Sacred Heart Parish holds annual Fall Fellowship Day with ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ theme
By William Van de Planque | On Mission
Submitted photography
APPLETON, WI — This year’s Fall Fellowship Day at Sacred Heart Parish, Appleton, had the theme “Pilgrims of Hope” and took place Saturday, November 8, 2025.
The annual parish-wide event is a full-day family retreat for all ages. Talks on a variety of topics for adults and youth, along with entertainment for the youngest guests, were offered at the fellowship day.
The Fall Fellowship Day was started over five years ago by the pastoral council of Sacred Heart Parish, who wanted to “put on a spiritual day — not a fundraiser, and one that everyone would be able to participate in,” said Sue Erickson, co-coordinator of events at the parish. “We had no idea what that would look like or how we were going to make it happen, but we did a lot of brainstorming and came up with a plan.”
The council met with Julianne Stanz, who at the time worked for the Diocese of Green Bay as the director of missionary discipleship.
“She gave us many pointers on how to put on such an event and gave us recommendations for possible speakers,” Erickson said. “Julianne not only spoke at the event but continued to advise us over the first couple of years.”
For the last two years, Erickson has been joined by Lori Jensen as co-coordinator.
Ninety-three parishioners attended the first year the event was held. A few weeks ago, about 120 parishioners attended the Fall Fellowship Day at Sacred Heart Parish. This year’s event included two children who required babysitting, 12 in the pre-K to fourth grade category and 12 in the middle/high school age group.
This year’s theme aligns with the Jubilee Year of Hope, which comes to a close on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, January 6, 2026, when the jubilee doors at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome will be closed. Bishop David Ricken will officially close the Jubilee Year of Hope in the Diocese of Green Bay on December 28, 2025.
Among the keynote speakers were Fr. Andrew Kurz, founder of the 120-mile Wisconsin Way pilgrimage; Gerard Hall, director of divine worship at the Diocese of Green Bay; Teresa Adler, executive director of CatholicLeader Academy, a leadership development program for Catholic school educators; and Franki Moscato, a professional musician and director of liturgy and music at Most Blessed Sacrament Parish, Oshkosh.
Keynote talks explored topics from what it means to make a pilgrimage of hope and be a pilgrim of hope to finding joy in times of stress.