NETWORKS Fall 2011

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

N E T WO R K SFa l l 2 0 1 1

WHAT’S INSIDE: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / FOUNDING BENEFACTRESS / TIMELINE / 2011-2012 TEAMS / NEW WEBSITE / COMMISSIONING

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

30NET MINISTRIESNET MINISTRIESNET MINISTRIES

YEARS

Special 30th Anniversary Edition

Archbishop Flynn at LifelineArchbishop Flynn at Lifeline

Praise and worship

Netters meeting Blessed John Paul the Great at World Youth Day

Team members performing a drama

2011-2012 Team Members

Page 2FALL 2011 - 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE

Dear Friends,

This year NET is celebrating 30 years of challenging young Catholics to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church. As many of you know, I have had the distinct honor of being used by God to found and direct NET’s eff orts these past 30 years. What an adventure! Little did the staff at the St. Paul Catholic Youth Center know that what we began in 1981 would grow to become a national and international ministry. Isn’t it often the case that Christ only reveals part of His plan when He asks us to do something? He probably knows that we would laugh - or shrink in fear - if we could see all that He has in mind for us.

That certainly was true with me. If someone would have told me in 1981 that NET would have a hundred young adults serving each year, reaching tens of thousands of Catholic young people with the Good News, I would have laughed! Serve in 90 dioceses across the country? Expand overseas? Have a center for training youth evangelists from around the world? Boy, was my vision small in comparison to what God wanted!

As I look back at 30 years I am amazed and humbled. I am not cool, I am not brilliant, I am not funny, I don’t play a musical instrument, I am not a great speaker or fund raiser. I am just a guy who said “yes” to God. And I have had a ton of help. I have been blessed with an incredible staff – dedicated, talented, passionate individuals who have served sacrifi cially for the sake of NET’s mission. I have met hundreds of generous donors who have entrusted a part of their resources to me. People have gifted NET with hundreds, thousands and even occasionally, a million dollars for the sake of NET’s mission. Host homes across the country have taken in our young team members to provide them with food and lodging. Most of those families I will never meet, yet they house some strangers for the sake of NET’s mission. Each year I see some of the best Catholic young adults come to St. Paul to serve as NET team members. They leave family and friends, postpone schooling or careers, and live out of a suitcase for nine months for the sake of NET’s mission.

For the sake of NET’s mission, men and women have been putting their time, talent, and treasure on the table. How can I be anything but grateful for such generosity? It has been a great privilege to serve with NET these past thirty years. Thank you to all of you who have stood with me for the sake of NET’s mission.

With 30 years of thanks,

Mark BerchemFounder and Executive Director

N E T WO R K SN E T M I N I S T R I E S

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

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

board of

directorsPRESIDENT:Archbishop John C. Nienstedt, D.D.

FOUNDER/ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Mr. Mark Berchem, M.S.W., M.T.S.

TREASURER: Mr. Jack Cozzens

Mr. Gerald Brennan, CIMA

Mr. Gordon DeMarais, M.A.T.

Mrs. Jan Gloudeman

Mr. Thomas Grundhoefer, J.D.

Mr. Daniel Hagen, CFAMrs. Helen HealyMrs. Patricia HuberMrs. Barbara KochDr. James Kolar, D.MIN.Mr. Alan Kraling

Mr. Patrick Regan

EPISCOPAL ADVISORY BOARD: Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Ph.D., S.T.D.Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, D.D.Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, D.D.Bishop Frederick F. Campbell, D.D.Bishop Sam G. Jacobs, D.D.

NET is under the ecclesiastical 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.

for the sake of net’s mission

Mark, a few years back


Rose TotinoNET’s founding benefactress

When looking back on NET’s 30 years of ministry, it is impossible not to credit much of our success to the generosity of Mrs. Rose Totino, the co-founder of Totino’s Pizza. Rose and her husband Jim were the inventors of the fi rst frozen pizza.

During a particularly diffi cult fi nancial time for their business in the early 1970s, Rose experienced God in a profound way for the fi rst time. She and her husband had been denied time after time by loan offi cers and were

quickly losing hope. While driving to her fi nal appointment with a loan offi cer, she turned her radio to a Christian station and heard a Christian teacher speaking about God’s loving way of helping people through their struggles. Rose pulled her car over to the side of the road and told the Lord that if He could help her with this endeavor, she would give of her time and treasure for His greater good.

Upon her arrival at the business meeting, she was delighted to learn that the loan was approved. “Oh, Lord, you sure work fast!” was her reply. She dedicated the remainder of her life to sharing the message of God’s love. She invested her resources in many works of evangelization, and NET Ministries was one of the organizations that greatly benefi tted from her generosity.

The year that NET began, the ministry had to beg, borrow, and steal their way into nine dioceses to conduct retreats. Because of Rose’s tremendous support, NET was able to expand into what it is today - an organization that has reached nearly 150 dioceses and 1.6 million youth across the country, with extensions in Australia, Ireland, Canada, and Uganda.

Each fall during training, Rose would join the NET teams to share her own encounter with Christ and join in their fellowship. Two of Mark Berchem’s favorite memories about Rose have to do with how she cared for the NET team members. He recalls,

Rose was fond of telling the team members, “He who gives of his wealth gives little, while he who gives of himself gives much.” She died on June 21, 1994 at the age of 79, but the fruit of her generosity and passion lives on.

“Once while speaking with [the team members], it was an incredibly hot day and we had no air conditioning. One of the team members got up to go get her a glass of water. I thought, ‘Great, what a good example. Rose will be impressed when he comes back with a glass of water.’ Imagine my shock when he came back with an Ohio Buckeye plastic mug. It was the kind of cup you would drink beer from at a football game. Rose took the plastic mug, thanked him for his kindness, and handled that mug as if it were � ne glassware. She saw it for what it was - an act of kindness.

On another occasion, a young man serving with NET wanted to ask Rose a question. To get her attention, he called out her name but mispronounced it. Instead of saying ‘Mrs. Totino,’ he said ‘Mrs. Totini.’ Those around him snickered at this ga� e. Naturally when he realized his mistake, he was embarrassed. Later that morning, when we went to the chapel for Mass, Rose hunted down that young man and sat next to ‘my good friend.’ It was her way of showing him her acceptance and love. It was quite a moving sight. That was the kind of woman Rose was. She always de� ected the attention away from herself and back to others and God.”

1990: First fundraising campaign

1990: First fundraising campaign

1990: Australia office opens in Brisbane

1991: Purchase, move to, and remodel 110 Crusader

1991: NET training held in Australia for the first time

1992: Mission trip to Honduras

1993: 200 NET alumni serve at World Youth Day, Denver

1994: Canada office opens in Ottawa

1994: Lifeline begins (month-ly youth Mass/program)

1995: First of 3 annual mission trips to Germany

1995: Mission tripto Mexico

1996: NET celebrates 15 years of ministry

1981: First NET team(to 9 dioceses)

1982: Train 2 teams annually

1985: First Canadian team member

1985: Train 4teams annually

1986: First NETretreat in Canada


1987: First Australian team member


1988: NET team servesin Australia

1988: Mission tripto Guam

1989: St. Paul CYC closes, NET moves to West St. Paul


Celebrating 30 Years of challengingyoung Catholicsto love Christand embracethe life ofthe Church

1980s 1990s

2005: First NET USA Parish Team

2000: NET 2000capital campaign

2001: NET Center expansion (dorms and dining hall)

2001: The Gathering for Youth Ministers begins

2002: 200 NET alumni serve at World Youth Day, Toronto

2006: Mission trip to Nicaragua


2007: Train 9 teamsannually, 2 Parish Teams



2010: First NET High School Team


2004: NET Ireland and NET Uganda begin

2004: Summerprogram DEP begins

1994: Canada office opens in Ottawa

1994: Lifeline begins (month-ly youth Mass/program)

1995: First of 3 annual mission trips to Germany

1995: Mission tripto Mexico


1998: Reorganize and create 3 internal departments


1990s 2000s

“NET Ministries has been sharing the Gospel message with Catholic youth throughout North America through retreats and personal testimonies for 30 years. In every diocese where I have been privileged to serve, I have been impressed by their good work and grateful for the good fruit which NET has borne among our young people. It has been a tremendous blessing. I am especially grateful for the 22 years of service NET Ministries has provided in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.”

Most Reverend Paul S. CoakleyArchbishop of Oklahoma City

“NET Ministries has been a source of many blessings in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Not only has their ministry in our parishes and schools brought young people into a deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus, but some of those same young people from our archdiocese have joined the National Evangelization Teams themselves to give back what they received. I particularly appreciate that NET works within our existing parish and school structures to help those places become more vibrant faith communities. NET has been both a light of the new evangelization and an example of young people becoming co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard as lay ministers.”

Most Reverend Gregory M. AymondArchbishop of New Orleans

WhAt theBiShOPSARe SAYiNG


meet the 2011-2012 teams

team one (home team)

team two

team three

1

32

pictured left to right:Back Row: Lissie Bloom, Paul Williams, Heather Willcox, Sean Rumery, Mo Bass, Brandon Jaquish, Nicole Krystosek, Joshua Calhoun

Front Row: Maire Gilmore, Carl Morris, Cat Hartney (leader), Steve Powers (leader), Katrina Acasio

autumn route:Oct 2-14: Superior, WIOct 14-Dec 15: St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN

pictured left to right:Back Row: Nichole Zachman, Kolbe Spencer, Jessica Jordan, Chris Lincoln, Mary Schechinger, David Sandler, Jes Kallus

Front Row: Claire Sorteberg, Matt Blake (leader), Anney Brandt (leader), Zachary Obuch

autumn route:Oct 2-11: Greensburg, PAOct 11-Nov 1: Wheeling-Charleston, WVNov 2-23: Winona, MNNov 23-26: TBANov 26-Dec 14: Grand Rapids, MI

pictured left to right:Back Row: Katie Hollcraft, Charley Bielejeski, Michael

Gonzales, Amy Johnson, Erica Boehm, Seth KellerFront Row: Jenifer Cwiek, Rose Kemper (leader),

Tim Przybysz (leader), Brenden Hoff

autumn route: Oct 1-4: Sioux Falls, SD

Oct 7-Nov 1: Charleston, SCNov 2-7: Springfi eld, MA

Nov 7-15: Portland, MENov 15-29: Burlington, VT

Dec 1-15: Peoria, IL


team five

team four

team six

4

65

pictured left to right:Back Row: Abby Lantzky, Alex Krajec, Monica Graves,

Albert Valles, Sara Basham, Joe Gjengdahl, Jess Campana

Front Row: Leanne Jones, Andy Farnsworth (leader), Brooke Harding (leader), Dylan Heiman

autumn route: Oct 2-7: Belleville, IL

Oct 8-18: Mobile, ALOct 19-28: Lubbock, TX

Oct 29-Nov 15: Baton Rouge, LANov 15-29: TBA

Nov 29-Dec 4: Springfi eld-Cape Girardeau, MODec 4-7: Lexington, KY

Dec 8-15: Joliet, IL

pictured left to right:Back Row: Robert Ellegood, Ana Alicia Lopez,

Cathy Perkins, Madi Mandala, Loretta Hall, Lauren Myers,Caitlin Craig, Izzy Galvez

Front Row: Nick Lahr, Karina Ramirez (leader),Shehan Perera (leader), Keegan Wynn

autumn route: Oct 1-18: Rockford, IL

Oct 19-Nov 8: Richmond, VANov 10-23: Fargo, ND

Nov 25-Dec 15: La Crosse, WI

pictured left to right:Back Row: Jacklynn Glunt, Bryant Scott, Caitlin McMullen, Joe Zabinski, Annie Hinnenkamp, Scott Vasconcellos, Mary-Ruth Traver

Front Row: Martin Barriga, Molly Gallagher (leader), Rene Rubalcava (leader), Aimee Cossairt

autumn route:Oct 3-25: Washington, D.C.Oct 25-Nov 22: Manchester, NHNov 22-25: TBANov 25-Dec 13: Harrisburg, PA


team seven

team eight (parish team)

team nine

7

98

pictured left to right:Back Row: Ben Follesé, Rachel Staley, Betsy Smith, Josh Cole, Teresa Kostohris, Jessica Pietila, Brandon Hall

Front Row: Nate Hastings, Laura Holupchinski (leader), Eric McCarter (leader), Lucy Jackson

autumn route:Sept 27-Oct 19: Washington D.C.Oct 19-26: Springfi eld, MAOct 26-Nov 23: Manchester, NHNov 23-Dec 14: Harrisburg, PA

pictured left to right:Back Row: Chris Warren, Katerina Spencer,

Chris Masangkay, Julia Mancuso, Josh Travis,Catherine Speltz, Brandon Benke

Front Row: Kayla Avila, Ethan Kaste, Sarah Dirkes (leader), Cameron O’Hearn (leader), Emily Runstedler

autumn route: Oct 2-Dec 15: Hastings, MN

pictured left to right:Back Row: Kayla Lynch, Gavin Bozza, Maria Zeece, David Hunt, Rosie O’Hare, Ivan Garcia, Cristina Martinez

Front Row: Billy Gonzalez, Tiff any Wend (leader),Kevin Moules (leader) Amanda Rivera

autumn route:Oct 2-Nov 1: Toledo, OHNov 1-4: Milwaukee, WINov 4-17: Joliet, ILNov 17-18: Indianapolis, INNov 18-22: Lafayette, INNov 22-30: TBANov 30-Dec 1: Syracuse, NYDec 3-12: Gary, INDec 13-15: St. Cloud, MN


team eleven (school team)

team ten (parish team)

1011

10101010101010101111pictured left to right:

Back Row: Colleen Vaughn, Taylor Bettencourt, Caleb Collins, Ali Hoff man,

Front Row: Zabdiel Vallejo, Emily LaLoggia (leader),Chris Yakkel (leader), Letti Martinez

autumn route:Oct 2-Dec 15: Providence Academy, Plymouth, MN

pictured left to right:Back Row: John Mark Kaldahl, Melissa Katella,

Samantha Jordan, Daniel Rivera

Front Row: Alex Liebsch, Stephanie Rambaran (leader), John Holdvogt (leader), Kate Bell

autumn route: Oct 2-Dec 15: Lakeville, MN

2011-2012 Scripture Themefor the 30th anniversary

I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the Gospel from the fi rst day until now.

I am confi dent of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is right that I should think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, you who are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confi rmation of the gospel.

For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the aff ection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, fi lled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:3-11 (NAB)


Fall 2011 Routes

Team 9Toledo, OHMilwaukee, WIJoliet, ILIndianapolis, INLafayette, INSyracuse, NYGary, INSt. Cloud, MN

Team 7Bismarck, NDNew Ulm, MNRapid City, SDSan Bernardino, CA

Team 3Greensburg, PAWheeling-Charleston, WVWinona, MNGrand Rapids, MI

Team 2Sioux Falls, SDCharleston, SCSpringfield, MAPortland, MEBurlington, VTPeoria, IL

Team 4Belleville, ILMobile, ALLubbock, TXBaton Rouge, LASpringfield-Cape Girardeau, MOLexington, KYJoliet, IL

Team 6Rockford, ILRichmond, VAFargo, NDLa Crosse, WI

Team 1 - Home TeamSuperior, WISt. Paul/Minneapolis, MN

Team 8 - Parish TeamHastings, MN

Team 10 - Parish TeamLakeville, MN

Team 11 - School TeamPlymouth, MN

Team 5Washington D.C.Manchester, NHHarrisburg, PA


Team 1 - Home TeamSuperior, WISt. Paul/Minneapolis, MN

introducing our

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Our new website was launched on October 1, 2011. The new website comes with important new features, including resources for both teens and youth ministers. The goals of the resources section are threefold: 1) To provide follow-up materials for youth after attending a NET retreat; 2) To aid youth who have never been on a NET retreat in their relationship with Christ; 3) To provide ongoing support and resources for youth ministers. The website also more easily allows visitors to see where the NET teams are traveling, support our mission fi nancially, send in prayer requests, and view upcoming events.

Be sure to check out our new blog as well. The blog includes spiritual refl ections from our staff , updates from the NET teams themselves, exciting news updates from NET, and insight from respected youth ministers.

Have a resource to share with

teens or youth ministers?

Interested in contributing to our blog? Email alison@

netusa.org.


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Commissioning Mass 2011

On September 30th, 2011, Bishop Lee Piché of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis individually blessed and commissioned each of the 2011-2012 NET team members to go and proclaim the Gospel to young people across the United States.

Large Photo: Madi Mandala gets commissioned by Bishop Lee Piché.

Top Right Photo: Generations of NET team members. These three parents served the very first year that NET Ministries began, and their children are following their legacy on our 30th anniversary. (Left to Right: Loretta and Nick Hall, Nate and Jim Hastings, Anne and Charley Bielejeski)

Bottom Right Photo: Three team members serve during the Mass. (Left to Right: Cameron O’Hearn, Tim Przybysz, Shehan Perera)

Alumni UpdateNETWORKS FALL 2011

alumni update

eye has not seen“Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard...what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9).

As NET celebrates 30 years of ministry and following the Lord, Mark Berchem reflects that if 30 years ago you would have told him where NET would be today, he would have laughed. “Eye has not seen...” And while it is good and proper to rejoice in, reminisce about, reflect on, and be grateful for all the wonders God has done within and through NET and it’s people over the past 30 years, a different path draws my thoughts to ponder and wander.

Many alumni have said that “NET was the best year of my life,” or “one of the best.” Great job, NET! Pat yourself on the back! I’m kidding, of course. If that is really true for our alumni, then I believe we have failed our brothers and sisters as a ministry. Certainly, I pray every day that our team members experience NET as a wonderful year, but the heart of NET’s identity is not an experience, but a “who” - Jesus. Jesus is not a one-time or even a nine month experience, but a living, all powerful Son of God - yes, God himself - who invites us into deeper and deeper union with Himself, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father: the Holy Trinity of an eternal exchange of love.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth

and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14, 17-19).

In some ways what Paul prays here bids all of us to recognize that with God, there is always more! And not just more “quantity,” but more depth than we could possibly ever imagine or perhaps even experience. The depths of His love are inexhaustible!

Yet we often look back to earlier times as if they were somehow magical. Were they good? Many times, yes. But when we look at the past as someplace we wish we were again, we limit God. Instead of expectant faith, we long for something to which we can never return. What did Jesus say about looking back? “And another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.’ [To him] Jesus said, ‘No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 9:61-62). Perhaps using this verse seems a stretch, but the principle underlying it is similar. God has more for us, but it lies ahead.

Jesus himself spent most of the first 30 years of his life in relative anonymity. His public ministry did not BEGIN until after he was thirty! Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, born in 1910, did not begin her work with the poor that most of know her by until 1948. She spent the not-so-famous 17 years prior to that teaching in a high school. Was that work unimportant? Or, not as “good” as the work that followed? Of course not. But Mother

Teresa did not settle for “those were great years.” Instead she c o n t i n u e d to delve into the depths of Christ and out of that arose the work of a saint.

What lies ahead for you and I? Is Christ done? Have we exhausted all of the “good” years? If so, take me now, Lord! NO! As we look back on the past 30 years as a ministry, my prayer for all of us is that we take time to be grateful for the many good gifts God has given us and rejoice in the tremendous and countless ways He has worked in and through us.

In addition, rather than stay stuck in some sentimental reminiscing, I pray that this gratitude would be a springboard for a confident and expectant faith, that what awaits us in the months and years ahead is so far beyond what our eyes have yet seen that we can only marvel in and wonder at how great a God we serve.

Christopher KrakerAssociate Director/Program DirectorNET Ministries

Alumni UpdateNETWORKS FALL 2011

alumni updatebirthsAleC CAmpbell (02-03) and his wife are thrilled to announce the birth of their son, Kolbe Michael Campbell. Kolbe was born on April 19, 2011.

shelly (mACdonAld) liChty (94-95, 96-97, Staff 97-00) and joe liChty (Staff 07-11) are pleased to announce the birth of Elizabeth Clare Lichty on August 10, 2011. She is enjoying all the love, attention and prayers her brothers lavish on her!

lindA (VAnzzini) Gillum (90-91, 91-92) and her husband welcomed their fourth child, Samuel Gregory, on August 31, 2011.

CAroline (mCVeiGh) metzinGer (96-97) and nAthAn metzinGer (97-98) welcomed daughter Siena Rose to the family on September 20, 2011.

new jobsmAeGAn FrAzier (08-09, Staff 10-11) was hired as the Coordinator of Religious Education and Baptisms at St. Peter & St. Paul Church in Alta Loma, CA.

mAtt Vettel (05-06) was hired on as the Assistant Development Director at NET Ministries in early August.

bobby moren (10-11) started a new job as the youth minister at Corpus Christi in Landsale, PA.

sylViA ryAn (87-88) began working for NET Ministries as the Executive Assistant on August 1, 2011.

KAtie mAhoney (06-07) was recently hired as a youth minister at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Nassau Bay, TX.

religious life

sr. mAry GiAnnA (jeniCA) thornby (06-07) is a novice with the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in Texas.

weddings

benjAmin thooFt (99-00) was married to Evelyne (Gounetenzi) Thooft on July 30, 2011. Team 6, along with their spouses and children, reunited to celebrate their marriage in a weekend full of prayer and play!

alumni 30th anniversary celebration

Join us May 12-13, 2012 as we celebrate our 30th anniversary at the NET Center! Bring your family, meet past and present team members, hear from Mark Berchem, and participate in Mass, praise and worship, and more! Alumni are invited to arrive as early as the evening of Friday, May 11th for a small social gathering before the weekend’s events take place.

Look for a postcard in the mail, visit http://www.netusa.org/alumni-events, or check out our Facebook page or for additional details in the near future.

We would love to see you there!

have something you’d like to share? Submit your news to [email protected].

NETWORKS Fall 2011

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