-
BackForwardPauseCaption
-
The possibility of reconciliation is one of, if not the most compelling way of expressing the meaning of the gospel today. In the midst of unspeakable violence, unbearable pain and indelible scars on people’s memory, the church as God’s minister of reconciliation proclaims that in Christ and in his community, healing is possible.
(Bevans & Schroeder) -
Connect with USCMA
-
Shop Amazon?
Support the mission of USCMA by visiting smile.amazon.com and search for United States Catholic Mission Association. -
Please consider pledging to the
United States Catholic Mission Association, Inc. as part of your Combined Federal Campaign. -
Updated on September 19, 2017
-
Feature Article: Opening Up the Doors of Faith
It wasn’t until she was in at least her third career that Ann Bollheimer, a lifelong Catholic, felt her faith life really open up.
Now the pastoral associate at St. Michael Church and Ss. Peter & Paul Church in Fort Loramie, Ohio, where she has served in various ministerial capacities for almost 19 years, Ann was raised about 15 miles from the parish and settled there after she married. Photography was her first career, she said, followed by motherhood.
She had been a stay-at-home mom for about five years when she became involved in church ministry.
“I was the coordinator of youth ministry for about a year and a half and just felt like I needed to know more,” Ann said. She went through a certification process but ultimately quit the position to take part in a two-year lay pastoral ministry program through the Athenaeum of Ohio in Cincinnati. It wasn’t a master’s program but it did include theology courses and a practicum, as well as a 100-hour service project; she chose to go to Appalachia with a neighboring youth group for her service.
Still, it wasn’t enough.