Technology Strengthens Sense of Community

May 22, 2025

Kids and parents alike are focusing more on lessons during the family faith nights at Corpus Christi Parish in Council Bluffs.

The key to increasing attention was the purchase of 25 headsets. A translator speaks into one with a transmitter, and everyone else with a headset can hear that interpreter.

So when Father Luis Mejia or Father Luis Cabrera talks to a packed gym at St. Albert School filled with 150 youth, parents, and grandparents once a month, a translator interprets the short lesson by speaking into their headset and everyone wearing a headset  can understand what’s being said.

With a faith formation program that’s was 60% Hispanic last summer (now, it’s up to about 80% Hispanic) the headsets have been transformational for the Faith Formation program.

“The flow of conversation is a lot better. The priests have less of a headache from having to switch back and forth between languages, and people can focus more because it’s all in one language, said program director Kendall McGrath.

The parish did classes bilingually before acquiring the headsets. Father would speak in English for about two minutes, then switch to Spanish for about two minutes, and continue switching languages. Leaders observed people disconnect every few minutes when the speaker would switch to another language, said Father Mejia, pastor of the parish.

“Now that it’s all in one language, people feel more connected,” he said.

The parish bought 25 headsets with the help of a diocesan Parish Mission Renewal grant, which is funded by parishioners who generously gave to the Ignite! capital campaign. The grant is administered through the Catholic Foundation of Southwest Iowa, which makes funds available each year to help parishes with projects that enhance their mission of sharing the gospel.

At first, the parents took the headsets. Now, both parents and children take the headsets.

“We run out of headsets every session. It doesn’t matter if it’s taught in English or Spanish,” said McGrath. “We’re looking at investing more in the headsets. The kids love them. The kids use them just as much as the parents.”             

The headsets have moved the parish a long way from having separate or bilingual faith formation sessions toward becoming one community, said Father Mejia.

For more information on Parish Mission Renewal grants, reach out to John Gaffney at jgaffney@dmdiocese.org. For information on a range of grants administered through the Catholic Foundation of Southwest Iowa go to catholicfoundationiowa.org.