The parish of St. Katharine Drexel is a community of wonderful people so willing to share their time and talents with others.  In an attempt to further get to know one another and to better know our patron saint, our community gathered to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Katharine Drexel on March 3, 2006, here after to be known as the First Annual Feast Day Celebration of St. Katharine Drexel. This will definitely be a yearly event!

The planning taskforce for this event consisted of Susie Lammers, Carol Deering and Kathy Anderson. They spearheaded this undertaking and set forth recruiting many others to assist.  The evening consisted of a beautiful Mass, a huge potluck soup supper, a video on the life of St. Katharine Drexel, and a wonderful choir presentation.  The intent of the activities was to heighten everyone’s awareness of what a truly beautiful person St. Katharine Drexel was and also create more of a sense of community amoung our parishioners. So many people met and developed relationships that evening. It was wonderful!

In an interview with Steering Committee member and Communications Committee Chair, Kathy Anderson, she stated, “I can’t believe the generosity of the people who came.  It was so beautiful.  Everyone was so friendly, and I could hardly believe how they were able to sit still so well for the 30 minute program. It was unreal! The beautiful desserts were overflowing on the tables along with salads and breads. And the volunteering from the young people… they were so generous themselves.  The involvement of the choirs was awesome! They are so talented. And we certainly can’t forget to thank the Parish of St. Michael.  They were so helpful! Rhonda Kelsey helped us set up, and it was so nice of them to allow us to use their facility.  It was all great!”

Attendance was estimated to be well over 225 people. This will definitely become a community building tradition for our parish. The committees are also currently planning future activities, which include a summer picnic, another fall bonfire, a door-to-door canvas inviting West Sioux Falls residents to visit our parish, and developing a survey for parishioners to offer input on the worship space of our future church. Kathy added, “We wanted to honor (St. Katharine Drexel).”  Mission accomplished.