Denver Catholic

CATHOLIC LIFE I 3 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I SEPTEMBER 10, 2014 Family commits to be missionaries BY JULIE FILBY Coming out of Littleton's Columbine High School, Ben Schumann, now 31, entered the seminary. After two years of discerning the priesthood, he "discerned out." It wasn't God's call for him. He spent the next year torn between going back to school or moving to California with hopes of an acting career. He settled on acting. Before launching a future in Hollywood, he chaperoned a 10-day mission trip to Mexico for the youth group at his par- ish, St. Frances Cabrini. "I fell in love," Schumann told the Denver Catholic Regis- ter, "with the people, with the poverty, and with bringing the Gospel message to people." It was then that he knew what God's call was for him. "Within a week I quit my job, sold my condo and bought a ticket to Louisiana," he said. There he completed mis- sionary formation with the lay apostolate Family Missions Company (FMC), based in La- fayette, and committed to two years of service. His fi rst year, 2005, was spent on the Carib- bean island of St. Vincent feed- ing the poor, physically and spiritually; followed by a sec- ond year in the Philippines. "Missionary activity is the greatest and holiest work of the Church," he said, and that desire never left his heart. Ultimately he returned to Denver, and met his now wife Natalia, 29. "I told him I would never be a missionary," she relayed with a laugh. "Never tell God never!" The two started their life to- gether marrying in November 2010 and welcoming daughter Raeleigh in October 2012. Ben worked as a youth minister at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Longmont, and Natalia in the Offi ce of Priestly Vocations for the Archdiocese of Denver. Last October, Ben had a de- sire to attend a conference of- fered by FMC in Louisiana, and Natalia agreed—though she still had no inkling of a mis- sionary call. "I told God 'this is for Ben,'" she said. "This is what Ben needs." During the trip, their future experienced a dramatic shift. "It felt like a homecoming," Ben said of reuniting with friends. "I was overwhelmed with peace." At the same time, he could see Natalia was wrestling with something. "During praise and worship, I kept hearing 'Drop the wall,'" Natalia said, and then she asked herself: "Is missionary work something I can do?" The conference proceeded and at one point a basket was passed around for everyone to draw the name of a country to pray for. "Ben, let's pray for the coun- try where we're supposed to be missionaries," Natalia said be- fore drawing a paper from the basket. "Don't you toy with my heart," he responded, not sure if she was serious. "I'm serious," she said. And their new future launched. After months of praying for God to "remove obstacles," along with the practical prepa- rations of fi nishing course- work, paying off debt and fi nd- ing renters for their home, the couple along with 19-month- old Raeleigh will leave for for- mation with FMC in Louisiana and Mexico Sept. 11. Their missionary team is growing as well, with recent news that they are expecting a baby in April. "I feel a great sense of peace with the call," Natalia said. "I'm excited to see how the Lord will show up in the poverty." They will receive their as- signment in January 2015 and have made a commitment of at least two years. "I feel so strongly this is what God is calling our family to," Ben said. "It's very humbling. God is moving mountains to make this possible." Julie Filby: 303-715-3123; julie. fi lby@archden.org; www.twitter. com/DCRegisterJulie 'Never tell God never' PHOTO BY GREEN CHAIR PHOTOGRAPHY, PARKER THE SCHUMANN family: Natalia, Raeliegh and Ben Aug. 31. MISSION FAMILY Who: Natalia, Ben and Rae- leigh Schumann Commitment: 2 years Assigned country: To be de- termined January 2015 Missionary salary: $0 Funds needed for formation: $7,000 Monthly support needed: $1,000 More info: SchumannFamily. FMCmissions.com Donations are tax-deduct- ible through Family Missions Company. Catholic hospice fi ghts euthanasia by supporting natural death with dignity BY ROXANNE KING When she went to the histor- ic canonization of two popes in Rome on Divine Mercy Sun- day in April, Dana Sewald Foss had no idea how quickly and concretely God was going to manifest his mercy in her life. Upon returning home to Summerfi eld, N.C., an "answer to prayer" appeared in a news story. Sewald, a registered nurse whose career focused on helping mothers with natural childbirth and breastfeeding had never dealt with end-of- life care, but she knew she and her three siblings—two in Colorado and one in Arizo- na— would soon be navigating their own mother's last days as she had recently been diag- nosed with terminal bladder cancer. The story was about a new apostolate in the Denver Archdiocese, the Catholic hos- pice Divine Mercy Support- ive Care. Foss's mother, Rita Sewald, 81, lived near Denver. "My mom became the fi rst patient with Divine Mercy hos- pice," she said, adding that her family's experience was that, "it's not just a name, they are the actual reality of God's di- vine mercy." The nonprofi t offers in- home hospice care from mor- ally focused staffers carried out in accord with Catholic stan- dards of care as determined by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The chaplains provid- ing spiritual and sacramental care are priests and deacons. The medical director and spiri- tual advisor is Deacon-Dr. Alan Rastrelli, a founding member of the palliative care team of Kaiser Permanente at Exempla St. Joseph Hospital in Denver who has been named a 5280 Top Doctor fi ve times. Development director Mark Skender said that at Divine Mer- cy faith isn't an afterthought in the care given, it's primary. "This is the only Catholic hos- pice," Skender said. "The point of our hospice is to provide comfort care and death with dignity. It's a total care plan that includes spiritual preparation for everlasting life." And it's available to all, Skend- er said, not just Catholics. The hospice is more than an apostolate, he said. "This is a movement and a war," Skender asserted. "The movement is to allow people to have the opportunity to be able to die with dignity, no mat- ter what their faith. The war is against organizations like Com- passion and Choices, formerly known as The Hemlock Soci- ety, who advocate 'aid in dying,' hastening death. … All of us will be impacted by this." Physician assisted suicide to relieve pain and suffering is against Church teaching. It is legal in fi ve U.S. states: Oregon, Washington, Montana, Ver- mont and New Mexico. Archbishop Samuel Aquila is among Divine Mercy's supporters. "I strongly endorse Divine Apostolate reveals God's mercy with end-of-life care DIVINE MERCY SUPPORTIVE CARE For more information or to donate Visit: www.DMSCi.org Email: info@DMSCi.org Call: 303-357-2540 PHOTO PROVIDED RITA SEWALD, 81, center, depicted with her four children, was the fi rst patient for the new Catholic hospice Divine Mercy Supportive Care. See Hospice, Page 7 day ROBERT LINN/DCR fi re- of the liturgy.

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