August Update
From Archdeacon Clay+ (Fr Clay),
It has been a very rough week in the office as our office staff has been diagnosed with COVID. If that isn't enough all of us sdhared it with our partners, one being the the organist for Saint Andrews Rapid City and the other being the Canon for Finance, just in time for the due date for the Diocesan budget . Our parish Administrator and her partner were also preparing their different workplaces for their upcoming vacation. While my family is finally cleared to able to interact with humanity again, our parish administrator and her partner are not. So, please keep them in your prayers.
Also pray for the Fonder family, who you've read about in the above appeal- as they also have been laid low with COVID on top of all of the misery they have experienced. But, we know God is good and through our prayers and help maybe we can make that feel a little more obvious to them.
Pray for all of our educators and all of our college kids who are beginning their semesters as well as our kids who are shifting gears from relaxation to education. May God give them patience, enlighten them, and give them an inquiring mind, and the courage to not only ask "how?"- but to ask- "why?" Not only to ask "can we" - but - "should we?" Give them the courage to think and not recite- to have compassion and care for their neighbor and make themselves proud. This is a lot to ask, so I ask us all to pray for them and their educators and their parents.
May God's healing Grace be with us all.
Your Brother and friend in Christ,
Fr. Clay+
Important Announcements
The Healing Eucharist this upcoming week will take place on TUESDAY the 26th at 12 noon due to Diocesan Staff WORKING Retreat and Deacon Bonnie's Vacation.
Our first First Sunday Homecoming will take place on the first Sunday of September, stay tuned for detail!
Stay tuned as we ramp up for the beginning of our program year! We will begin all of our normal activities in September so stay tuned for postcard reminders, look for posters, and follow us on social media, and check the website for updates!
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of South Dakota is calling for prayers after one of its priests, the Rev. Kim Fonder, and his wife, Tammy Fonder, lost their ranch home in a tornado that touched down early morning July 23 on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. Their three grandchildren and a family friend were with them in the house when the tornado hit, but all escaped uninjured.
In a July 24 phone interview with Episcopal News Service, Fonder described the moment the tornado hit:
“We were watching the strong winds, and all of a sudden it calmed down a little bit. I looked out the southeast window, and then we heard the choo-choo train coming right for us – the sound of a tornado. The kids ran straight for the basement, and my wife grabbed our 2-year-old granddaughter as she headed down.
“The door exploded, and the roof flew off our house at the same time. I got hit in the face with some sheetrock and insulation. Thankfully, I was by the doorknob, so I didn’t go with the roof. …The house had been lifted up two, three inches.”
Fonder said everyone, including their three horses, is safe. The horse stable is also intact.
Born and raised in South Dakota, Fonder oversees seven churches located on and near the Lower Brule Indian Reservation and the Crow Creek Indian Reservation. He serves as superintending presbyter of the diocese’s Mni Sose Episcopal Mission. He previously held the same role at the diocese’s Stand Rock Episcopal Mission, and he has served as a deputy to General Convention and as member of the House of Deputies’ Committee on the State of the Church, among other churchwide leadership roles.
Tammy Fonder, an enrolled member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, owns the property. Kim Fonder said they’ve discussed rebuilding their home as it was before the tornado. But first, they are assessing damages and losses as the family temporarily stays in a hotel in nearby Oacama that the diocese is paying for.
South Dakota Bishop Jonathan H. Folts told ENS that he “is coming out of this with a very grateful heart” knowing everyone is safe
“This family is extraordinarily valuable to our faith community, and Kim has been a blessing in every place that he has served,” Folts said. “Items can be replaced, and houses can be rebuilt. I’m so grateful to God that Kim and Tammy and their family are still here and that Kim’s ministry will be continuing.”
The diocese also has given the Fonders $1,600 to buy new clothes and other immediate necessities while they stay in the hotel. He said clergy in the diocese have been donating money to the Fonders and a priest is working to set up a GoFundMe account for the family. Folts also said that the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe is helping the Fonders where needed.
“I very much think that God is in the midst of this tragedy,” Folts said. “I do not believe for a second God caused it, but I do believe that there are blessings to be found.”
Fonder, at 71, said he’s lived through eight tornadoes, including five in the community where he lives now, though this most recent tornado was the first to cause damage. Even so, he said he and his family are staying positive as they process this catastrophe. The grandchildren are also “in good spirits” and finding small ways to relax and take their minds off the tornado, like taking advantage of the hotel’s swimming pool.
“I’m upset that everything is gone, but I’m not mad at God because I’ve lived through so many tragedies,” Fonder said. “While we assess and rebuild, I’ll continue serving the churches until it’s time for me to retire next year. … I’m a very big fan of the Gospel of John, and I also love to read Revelation. It helps me deal with things within my life
From Archdeacon Clay+ (Fr Clay),
It has been a very rough week in the office as our office staff has been diagnosed with COVID. If that isn't enough all of us sdhared it with our partners, one being the the organist for Saint Andrews Rapid City and the other being the Canon for Finance, just in time for the due date for the Diocesan budget . Our parish Administrator and her partner were also preparing their different workplaces for their upcoming vacation. While my family is finally cleared to able to interact with humanity again, our parish administrator and her partner are not. So, please keep them in your prayers.
Also pray for the Fonder family, who you've read about in the above appeal- as they also have been laid low with COVID on top of all of the misery they have experienced. But, we know God is good and through our prayers and help maybe we can make that feel a little more obvious to them.
Pray for all of our educators and all of our college kids who are beginning their semesters as well as our kids who are shifting gears from relaxation to education. May God give them patience, enlighten them, and give them an inquiring mind, and the courage to not only ask "how?"- but to ask- "why?" Not only to ask "can we" - but - "should we?" Give them the courage to think and not recite- to have compassion and care for their neighbor and make themselves proud. This is a lot to ask, so I ask us all to pray for them and their educators and their parents.
May God's healing Grace be with us all.
Your Brother and friend in Christ,
Fr. Clay+
Important Announcements
The Healing Eucharist this upcoming week will take place on TUESDAY the 26th at 12 noon due to Diocesan Staff WORKING Retreat and Deacon Bonnie's Vacation.
Our first First Sunday Homecoming will take place on the first Sunday of September, stay tuned for detail!
Stay tuned as we ramp up for the beginning of our program year! We will begin all of our normal activities in September so stay tuned for postcard reminders, look for posters, and follow us on social media, and check the website for updates!
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of South Dakota is calling for prayers after one of its priests, the Rev. Kim Fonder, and his wife, Tammy Fonder, lost their ranch home in a tornado that touched down early morning July 23 on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. Their three grandchildren and a family friend were with them in the house when the tornado hit, but all escaped uninjured.
In a July 24 phone interview with Episcopal News Service, Fonder described the moment the tornado hit:
“We were watching the strong winds, and all of a sudden it calmed down a little bit. I looked out the southeast window, and then we heard the choo-choo train coming right for us – the sound of a tornado. The kids ran straight for the basement, and my wife grabbed our 2-year-old granddaughter as she headed down.
“The door exploded, and the roof flew off our house at the same time. I got hit in the face with some sheetrock and insulation. Thankfully, I was by the doorknob, so I didn’t go with the roof. …The house had been lifted up two, three inches.”
Fonder said everyone, including their three horses, is safe. The horse stable is also intact.
Born and raised in South Dakota, Fonder oversees seven churches located on and near the Lower Brule Indian Reservation and the Crow Creek Indian Reservation. He serves as superintending presbyter of the diocese’s Mni Sose Episcopal Mission. He previously held the same role at the diocese’s Stand Rock Episcopal Mission, and he has served as a deputy to General Convention and as member of the House of Deputies’ Committee on the State of the Church, among other churchwide leadership roles.
Tammy Fonder, an enrolled member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, owns the property. Kim Fonder said they’ve discussed rebuilding their home as it was before the tornado. But first, they are assessing damages and losses as the family temporarily stays in a hotel in nearby Oacama that the diocese is paying for.
South Dakota Bishop Jonathan H. Folts told ENS that he “is coming out of this with a very grateful heart” knowing everyone is safe
“This family is extraordinarily valuable to our faith community, and Kim has been a blessing in every place that he has served,” Folts said. “Items can be replaced, and houses can be rebuilt. I’m so grateful to God that Kim and Tammy and their family are still here and that Kim’s ministry will be continuing.”
The diocese also has given the Fonders $1,600 to buy new clothes and other immediate necessities while they stay in the hotel. He said clergy in the diocese have been donating money to the Fonders and a priest is working to set up a GoFundMe account for the family. Folts also said that the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe is helping the Fonders where needed.
“I very much think that God is in the midst of this tragedy,” Folts said. “I do not believe for a second God caused it, but I do believe that there are blessings to be found.”
Fonder, at 71, said he’s lived through eight tornadoes, including five in the community where he lives now, though this most recent tornado was the first to cause damage. Even so, he said he and his family are staying positive as they process this catastrophe. The grandchildren are also “in good spirits” and finding small ways to relax and take their minds off the tornado, like taking advantage of the hotel’s swimming pool.
“I’m upset that everything is gone, but I’m not mad at God because I’ve lived through so many tragedies,” Fonder said. “While we assess and rebuild, I’ll continue serving the churches until it’s time for me to retire next year. … I’m a very big fan of the Gospel of John, and I also love to read Revelation. It helps me deal with things within my life