STORY BY CORA TASSET
The Diocese of Dodge City hosted a dinner at the Golden Q on Thursday, August 29th. So far they have traveled to Bethel, Wichita State, Emporia, KU, and KSU; Fort Hays State was their last stop on their campus tour list. They have been connecting Catholic students at all of these different campuses for the past week.
Gentry Heimerman is the director of Young Adult Ministries and arranged the dinners to meet students and spread the word about all of the opportunities that the ministry offers. They have conferences, college courses, summer missions, and internships. These set up great opportunities for Catholic students to be involved and keep up with their faith.
The summer missions include Prayer and Action, which is a program that serves people in need. The Diocese recruits college students and then partners with local communities across Kansas to help them with any basic needs. Students can paint houses, clean up yards, and many other things for their communities. Another mission over the summer is Totus Tuus. The Diocese brings together college students to go to smaller communities to spread the Catholic faith to the younger generation.
Kate Steimel, a sophomore at FHSU, has given us a student’s perspective of Prayer and Action.
“It was definitely a fun and faith-filled week,” she said. “It taught me the importance of hard work and giving others a helping hand while bringing me closer to Christ, and understanding his love that he has for us.”
Father Juan Salas is also helping spread the word, and meet new students for Young Adult Ministries. Father Juan said that “he was born and raised in Mexico.” He is now located in Dodge City at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He stated that, “he has now been a Priest for three years and was located in Garden City before he came to Dodge.”
The burgers were good and the company was even better at the Golden Q with the Catholic students. If you are interested in meeting new people, Catholic Disciples meets every Wednesday night at 8. Young Adult Ministry information can be provided on Instagram, by following @dcdministry and messaging Gentry.