Red Bird Ministries won the 2021 OSV Innovation Challenge!

 

The OSV Institute Innovation Challenge is a multi-round innovation competition designed to seek Catholic innovators, develop ideas, and fund apostolates inside the Church.

We are so humbled and honored to share that Red Bird Ministries made the TOP 12 out of 650 applications and won one of 3 prizes in the 2021 OSV Innovation Challenge.

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Out of the 650 applications and 182 innovators from Round 2, 25 Semi-Finalists, Red Bird Ministries was among these 12 Challengers who were selected to advance to the Final Round of the 2021 OSV Challenge, to compete for one of three prizes of $100,000 to advance their missions.

Finalists offered their sharpened pitches virtually to a panel of five judges in the presence of event attendees. They were evaluated based on the OSV Challenge of “Leave a Legacy,” focusing on the most groundbreaking ideas with the most potential impact to their target audience. We are in awe!

Please continue praying for us as we develop our projects pitched to OSV.

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What’s in the works?

A new innovative program to equip the clergy, deacons, and seminarians on the pathway/journey of grief support for families of loss.

 

The idea of creating new programs came after a few families we served had a profound conversion when Red Bird Ministries Chaplain, Fr. Nicholas DuPré (Our Good Shepherd) led them through a progression of healing through the Sacraments.

Fr. DuPré connected his parishioners, families of loss with our ministry, and together, we accompanied the families through a holistic approach of healing. The approach included connecting individuals/couples on missing sacraments, the convalidation of marriage, a couple seeking marriage, confirmation, confession, and holy communion in grace. Soon, after speaking with DuPré we knew that Red Bird Ministries could have a profound impact by developing a program specific for Church leaders.

“Some of the hardest funerals that we do as priests and deacons are funerals of children. There is nothing in our funeral ritual, the books that we use at the gravesite inside the church, that will help you to minister to those families who are suffering loss. What I have gained comes by way of experience. What I really am excited to see is that we are now developing a program to bring together the wisdom we have gained from those experiences from working with families. We want to share with our brother priest and deacons ways to develop these skills and insights much more quickly. We are so happy to share this program with budding clergy who are looking for ways to reconnect grieving families with Our Lord.”

— Fr. Nicholas DuPré, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church and St. Louis Mission Chapel in Parks, LA

From that conversation, a light bulb went off.

 

While working tirelessly to reach the bereaved families, we knew we needed to educate our first responders, the clergy (priest, deacons, and their staff), on how to receive families after a loss so that these families do not get lost from their flock.

We’ve already begun interviewing clergy to see how they would benefit the best to receive the content of this program. In addition, our content development is underway.

The Good Shepherd Program Overview

  • The Good Shepherd Program

    Red Bird Ministries is working on a new program called “The Good Shepherd” to be developed for deacons, clergy, and seminarians. This program will provide training and resources to prepare the church leaders on how to receive a family after the loss of their child and guide them on a path through their grief journey.

  • Pioneering Grief Support Programs for the Church

    Currently, the Church DOES NOT have Catholic-based grief resources to provide to families who have lost a loved one, especially for parents who carry the cross of child loss. To clearly spell this out, a Catholic grief program does NOT exist in the Church today.

  • The Program Blueprint

    It begins with Red Bird Ministries compiling experiences, big topics of child loss, and areas that weigh heavy on families of loss, with testimonies from priests and deacons who have served their parishioners after a loss, deacons who have experienced loss, and families of loss. Together we will provide the experience to equip our clergy better to receive families after a loss.

  • Equipping Church Leaders

    One of the most challenging human experiences to endure is the loss of a child. During the grieving process, many people turn to priests in search of comfort and compassion and with the hope that the clergy person will be able to offer a sense of meaning to the loss they have experienced, they are the first touch point for these families.

  • Pathway for Bereaved Families

    We do not have adequate resources to educate and train clergy on child loss. Especially newly ordained clergy who arrive out of seminary ready to serve. This leaves our clergy spending years gathering experiences to develop practical ways to serve their parishioners once ordained. It also leaves many families vulnerable to not being appropriately supported after a loss has occurred. Many clergy admit not knowing where to turn for resources to help their families.

We have developed three unique pathways to encounter and support individuals and couples of child loss.

As we develop these impact programs, there is still so much work to be done, and we need your prayers and support.

 

If you feel called to support us monthly, please consider partnering with us to continue developing new and much-needed ministry outreach to families of child loss!

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“I am like the sick sheep that strays from the rest of the flock. Unless the Good Shepherd takes me on His shoulders and carries me back to His fold, my steps will falter, and in the very effort of rising, my feet will give way. ”

— St. Jerome