KIELER — Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison presided at the Rural Life and Harvest Celebration on October 31, at Immaculate Conception Church in Kieler.
Fr. Bernie Rott, pastor, and Deacon Larry Tranel joined the bishop in celebrating the Mass.
Bishop Hying recognized their roles in serving the rural area. Father Rott is the diocesan rural life director, and Deacon Tranel supports farmers and rural life as a pastoral psychologist and through his job as a dairy specialist and associated professor with Iowa State University Extension.
The bishop also introduced Tom Nelson, coordinator of the diocesan Rural Life Office.
Giving “profound thanks to God for the harvest,” Bishop Hying said rural life is a priority.
“I want you to know as your bishop I am with you through all of the challenges.” The farmer works for the common good which in turn is for the good of the Church, he said.
“I invite you to ponder the vocation of the farmer. It is a vocation more than a job. You live on God’s providence. You are close to the supernatural as you plant with great hope and pray that the Lord sends rain.”
The bishop reminded the congregation that Christ used farming analogies throughout his ministry.
“The Lord cultivates the seed within us constantly. He gives us everything we need to be sustained in this life.”
Fall in love with God
The Gospel for the Mass was from Mark 12:28b-34, in which a scribe asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment, “Jesus replied, The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Preaching on the Gospel, Bishop Hying said, “Our only task in life is to fall in love with God.”
He spoke of how Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed Jesus with expensive oil. “She was all in with the Lord. The Lord asks us to be all in.”
Referring to the diocese’s evangelization initiative, “Go Make Disciples,” the bishop said the proclamation of the Gospel is the mission of the Church.
“I invite you today — and I challenge myself — to give ourselves to Christ in a deeper way, to make Christ the center of our lives.”
By entrusting all to Christ — family home, farm, ourselves — the bishop said, “we will find freedom and joy.”
‘Key in G’ music leader
The music for the Mass was led by “Key in G,” one of the parish’s regular music groups.
The 10-member instrumental and vocal group, directed by Mary Ann Richard, began Mass with “Gather the People! Enter the Feast”.
During the Offertory, the music ministers led the congregation in the singing of “Like a Shepard,” based on Isaiah 40:9; Ezekiel 34:11; Mathew 11:28.
The refrain was “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock and gathers the lambs in his arms, holding them carefully close to his heart, leading them home, leading them home.”
At Communion, the congregation joined in the singing of “Seed, Scattered and Sown”. The recessional hymn was “All the Ends of the Earth.”
Readers at the Mass were George Hoppenjan and Dan Droeszler. Servers were Nate and Hailey Timmerman. Gift bearers were Ed Richard, Eldon and Franny Droeszler, Dan Wiederholt, and Glen Bahr.
Following the Mass, Bishop Hying and Deacon Tranel went outside to bless the fields of the diocese.
As he did so, Bishop Hying said he hoped his blessing was received all the way to St. Lawrence Church in Jefferson, where, in the spring he had celebrated Mass for farmers and growers and blessed seeds, farm equipment, and the fields.
Rural Resiliency presentation
After breakfast sponsored by the school parents, Deacon Tranel presented an overview of “Rural Resiliency: Caring for You and Yours,” a program he helped develop in his job as a dairy specialist with Iowa State University Extension.
The program was funded through grants and in cooperation with several other state university extension programs, including Wisconsin and dioceses including Madison and the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agriculture-related fields, Deacon Tranel has been a farm management and dairy specialist in both Wisconsin and Iowa. He was ordained a deacon in 2004 and serves the Immaculate Conception Parish, Kieler, and Holy Ghost Parish, Dickeyville.
In 2008, he earned a doctorate in psychology from the Graduate Theological Foundation.
Stress and grief
With his additional training and interests, Deacon Tranel spends approximately half of his time working with farmers in the areas of stress and behavior.
As he introduced the “Rural Resiliency” program, he spoke of the importance of recognizing and dealing with stress and grief.
Future Catholic Herald articles will report on each of the four sessions, which are available as workshops, either virtually or in person.
Topics are Farm Stress Resiliency and Grief; Personality Keys when “Married” to Farm Stress; Dealing with the Stresses of Men, Women, and Children; and Brain and Behavioral Health “Hacks” to Mitigate Distress.