SVD Mission Articles: SVD Mission

SVD Mission – A Conversation with Fr. Tom Ascheman, SVD

An Iowa native with family roots in the town of Epworth, where Divine Word College Seminary is located, Fr. Tom Ascheman was born in Urbandale. He graduated from DWC in 1976 and was ordained in 1982. He received his Master’s degree in theology at CTU, and his doctorate in religion and cultures in Washington, DC. He has served as a teacher, a pastor in Mexico and as Mission Secretary to the Generalate in Rome.

By Mrs. Jody Iler

“I’ve always been attracted to people of other cultures,” says Fr. Tom Ascheman, SVD. “Diversity has been a constant here at Divine Word College from the beginning – a little experiment that shows how people from all over the world can come together and live in peace.”

Fr. Tom is on a year’s sabbatical at DWC in Epworth, writing and engaged in work for the Hispanic Apostolate in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. To start off the school year at the college, he spoke with the administration, faculty and staff about the “new” mission of the Society of the Divine Word, posing some thought-provoking questions: What is a missionary? Someone who spreads the word of God in far-off places, in a culture not one’s own? Are missionaries made up of only ordained religious? Or…could a missionary be you?

“One of my large concerns in my current writing is how to do missionary outreach from parishes. By this I mean not just the outreach of pastoral staff, but the parish members themselves. A parish is supposed to serve all people in the area, whether Christian or not, parish members or not.” Fr. Tom says that “prophetic dialogue” is the means to this end. But dialogue, more than just words, is a fundamental attitude of solidarity, respect and love – focusing on everyone, but especially those seeking faith, those who are poor and on the margins of society and those of different cultures and faiths.

After earning his Master’s degree in theology and being ordained, Fr. Tom came back to Divine Word College to teach theology and serve as chaplain from 1983-1984. Then he went to Washington, D.C. for his doctoral studies. “After that,” he says, “I spent four years in Mexico, as pastor in a very poor area, and I also taught seminary and university studies.”

The Mexican people and their culture are close to Fr. Tom’s heart. “I’ve spent 11 years in the U.S. working with Hispanics,” he says, “and my life has become entwined with theirs. What they want are the same things that we want.” He adds that we have no reason to fear people who are different than us, saying, “The Kingdom of God has room for everyone in it.”

But central to Fr. Tom’s missionary calling has been to “keep the idea of mission lively.” As Mission Secretary to the Generalate in Rome for 12 years, his role was to find answers to the question: “What is our SVD mission now?” He feels that we don’t have to travel across continents in order to witness God and His reign to others. “We can reach out, invite and welcome everyone that we meet in our daily lives. No one should be excluded; our goal should be one heart, with many diverse faces.”

Of his return to Iowa, Fr. Tom says, “I am profoundly grateful to be back in the U.S. and in Iowa in particular. There is so much prosperity, change and openness to share here now, and this is one of the most beautiful places that I’ve seen.”

“Mission is always interpersonal,” concludes Fr. Tom. “The work of Christ is friendship – often difficult, unusual friendships – which show that His mission is our mission. Even if we remain here in this country, we need to live in the truth that people far away are also our brothers and sisters – every one, believer or non-believer, Africans, Muslims, Buddhist, poor, rich – all are our family.”

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