62 | VISION 2020 | VocationNetwork.org
With nonurban areas in the United States making up 97 percent
of the land but only 19 percent of its population, religious serving
in rural ministries cover a lot of ground. Here’s a look at some
of the ways sisters, brothers, and priests are making inroads in
America’s backcountry.
WHILE THE GLORIES of God’s creation are often writ large in pastoral set- tings with waving wheat and mountains majesty, life in rural America is not without its problems. Joblessness, isolation, addiction, pollution, and lack of
access to infrastructure, internet, safe water, food, and healthcare all rank as significant
challenges for people living in the country. Religious communities have gone out of their
way in more ways than one to meet these challenges. In the following pages, VISION
shines a spotlight on the positive impact religious are having on the U.S. rural landscape.
Rural religious take to
the highways and byways
BROTHER JOSEPH
Kronebusch,
O.C.S.O. tends
to lilies on the
grounds of
New Melleray
Monastery in
Iowa. The flowers
are not only
beautiful but also
provide habitat
for endangered
pollinators. BY CAROL SCHUCK SCHEIBER
COURTESY OF THE MONKS
OF NEW MELLERAY
VISION SPOTLIGHT
