Dear Volunteers, Friends, and Benefactors,
Despite its familiarity, we approach Advent and the mystery of the Incarnation with excitement year after year. Similarly, my gratitude for each of you and your work among the “little” is renewed as we prepare for the infant King.
On the 800th anniversary of St. Francis' original nativity, in the introduction to his new book, “Christmas at the Nativity,” Our Holy Father, Pope Francis captures something of that wonder we encounter at Christmas and, occasionally, during our encounters with the seemingly insignificant on the Rural Parish Clinic:
Littleness, in fact, is the way to encounter God. On the tombstone of St. Ignatius of Loyola, it is written [in Latin]: “Not to be limited by the greatest, and yet to be contained in the tiniest—this is the divine.” The Nativity is an immersion in the presence of God manifested in the small, sometimes trivial and repetitive, everyday things…In this regard, discernment is a great gift, and we must never tire of asking for it in prayer. The shepherds in the manger are those who welcome God’s surprise and live in wonder at their encounter with him, adoring him. In littleness they recognize the face of God. Humanly we are all inclined to seek greatness, but it is a gift to know how to really find it:… in that smallness that God so loves.
Like the shepherds who encountered the Good Shepherd, or the gift-bearing magi who adored the Greatest Gift, we meet the Healer in those we seek to heal. In His poverty we have become rich; and in our encounters with the vulnerable at the Rural Parish clinic, we are empowered to share God’s love and hope.
In this edition of the newsletter, we seek to display some of the greatness manifested in the “small, sometimes trivial and repetitive” services that promote excellent medical and dental care throughout Archdiocese. Thank you for your faithful and generous service and support of this mission! May you be richly blessed for your participation in His mercy!
In Christ Jesus,
Sister Mary Rachel Nerbun, RSM, MD, President and Medical Director, RPC
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, that we who are gladdened by participation in the feast of our Redeemer’s Nativity may through an honorable way of life become worthy of union with him. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Prayer after communion for Midnight Mass on Christmas
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Michael Faddis, DDS as the new Dental Co-Director for the Rural Parish Clinic. Dr. Faddis has recently retired from his very successful dental practice and was looking for an opportunity to utilize his dental and administrative skills in service to others. We are very fortunate to have him join our mission as a leader, collaborating with me, Dr. Greg Casalone and the RPC staff.
Dr. Faddis has a deep history of volunteer work and brings immense administrative knowledge that will help us grow our capacity to care for the underserved rural communities. One of his primary tasks is to network and recruit new dental volunteers which are essential to continued expansion of the clinic. His strong connections in the dental community will undoubtedly bring new dental volunteers. He will also be working to solidify policies and procedures for the dental clinic to ensure optimal care for our patients in a fiscally responsible manner.
Dr. Faddis has provided high quality care as a volunteer to the dental clinic one or two times each month. His dedication to service extended beyond hands-on dentistry from the outset. He readily took on the task of evaluating our denture procedures and researching ways to make them more efficient. He built a box for denture adjustments which has saved everyone time and effort on clean up. All the volunteers and staff are so grateful.
The rapid growth and great accomplishments of the Rural Parish Clinic Dental Clinic have exceeded my expectations! We must make the necessary changes and additions to see it reach the next level. At this time, I have accepted a new role as Director Emeritus. This will allow me to focus on the development of ongoing financial and community support that every growing charitable organization needs. All of us together will continue to combine our best efforts to bring Christ's healing ministry to those we care for on the dental clinic.
John R. Landgraf, DMD, Co-Director, RPC Dental
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
Feast Day November 17
Saint Elizabeth was of Hungarian royal birth and devoted her life to the physical and spiritual needs of the poor and the sick. She visited the sick, gave alms from her own revenue, and provided the poor with food and clothing. After the death of her husband, Saint Elizabeth founded a hospital where she personally tended to the sick and dying, bringing those with the most horrific wounds and diseases into her own bedroom for care.
“Apart from those active good works, I declare before God that I have seldom seen a more contemplative woman. When she was coming from private prayer, some religious men and women often saw her face shining marvelously and light coming from her eyes like the rays of the sun” (Conrad of Marburg, Saint Elizabeth’s spiritual director).
Her care of others was fueled by her love for the Lord, and she lived with a relentless desire to serve Christ in each person she met. Saint Elizabeth died at the age of 24.
Saint Elizabeth gives us a beautiful example of caring for our patients, both in body and soul. May we strive to meet the material needs of our patients as we are able, bringing physical healing where we can and, most importantly, bringing Christ’s love into their lives and recognizing Christ in them.
We pray: O God, by whose gift Saint Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and revered Christ in the poor, grant, through her intercession, that we may serve with unfailing charity the needy and those afflicted. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. (Collect for the Feast of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary)
Rural Parish Clinic has an amazing team dedicated to serving our patients and volunteers. Our RPC Dental Clinic has operated for two years, and we are blessed by our talented dental clinic staff of Katie Leverich, RDH, BS and Julie Hudson, CDA.
Katie’s dedication to organizing operations, recruiting and training volunteers, managing schedules and finances, and securing funding has been key in her role as Dental Clinic Administrator since January 2022. Julie has served as Dental Clinic Coordinator since April 2022, handling all patient concerns and patients, stocking clinic, training volunteers and reports. Katie and Julie have made great strides in the growth and development of the dental clinic with the collaboration of our Volunteer Dental Directors, Dr. John Landgraf and Dr Greg Casalone, now joined by Dr. Mike Faddis. The dental clinic serves patients, on average, 10-12 days each month at 1-2 sites.
The medical clinic staff includes our Medical Director, Sister Mary Rachel Nerbun, RSM, MD. She currently also serves as the President of RPC and has been in St. Louis since June 2021. Sister Joan Miriam Nelson, RSM is temporarily filling the role of Medical Clinic Administrator. She is ‘on-loan’ from the Religious Sisters of Mercy Convent in Knoxville where she has served multiple roles for the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic (the mobile medical clinic for Knoxville) and will return there in January to complete her nursing degree. Annette Portell and Linda Declue serve as the Medical Clinic Coordinator and Assistant Medical Coordinator, respectively. Annette not only handles day-to-day patient interactions and clinical operations, but she is also the primary driver for the medical clinic. Annette has been a part of the RPC family since April 2019. Linda has been serving since July 2020.
We are grateful to Crystal Phillips for serving temporarily as our Operations Administrator through Thanksgiving, but we have been able to hire Molly Judd as our newest member of the RPC staff. Molly will start on December 19 and assume management of the corporation and work closely with our Board of Directors, oversee volunteer on-boarding, marketing and social media, finances and budgeting, and some development. She will also oversee our Resource Team.
Our RPC staff is growing as the mission grows to support the volunteers, serve our patients, and bring the love of Christ to all whom we meet.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in St. Charles hosts a monthly “Bag-It Program,” which collects items for many charitable organizations. Vicki Boehmer, a nurse volunteer for the Rural Parish Medical Clinic and parishioner of St. Elizabeth’s, got the Rural Parish Clinic included in the list of organizations. For the last three years, the parishioners have generously donated personal care supplies for the RPC patients.
Most recently in November, 20 large bins of supplies, including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and more, were received. These personal care items are a great gift because our patients are often unable to afford these necessities. The patients choose the items they need for themselves and their families. These are simple, everyday items, but they are another way we uphold the dignity of each patient.
Ron Huelsmann is one of the most dedicated volunteers and advocates for the Rural Parish Clinic! His spirit is contagious, and RPC remains always on the top of his mind as he moves about his day. Ron’s main job is Dental Operations Manager which includes coordinating the drivers for the dental clinic, setting/packing up the dental clinic at each site, and seeing that the maintenance is up to date.
Ron spends countless hours commuting from St. Louis to the rural communities to ensure that the dental clinic is ready to operate. In addition, he is also the first to sign up at fundraisers or networking events and has connected many volunteers and donors to the mission. If there is anything the staff ask of him, his answer is always a whole-hearted “yes.” In addition, he is also the first to sign up at fundraisers or networking events and has connected many volunteers and donors to the mission. If there is anything the staff ask of him, his answer is always a whole-hearted “yes.”
When Ron accompanies the dental van to its locations, he displays Rural Parish Clinic magnets on his car along with a little yellow light to identify him as the van’s support car. Ron proudly leaves these magnets on his car most of the time. Recently, the wife of a man who had been suffering multiple days and nights with a horrific toothache saw Ron’s car in a parking lot. She took a photo and found our website where our schedule is displayed.
We typically do not accept walk-in appointments and have a very long wait list; however, this couple happened in just as another patient did not show up. The man qualified to be seen, and the doctor was happy to squeeze him in. This man’s face was extremely swollen, and he had not slept for days. Had his wife not seen the magnets on Ron’s car, he may still be suffering today. But because of Ron’s proud connection to RPC and God putting Ron and the man’s wife in the same place that day, this patient received the help he so desperately needed. We are so grateful for Ron and all the people who support the Rural Parish Clinic! Thanks, Ron, for all you give for the mission!
Angela came to the Rural Parish Clinic in 2020 with many challenges in her life and significant health concerns. After three years of a strong patient-physician partnership on the medical clinic, Angela has much success and gratitude to report. She writes:
“Every good and every perfect gift comes from above…” - James 1:17
"I am so very thankful for the Rural Parish Medical Clinic. I have had several issues I’ve been seen for, and the doctors, nurses and staff have been so helpful in treating every need that I had. I had trouble with my eyes and was seen by the Lions Club Eye Clinic when they partnered with the RPC at the St. Clair clinic site. I needed testing and care beyond what the Lions mobile services could provide. I was referred to a specialist, which was paid for in full by the Lions Club.
I’ve had severe back pain for several years and I have been able to receive trigger point injections at the clinic that have helped tremendously. I have also been treated for severe depression, and with prescribed medication, I am now able to enjoy the things in life that are important to me. I was addicted to soda and told Dr. Nerbun about it. I thought it would be impossible for me to quit drinking it. Dr. Nerbun suggested that I start to go down to 3 sodas a day. That was last month. Since then, I have stopped drinking soda all together! Again, with the assistance of the Rural Parish Clinic, I have quit smoking.
I refer anyone that doesn’t have insurance to come here. If I was not able to come, I would not be receiving any medical treatment at all, and my life would be very sad. I am very thankful for y’all.”
The Rural Parish Clinic staff and volunteers are grateful for the generous financial support received during the summer parish visits. We shared our mission with the hope of inspiring new supporters and volunteers. We are deeply moved by the compassion the visits sparked and the recognition of the importance of our work for those who need us most.
A board member’s connection to Ben Tracy led to an invitation for us to apply for the Tracy Family Foundation Grant. We are excited to announce that Ben was touched by the mission and graciously selected RPC to receive a $30,000 foundation grant. This generous gift will significantly improve the health and well-being of many. As we expand the mission, a contribution on this level will help build the financial confidence we need to extend our arms even wider into more rural communities of the St. Louis Archdiocese.
Click here to learn about the parish visits from this summer.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch published a story on the good works of the Rural Parish Clinic. Click here to read the story.
Volunteer - Click HERE
Donate - Give online or by mail to RPC:
20 Archbishop May Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63119
20 Archbishop May Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63119
Pray - Join the RPC Spiritual Apostolate
Learn - Visit archstl.org/rpc