When Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City decided to name a new director of communications for the diocese, he turned to a woman he worked with in Washington, D.C.
That's where he crossed paths with Helen Luebbering Osman, who grew up in Osage County.
Osman had attended St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Meta. She graduated from Fatima High School and Drury College, which is now Drury University. Her father-in-law was one of the first deacons in the Jefferson City diocese. He introduced her to his son, John Osman, when both youths were participating in retreat teams. They married in 1982.
After her husband graduated from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now the Missouri University of Science and Technology), the two drove to Austin, Texas.
For more than 20 years, Helen Osman worked in communications for the Catholic Diocese of Austin. She rose through the ranks to become its communications director, including handling the operation of the diocese's monthly tabloid. She helped the diocese exceed its goals for its first capital campaign by nearly 20 percent. With Osman's help, the circulation of the Catholic Spirit increased by more than 1,000 percent.
Later, she became the chief communications officer of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. Her duties included development and implementation of communication strategies for a national nonprofit association of 195 executives, according to her LinkedIn profile. She managed a team of more than 100 staff and volunteers who supported coverage of Pope Francis' United States visit in 2015.
Osman worked with congressional leaders on issues relating to telecommunications policies and how they affect the poor and marginalized, nonprofit organizations, and faith communities. She also worked with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to create a web-based program for parents and guardians, which helped children be digitally safe.
She met McKnight at the conference, where he directed the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, which promotes and educates about the Catholic Church's spiritual guidance for the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life.
Osman later returned to Austin.
Soon after McKnight's ordination, he reached out to Osman about reviewing communications in the Jefferson City diocese.
They talked about the vision the bishop has for the diocese, which - aside from a few urban areas - has a very rural footprint.
As she did the review, she realized she could accomplish what McKnight wanted.
"Our vision is that we will build up and support parishes' communication," Osman said. "We're really going to work on beefing up their capacity for communication."
It's work she did in the Austin diocese, she said.
Her business in Austin, Greater Wings, does the same work. She partners with mission-focused and grassroots organizations' leadership to raise their visibility and create momentum for them.
"I think my experience working in church communications was what was of interest to (McKnight)," Osman said. "The church faces enormous challenges. He really wants to reinvigorate the faith of people in the church in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council."
Osman began work as the Jefferson City diocese's director of communications July 1.
She said youth are migrating away from the church. It has to find ways to reach them.
"The people of this area are really no different than the rest of the United States. They are increasingly comfortable in receiving digital communications," she said.
Historically, the church has used newspapers, parish bulletins and other printed documents to reach parishioners. It will continue to do so, but McKnight feels like it's missing opportunities, Osman said.
"People want information delivered in a different way. Why can't the bishop be in contact with the diocese just as much as Amazon?" she asked.
The church won't be getting rid of newspapers or bulletins. Many of its elderly members prefer those media.
If some people no longer find certain communications channels, such as newspapers or bulletins, relevant to themselves, they might not consider the institution delivering the information relevant, Osman said.
"The same thing is happening in the church," she said. "When I hear people are less religious but still spiritual, I hear 'I don't see the institution meeting me where I am.'"
The Catholic Church has to reach people digitally, she continued.
"Now we have to build digital cathedrals," Osman said. "They have to be just as functional and just as beautiful as those old cathedrals."
So Osman gets to come home to Mid-Missouri. The "German Catholic milieu" in Osage County shaped her, she said. The area's settlers and their descendants gave their blood, sweat and tears to the community.
"This is my chance to return in gratitude," she said. "I see this as a gift to both be working with Bishop McKnight and to be here."