NETWORKS Fall 2009

N E T M I N I S T R I E S

N E T WO R K SChallenging young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church Fall 2009

AMAZING [uh-mey-zing] –adjective:

causing great surprise; NET Teams and NET events are designed to capture the interest of young people across the country and draw them deeper into their faith, often to the surprise of their parents, friends, teachers and youth ministers. “I couldn’t believe my son came home and was talking about Jesus! The NET team really got him excited about his faith; what an amazing experience,” writes a mother from New Jersey.

out of the ordinary; There are roughly 7 million Catholics between the ages of 18-28 in the United States, and only 100 of them are serving with NET Ministries. This tiny percentage certainly stands out in their willingness to leave their comfort zone, both physically and spiritually, in order to spread the love of Jesus Christ to everyone they meet; whether it’s a young person on retreat or a gas station attendant. “I was a little bit nervous to pray with someone we had never met, but when I saw tears rolling down his face as he smiled and thanked us, it was amazing and I knew God was at work,” said a NET team member in Kansas.

miraculous; On every NET retreat, there are teens who are not interested in hearing the gospel message, and don’t try to hide what they think. These same young people often have the greatest conversions on NET retreats, and find themselves opening their hearts to God. “My parents made me come on this retreat, so I was planning on not paying attention. I didn’t realize the talk would teach me so much, and the prayer time was amazing. I really want to know God more and listen to Him in my life,” said a high school sophomore who was on a retreat in Texas.

serving on a NET team; When faith-filled men and women decide to serve with NET Ministries, they are anxious to change the lives of people they will encounter. Host families, partnership sponsors, young people on retreat, youth ministers and team members’ own families are inspired by their witness of faith. What NET team members don’t realize is that throughout the year, the life most changed will be their own. For more information about sponsoring a NET team member, attending a NET program, or serving on a NET team, visit our website: www.netusa.org

In this Issue: Directors’ Corner p 2 2009-2010 NET Teams p 3-5

NET Ministries team members

DO SOMETHING

AMAZINGevery day

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NETWORKS

N E T M I N I S T R I E S

N E T WO R K SDear Friends,

Another new batch of young missionaries has been commissioned to reach out and work with Catholic young people. Year after year, NET Ministries recruits, trains, and sends out teams to bring the Gospel alive for the young people they meet. Twenty-eight years now, and I’ve been here for all of them.

Why? Why do we do this year after year after year? Fundamentally, we do this

because Christ commands us. “Go and proclaim,” is the missionary mandate our Lord has given the Church. “Go.” It suggests action, reaching out, not keeping our faith hidden. The teams will go to over 1,000 schools and parishes. They will enter into the young people’s world and proclaim. “Proclaim” implies talking confidently and passionately about one’s faith. The team will share with the youth they serve how they have experienced God’s love and mercy. Our missionaries will tell young people it really is worth it to follow Christ. They will unashamedly share their love for the Catholic Church. And the teams will encourage young people to respond to Christ’s invitation to live as His disciples.

So here we are again. Doing what we’ve done for the past 28 years. Does it get boring? Oh, no. You have never experienced anything more exciting than working with 100 faithful, eager, and committed young Catholics. Is it worth it? Oh, yeah! Seeing young disciples come more alive to their faith and knowing they will impact tens of thousands of youth- it doesn’t get much better than that.

I hope you get an opportunity to meet one of our new teams. And whether you are supporting our work for the first time or the twenty-eighth time – thank you. Your support will help to change lives, and that’s a great investment.

With my thanks,

Fall 2009

Challenging young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church

BO

AR

D O

f D

IRE

CT

OR

S

President: Archbishop John C. nienstedt

exeCutive direCtor: Mr. Mark L. Berchem,

M.s.W., M.t.s.

treAsurer: Mr. Jack J. Cozzens

Mr. Gerald d. Brennan, CiMAMr. Gordon C. deMarais, MAtMrs. Jan GloudemanMr. thomas L.

Grundhoefer, J.d.

Mr. daniel J. Hagen, CFAMrs. Patricia Huberdr. James C. Kolar, d.Min.Mrs. Barbara KochMr. Alan Kraling

Mr. Patrick o. regan

ePisCoPAL Advisory BoArd: Francis Cardinal George,

o.M.i., Ph.d., s.t.d.

Archbishop robert J. Carlson, d.d.

Archishop dennis M. schnurr, d.d.

Bishop Frederick F. Campbell, d.d.

Bishop sam G. Jacobs, d.d.

net is under the ecclesial vigilance of the Most reverend John C. nienstedt, Archbishop of saint Paul and Minneapolis. it is governed by a national board of directors, is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has been audited by Lewis, Kisch and Associates, Ltd.

fROM ThE ExECuTIvE DIRECTOR

fROM ThE DIRECTOR Of DEvElOpMENTI am extremely grateful that God and you, His faithful servants, have continued to be generous in your support of NET Ministries. This morning’s headline in a newspaper decried the loss of 260 positions at one of the largest non-profit foundations in our region of the country.

Like everyone else, we have had to tighten our belts, but we remain able to field and support all nine of our NET teams. Last year and so far this fiscal year, we have managed to meet our fundraising goals. On behalf of the 60,000 young Catholics our teams will inspire and awaken faith in this year, I wish to convey to you a heartfelt “thank you.”

We do have a long way to go. There are still eight months remaining in this fiscal year, and like most non-profit organizations, many of our current bills are paid by donations only recently received. So please, prayerfully consider making a gift in support of the NET teams. You can find a gift envelope stapled in the middle of this newsletter.

Gratefully yours,

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2009-2010 NATIONAL EVANGELIZATION TEAMS

NET TEAM 1

Back row: Michela Brooks, Charlie o’Hare, desirae delabruere, rob Lavigne, Meghan Goheen, John Anderson, Amy Catterson

Front row: Maritza sanchez, Michael rodriguez, Christie Hamers, Ben Flores

Please pray for net team 1 as they minister to the youth and communities of these dioceses:

Joliet, iLsept 26-oct 18

Belleville, iL oct 18-22

Winona, Mnnov 3-20

nCyC - KCnov 20-23

Fargo, nddec 3-17

Back row: stacy Lona, nancy Bechel, sam Cross, Marloes reuling, sean davy, sarah ennis, Felix Caro

Front row: Anthony Lane, Kara Kasper, david edwards, Leah Henry

Please pray for net team 3 as they minister to the youth and communities of these dioceses:

rockford, iLsept 26-oct 8

Manchester, nHoct 10-nov 6

norwich, Ctnov 6-13

Portland, Me nov 13-25

Harrisburg, PAnov 27-dec 15

Back row: Mary Horn, Charlie Keyes, Caitlyn Maksymiak, stephen nix, stephanie Knaggs, Johnny Hernandez, ruth Kostohris

Front row: Connie Flores, Karen ruelle, Michael Hernandez, Jandi Pereida, thomas nemec

Please pray for net team 2 as they minister to the youth and communities of these dioceses:

toledo, oHsept 27-nov 1

Grand rapids, Minov 1-25

st. Paul/Mpls, Mndec 9-10

Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Mo

dec 11-16

NET TEAM 2

NET TEAM 3

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NETWORKS

2009-2010 NATIONAL EVANGELIZATION TEAMS

NET TEAM 4

Back row: Araceli solis, Jeffrey shields, denise Barajas, Peter nelson, Mary Hoisington, John Appel, Megan Hastings

Front row: emily shovelain, eddie Quinlan, stephanie Lange, sean MacLennan

Please pray for net team 4 as they minister to the youth and communities of these dioceses:

syracuse, nysept 28-oct 15

new ulm, Mnoct 17-31

Crookston, Mnoct 31-nov 27

davenport, iAdec 3-17

NET TEAM 6

Back row: ruth Wagner, Patrick Walters, Katy Blythe, Zach Palacios, Katie Churchill, Joshua Gamiao, renee estrada

Front row: Ben Kingsley, Jessica root, stephen Lavalla, Anna Carter, John Bielejeski

Please pray for net team 6 as they minister to the youth and communities of these dioceses:

Bismarck, ndsept 26-oct 15

LaCrosse, Wioct 15-nov 10

Peoria, iLnov 10-25

st. Cloud, Mnnov 27-dec 17

Back row: Katie Herbeck, eric Wilkes, Brittany Kent, Billy olson, Kelle Lyons, david Boucher, samantha Castilleja

Front row: Brad norleen, tanya starwalt, ryan Lopez, Brittany duran

Please pray for net team 5 as they minister to the youth and communities of these dioceses:

superior, Wisept 26-oct 8

salina, Ksoct 12-15

rapid City sdoct 15-22

Colo. springs, Cooct 22-29

victoria, txoct 31-nov 12

Baton rouge, LAnov 12-27

Charleston, sCdec 3-7

Gary, indec 8-15

NET TEAM 5

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Peoria, iLnov 10-25

st. Cloud, Mnnov 27-dec 17

2009-2010 NATIONAL EVANGELIZATION TEAMS

NET TEAM 7

Back row: Bob serrano, Annie smith, Fabian Cervantes, Christine Morana, Ben Butler, Maureen Harrington, nic Gutierrez

Front row: Brittney Quirk, nick Petrillo, Katie Beiter, Brian stoyell-Mulholland, Kim Juncewski

Please pray for net team 7 as they minister to the youth and communities of these dioceses:

Charleston, sCsept 28-oct 22

Washington, d.C.oct 27-nov 17

Lafayette, innov 18-24

Allentown, PAnov 30-dec 3

Springfield, MAdec 4-8

Greensburg, PAdec 8-16

NET TEAM 9 - hOME TEAM

Back row: Anna vonau, Pat Butler, Bianca trujillo, Bryan Gonzales, Marissa Andrade, todd Harper, Grace Wigton

Front row: Jot Allwein, Lauren McCaffrey, richard Carrillo, tara smith, troy Menendez

Please pray for net team 9 as they minister to the youth and communities of these dioceses:

saint Paul and Minneapolis, Mn

sept 26-oct 5

richmond, vAoct 7-27

saint Paul and Minneapolis, Mn

sept 26-oct 5

Back row: sara salazar-ramirez, eric scott, Pamela strobel, Brandon tait, Kendra evangelho

Front row: Juan vargas, Maggie vettel, dan driver, rita West

Please pray for net team 8 as they minister to the youth and community of st. elizabeth Ann seton in Hastings,

Mn and the surrounding parishes and communities.

NET TEAM 8 - SEAS pARISh TEAM

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PAidst. Paul, Mn

Permit no. 469

110 Crusader Avenue WestWest st. Paul, Mn 55118-4427

Address serviCe reQuested

Address change needed?receiving multiple copies?Want to switch to an e-newsletter?if so, contact us:Phone: 651.450.6833 | Fax: 651.450.9984www.netusa.org | e-mail: [email protected]

www.netusa .org

2009 C o m m i s s i o n i n g m a s s

www.netusa .orgf o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n

Fol low the 2009-2010 NET Teams onl ine!

Updates, Pictures, Prayer Requests

and more!

on september 25, 2009, Archbishop John C. nienstedt of the Archdiocese of st. Paul and Minneapolis blessed and commissioned each of the 2009-2010 net team

members to go proclaim the gospel across the u.s. Are you ready to do something Amazing with net? do you know someone who loves their Catholic faith and wants to share it with others? recruiting efforts

for next year’s net teams are already under way; log on to the website for more information!

2010-2011 net t e a m s .

t h a n k y o u f o r y o u r s u p p o r t o f net ministries

Please pray for the net teams, as they are currently serving in dioceses across the country.

Find out their routes and meet the team members inside!

NL1.indd 6 10/29/2009 11:39:35 AM