LORETO — People from throughout the Diocese of Madison — those who live in rural and urban areas — are invited to attend a Rural Life Day to be held on Thursday, Oct. 28, at St. Patrick Church in Loreto.
Sponsored by the Rural Life Office of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Madison, the day will begin with a program at 9 a.m. on “Issues of Rural Community and Rural Churches.” National Catholic Rural Life Conference (NCRLC) Executive Director Jim Ennis will give a presentation and facilitate a dialogue with participants from Justice and Outreach Committees from rural and urban areas of the diocese.
“We want to share success stories and best practices in regard to local food production,” said Tom Nelson, director of the Rural Life Office. “We are doing this for health and nutrition reasons and the opportunity to look at practices that work with the environment and use less chemicals. When we say, ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ we have to ask, ‘What is in the bread’?”
There will be a call to worship at 1 p.m. and a Mass at 1:30 p.m. Bishop Robert C. Morlino will preside and preach and diocesan priests will concelebrate. There will be a blessing of farm animals and equipment following the Mass. “We come with a sense of awe and reverence for all the resources our Almighty Father has given us in our rural communities and the powerful responsibility for providing daily bread to our fellow citizens,” said Nelson.
At 4:30 p.m., a harvest meal will be served featuring free-range chicken and a wide array of food from local farmers hosted by St. Patrick Parish in Loreto and the Reedsburg Cluster Parish partners and local food producers in the area. No registrations are required for the day or the meal.