis facing our rural communities.”
Outside of Madison, Janesville, and Beloit, the bishop said, “Our local Church is small towns and farms. I love that. My father grew up on farms in Iowa and Grant counties, and some of my fondest memories are visiting my grandparents’ farm near Highland when I was a child.”
In his column, the bishop continued that, “My hope is to reinstitute the practice of Rural Life Days in the diocese, spend more time in our smaller communities with a focus on listening to the needs and challenges of today, and to respond with practical help. How do we offer spiritual support, access to existing services, and advocate for sustainable family farms?”
Listening Sessions in all 11 counties
The Diocese of Madison Rural Life effort will coordinate listening sessions in all 11 counties, “so that Bishop Hying and diocesan leaders can better understand the blessings and challenges of our rural communities,” said Nelson.
“We watch with great concern the crises our farmers face, especially the loss of family farms, financial failure, plunging dairy and meat prices, and increasing costs of production, all the while being more productive than ever before.”
The listening sessions, said Nelson, will enable the diocese “to assess current services and explore opportunities to provide a more compassionate response to struggling individuals and families across our rural landscape. This includes new possibilities for greater partnerships with other faith communities and agencies of relief.”
In addition to the listening sessions, the Rural Life office will:
• Recruit and develop a diocesan rural county liaison panel made up of local rural community parish leaders and parish farmers/producers to help inform the rural life coordinator about events, issues, and concerns of our rural communities.
• Explore development of several rural life satellite offices with willing hosting pastors.
• Seek a rural life seat on the policy advisory board of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.
• Plan and help with liturgical opportunities to celebrate rural life, including blessings of farms, farm equipment, and animals.
Nelson previously served as a rural life coordinator for Catholic Charities and the Catholic Multicultural Center and has led delegations to the Catholic Rural Life conferences at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.
He chairs the volunteer board for the Food, Faith, and Farming Network started in 1989 when the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters called together a group representing churches and organizations concerned for the well-being of rural life and rural faith communities.
The network works to “build and sustain a vibrant rural community in changing and challenging times.”
It sponsors winter farmers’ markets, partners with Harvest of Hope Fund to serve farmers in crisis, and brings a spiritual perspective to conversations addressing food and farming issues.
With the added crisis of the pandemic, Nelson hopes “we figure out a way to restore confidence in our parish communities where we can safely come together again and break bread face to face in the rich tradition of sharing our meals together in rural parish halls.”
Nelson and his wife Barbara live near Monticello in Green County where he has an art studio.
He started a parish cookbook collection which he is archiving.
“One can learn a lot about the make-up of a parish community through the recipes in each book,” he said.
Attendees to the listening sessions are reminded of the pandemic protocol for wearing masks and physical distancing at each parish session.
Additional Rural Life Listening Sessions locations and times will be featured in the Catholic Herald and local parish bulletins as well as the Diocese of Madison website or by contacting Rural Life Coordinator Tom Nelson at 608-438-7154 or by email at tomnelson.art@gmail.com