Creative solution brings a faith family tree to a parish

December 13, 2022

Father Dan Siepker by his parish's family tree

Sometimes, great ideas come in the middle of the night.

One such idea came to Father Dan Siepker at 3 a.m. and it’s completely changed the parish’s approach to the traditional parish pictorial directory.

The last time Holy Rosary Parish in Glenwood did a parish pictorial directory, Father Siepker was new to the parish.
That was nine years ago.

They tried to make a more current directory a couple of years ago, but the pandemic stalled all parish programs.
As parish activities resumed this year, Father Siepker tried to pick up where he left off by searching for a company that could help. He wasn’t getting very far. 

And then, in the dead of night, an idea occurred to him that he shared with the parish: “I said folks, rather than a parish directory, we’re going to have a family tree.” 

In the gathering space of the church, parish staff created a tree on a wall. All parishioners were invited to send in a photo of themselves and/or their families. The photos were sized so they’re all about the same and posted on various branches of the tree with the names of those in the image.

There was just one small little snafu. For those who preferred to have their pictures taken, a small digital camera was used to snap images before Masses one weekend. Father Siepker accidentally deleted them from the camera.
So everyone was invited to send in a “selfie” picture of themselves. 

“Last Sunday was the first weekend when it was up. It was fun watching people,” he said. “People were really noticing who’s who in the parish.”

Typically, 30-40 percent of parishioners participate in a parish directory, he said. Holy Rosary could approach 100 percent participation with this family tree. 

Since the images are pinned to the tree, they can be moved. Father hopes to create special areas by the tree, such as a heart with the pictures of couples he marries throughout the year. Or, there could be an area that honors First Communion children or youth who make their confirmation.