Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield is once again offering PSR Class for Exceptional People — religion classes for the developmentally disabled — at Blessed Sacrament School on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 7:30. The class kicked off with a picnic held on Sept. 22 and classes will run through May and will close with an end-of-the-year party and dinner.

ILLIOPOLIS — Resurrection Parish will hold a “welcome” potluck Sunday, Oct. 3 at 11:30 a.m. for its new parish life coordinator Sister Phyllis Schenk, OP, and Sister Josetta Brown, OP, who also lives in the parish house.

So far, supporters from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and beyond have either pledged or donated just over $5,200 to support Bishop Thomas John Paprocki as he trains to run a marathon to raise money to help pay off the debt of the Cathedral renovation.

Now that September is here, people who are part of the Springfield Diocesan Young Adult Mass (commonly known as YAM) community are winding down their summer activities and preparing for a busy fall.

The Diocesan Adult Enrichment Conference (DAEC) will take place Sunday, Nov. 7 through Monday, Nov. 8 at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel, 4191 US 36 West (Wyckles Road) in Decatur. The DAEC is held every other autumn. It is sponsored by the diocesan Office for Catechesis and is made possible in part by the Annual Catholic Services Appeal.

Knights of Columbus Council 364 in Springfield is hosting the 89th Annual K. of C. Cooperative Barbecue from noon until 8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 29.

Approximately 70 educators met at the invitation of the diocesan Office for Catechesis' Catholic Schools Office in the Cathedral atrium in Springfield Aug. 12 to learn more about equitable participation in federal education programs.

The Office for Marriage and Family Life is hosting its annual diocesan celebration for couples married 50 years or more on Sunday, Sept. 26. The celebration will take place at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, beginning with a musical program at 1 p.m., followed by 2 p.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki and a reception held in the new Cathedral atrium.

With the 2010-2011 academic year just about to get under way, principals and teachers all over the Springfield diocese are preparing to share their knowledge with the thousands of young people who attend Catholic schools. This year principal Ron Niebrugge is returning to once again lead St. Anthony High School in Effingham and several Catholic grade schools will be under new leadership. The majority of these six men and women were at the diocesan pastoral center in Springfield on Aug. 4 for the annual new principal's meeting and took time to share their thoughts on the upcoming school year.

In a testament to their strong Catholic faith, 92 people from Teutopolis, Bishop Creek and Green Creek — teens and adult chaperones — traveled to Memphis, Tenn., earlier this summer to take part in a Catholic HEART Workcamp.