Rev. Robert Barron

In this session, Fr. Robert Barron will show how the synoptic Gospels propose a new way of seeing, thinking, acting and being in the world. By looking at a variety of accounts in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, he will demonstrate a uniquely Christian form of life.

Because popular media culture is so influential in everyday Christian life and faith, many educators use it in their teaching and preaching. But how do we make theological sense of it for these uses? What are some basic definitions and approaches informed by contemporary theology and cultural studies? This session will blend practical examples with academic insights.

Explore options for moving to the "next level" with young adolescents (grades 6 through 8) – beyond religious education classes and youth activities. How might we engage them in leadership? How might we extend our efforts beyond the classroom and parish hall? Discover strategies and tools for taking the next step in developing a sustainable ministry with young adolescents.

Jesus gave us His body, can we give Him ours? Learn to bring all of who you are – body and soul – to celebrate the life of Christ among us. In this workshop, practice the possibility of processions, gestures, sign language, dance and drama as a way of engaging and involving our assemblies (children and adults!) in the great dance of liturgy. Open yourself to the blessing of embodiment.

Increasingly, Catholic parishes include a service built around Jesus’ "seven last words" from the cross on Good Friday. In this workshop, we will look at these "words" as a pathway into the drama of each evangelist’s rendering of Jesus’ death-Resurrection, and as a call for disciples of every generation to live our commitment more fully and joyfully.

Creating an ethical climate that supports and encourages children to think and act ethically is essential. How we think, speak and behave does matter. This workshop will teach us how to nurture empathy and cultivate integrity, civility and compassion in children of all ages using everyday situations. Barbara Coloroso will show how ethical habits can be developed so that children will practice doing what is fair, courteous, honest and helpful.

Confession is such a standard Hollywood foil that every other movie seems to have a confessional scene. Not so in many parishes! Most Catholics haven’t seen the inside of a confessional in quite some time. Why is the experience of sacramental reconciliation so rare or misunderstood? Today we need reconciliation in all its forms – particularly sacramental. This workshop will look at the ministry of reconciliation, its sacramental history, present practice and future mission.

Are you a catechist trying to connect the classroom with liturgy? Are you someone involved in children’s Liturgy of the Word who is looking for creative and liturgically appropriate ideas? This practical session explains why and how we create energizing and meaningful liturgical experiences, both in the classroom and in the worship space.

What is at the heart of faith formation for children? This workshop will describe the dismissal rite, breaking open the Word, and formation in faith for children in the Rite of Christian Initiation. The spirituality of children, the language of children and how they relate the Word to their life experiences will be discussed. Examples of how to celebrate rites with children will be shared.

A presentation on Islam for Christians who care about others.

It was there buried in the deep recesses of Christian tradition. The mythic story of Creation affirmed its goodness. Incarnation gave it theological significance. Resurrection deemed it integral to human fullness of life. But where did the body in Christian spirituality go? How long has it been missing? Restoring it will require heightened awareness of human bodiliness as the location of a Christian spirituality and the rediscovery of carnal wisdom for a lived Christian faith.

To quote a recent bumper sticker: The shortest distance between two people is a story. One of the most effective tools at our disposal to reach and touch the spiritual side of young people is storytelling. Participants in this workshop will learn key principles of effective storytelling, identify specific strategies that will allow each of us (whether we have the gift of gab or not) to enhance our Scripture storytelling skills, and explore how to incorporate other storytellers (music, movies, books, etc.) into our ministry efforts.

What do we really know about the lives and roles of women in Scripture – since most of their stories have been told by men? This workshop will look at women in the Old Testament and how their lives continue to impact women and men in the Church today.

For many engaged couples, "marriage preparation" is information gathering at best, and a hoop to jump at worst. Is that all there is? This workshop points to some concrete ways that marriage preparation can be a time of faith formation. Strategies for making marriage preparation a time of evangelization will be discussed. There will be opportunities for participation at this workshop.

You can’t preach like Peter? Pray like Paul? Join this session to explore several "evangelization styles" from Scripture and to provide a means for discovering and enriching your own "style" for sharing the Good News of our faith, and fulfilling Christ’s command for all the Church.

A fresh look at familiar and unfamiliar music that is both steeped in mercy and balm for the world. We will focus on the use of this music in specific ritual settings. We will especially highlight the liturgical year and specific sacramental celebrations.

A humorous, engaging presentation (with demonstrations) geared especially for those who work with children, but good for all who are called on to speak about faith. Some of the principles to be presented: When doggie lies down on your altar (Life’s surprises are always better than theory); Unless you are better than Jesus ... (Permission to laugh and to cry); Oops (subtitled, "Wondrous Failure"). In this presentation, Fr. Joe Kempf will demonstrate some creative – and profoundly simple – strategies for remembering again what really matters.

For many of our students the cinema is the arena in which they are exposed to good and evil. These depictions can be a service to them, helping them imagine a world without Christ’s saving love. Given media’s dominance in our students’ lives it is essential as educators to know the characteristics and clichés of how good and evil are presented in mainstream films. Then we can articulate a theological response to help our students take evil seriously and to know that good will triumph in the end.

We tend to look to "church" to satisfy our need to belong and be accepted. Sometimes the typical Catholic parish community is just too large to be able to meet this basic human desire. We will explore the real significance of this need, especially in the life situation of young adults, and celebrate ways to find our belonging and acceptance in being church. Small, faith-based communities, such as Christian Life Community (CLC), can provide that desired place where we personally connect with a spiritual, loving and apostolic community, where everybody does come to know the name by which God intimately calls us.

American culture is in many ways optimistic, but it is not a very hopeful one. Why is this? How should we as Catholic Christians respond to questions of suffering, evil and death in our world, in light of Jesus’ Resurrection, Second Coming and the Final Judgment He will bring?

The words of the Sermon on the Plain in Luke spell out the extent and depth of the mercy, compassion and tender regard of our God-Father, Jesus and the Spirit that is given to us as believers. The measure of holiness for those who belong to God lies in the measure of our mercy and compassion, "pressed down, shaken together, running over in the folds of our garments." This is the balm of Gilead, the solace of peace, the power of meekness that resists evil yet does no harm. "My religion is kindness" says the Dalai Lama ... Jesus’ religion is mercy born of justice and the stories are like rain.

Setting up an excellent leadership structure requires a team of youth and adults. Join us and learn of a team design that is proven to work. Learn how to grow leadership in the soil of love, skills and achievement. Come and see!

This session will begin by answering basic what and why questions about Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI). Participants will apply MI theory for designing bulletins, handouts, manuals, schedules, lessons and signage.

For several years, many communities throughout the country have been celebrating multicultural and multilingual liturgies with varying degrees of success. Some communities are now just being faced with this reality. What have we learned that works? What do we still need to examine and experiment with? Come prepared to learn, sing, dialogue and be challenged.

When Paul preached his famous sermon to the people of Athens in the Book of Acts (Acts 17), he was engaging in "culturally appropriate" theology. But he was not the only Hebrew to experiment with "culturally sensitive theology." In this session we will explore the Prophet Isaiah’s radically "indigenous" cultural theology and its relation to Isaiah’s famous "universal message" to all peoples.

The presence of basic ecclesial communities (BECs) has been both a consoling and disturbing phenomenon in the Church. They are questioned and are asked to justify their existence. In this workshop, we shall listen instead to some questions BECs ask of the whole Church. As we listen to these difficult and unsettling questions, we understand why BECs are a force for renewal.