Rural Mission Outreach
Rural Mission Outreach enables the Diocese to support and expand Catholic presence within Utah's vast 85,000 square miles. Catholics in rural areas are assisted with resources to meet the expanding needs of the Diocese. Priests, deacons, religious and laity travel these areas to provide support.
A Catholic Church in every neighborhood…
Well no, not quite. But, most likely within 15 to 20 minutes of your home. If we oversleep the 8:00 am Mass we can attend the 10:00 or the 12:00. Or if we don't like to get up early on Sunday morning we can attend the 5:30 pm Mass on Saturday. Going to Mass is something most of us living in the Wasatch Front area take for granted. Not so in rural Utah.
In the rural areas of Utah, Catholics are fortunate to have a Mass available on any given weekend. Some areas only have a priest once a month, with deacons, religious or laity serving the rest of the time conducting a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest. Travel can take up to an hour to reach a Catholic Church.
The Rural Mission Outreach Program allows the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City to support and expand our Catholic presence in Utah. Within Utah's vast 85,000 square miles, there are growing clusters of Catholics in rural areas in need of Mass and sacraments, catechetical instruction and community faith development.
Holy Family, located in Fillmore, Utah, is one such mission. The city population is 2,220 with 44 Catholic families, in a predominately LDS area. The continuing presence of the Catholic Church for these isolated Catholics is imperative. Maintaining this presence in the mission is a challenge.
Established in 1986, Holy Family Mission is staffed entirely by volunteers. They pay the bills, keep track of the accounting, repair broken faucets, mow the lawn, clean the church, prepare the altar, and other services for which many parishes have paid staff. Mass is held in a small, old house consisting of a modest worship space, and three rooms which serve as religious education space for several groups. The limited space in the house does not allow for social gatherings. However, parishioners continue to build the faith community, and their numbers are increasing.
Holy Family Mission relies on support of the Diocesan Development Drive as the parishioners' own resources are not sufficient. Through your annual gifts to the Diocesan Development Drive, the mission is able to continue providing a Catholic presence in Fillmore, and the surrounding area.
