Fr. Sitzmann honored at Ecumenical Institute celebration in Cherokee

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
May 5, 2005

CHEROKEE - A grand celebration was held on May 1 in Cherokee at Western Iowa Tech Community College Conference Center for Father Gene Sitzmann and the Ecumenical Institute (EI).

The evening began with a social hour from 4 to 5 p.m. The emcee for the evening was Dave Harmelink, a 1993 alum of the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program. The welcome, invocation and dinner were between 5 and 6 p.m. Lutheran Bishop Michael Last, a 1998 alum of the CPE, gave the invocation and relayed comments of his experiences with EI.

"My experience here at the Ecumenical Institute was without a doubt one of the finest experiences that I have ever had," said Bishop Last. "In large part, that has to do with the supervision and leadership of Father Gene Sitzmann."

Included in a pamphlet with the schedule for the evening were photos of Father Sitzmann and Rev. Robert Alexander, a Presbyterian minister who is the founder of the Cherokee Mental Health Institute and the CPE program, and the original Ecumenical Institute board. Also included were descriptions of each Father Sitzmann and Rev. Alexander's ministry and background.

The program began at 6 p.m. with the evening ending about 8 p.m. The beginning of the program included a definition of the Ecumenical Institute given by the Harmelink.

He noted that the Ecumenical Institute gives people "the tools to enhance the gifts that they already have and enable them to go out into their communities and churches with confidence."

Greetings were sent to Father Sitzmann from people who were unable to attend the celebration. One letter came from Coadjutor Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo, former bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City.

The letter stated, "I am pleased to offer thanks to Father Sitzmann for his many dedicated years of service as a Clinical Pastoral educator and leader of the Ecumenical Institute...I certainly want to thank him for his generous work and his ability to draw his students into positive and spiritually enriching ways to assist and minister to God's faithful people...May the Lord continue to bless Father Sitzmann in the years to come."

Father Sitzmann gave comments regarding his time with the CPE program and recognized the current and past board members.

"There is so much to say and so little time to say it," said Father Sitzmann. "I knew that this program that was sponsored and carried through so willingly, it was going to die, if something wasn't done. That above all else was what really motivated me to start really thinking about the future and how it should look and who should be involved."

His main point was that he could not allow the program to die.

"I knew, I felt, I saw, I heard the effects of this going out, rippling out to the students and from the students to those that they were working with," said Father Sitzmann, who serves as pastor at Visitation Church in Maryhill. "This kept a momentum going and moving toward our vision."

Graduation of the class of '04/'05 and introduction of the current class being taught by Dr. Dan Leininger also took place. Each graduate and current student was presented a pin with a picture of Father Sitzmann's old car with the license plate "CPE" and the saying "Follow the taillights!" printed on it. Then all alumni present was asked to go to the front to receive a pin and take a group photo.

Karen Borchers, the new executive director of EI, thanked the donors to EI and had them stand for applause.

Borchers and Joan Ballantyne gave recognition to Father Sitzmann for his years of service. They presented him with two books - one of pictures of all of the alumni of the CPE program and another filled with letters and memories sent in by alums. They also presented him with a check for $92,355. This money is to further the Ecumenical Institute into the future.

"Nothing could make me happier because we need this and you are offering it. Thank you," said Father Sitzmann.

Borchers and Father Sitzmann gave a PowerPoint presentation on the vision of the future of the Ecumenical Institute.

"We are still in progress of deciding what our future is and what our vision is," said Borchers. "We welcome input from all of you into where you think we should go into the future."

She explained that EI has changed because the community has changed. The Cherokee Mental Health Institute was at one time a great training ground since it had several patients but now there are only a few. Now the training will be taken out into the community.

"We will continue CPE classes. We will keep connections for alumni to be an active part of the Ecumenical Institute and the community. We want to offer services to the community by providing faith-based workshops," said Borchers.

She and Father Sitzmann continued to explain what they see as the future of EI. Those in attendance were given a pamphlet explaining the 10-year vision of EI.

Before the closing blessing, alumni and anyone present were given the opportunity to share their story about CPE or about Father Sitzmann. Each person who shared had nothing but good things to say about the program and what they learned from it. One person commented that this class was a time of tremendous growth for them. Another added that it was a good chance for them to share their stories and gain different perspectives.

Father David Hemann, pastor at Sacred Heart in Ida Grove and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Holstein and also an alum of the CPE program, sang the Irish Blessing to close the evening.