RECongress 2005 - Period 3: Friday, February 18, 2005

The central message of Jesus becomes diluted by religion’s preoccupation with moralism and structure. We, who are preachers, teachers, parents and parishioners, can once again experience the Gospel’s power to transform our lives and the lives of the people we love and serve.

Fr. Paul Boudreau has been a priest for the Diocese of Norwich, Conn., for 23 years. Before being ordained, he was editor of Motocross Action, a leading motorcycle racing magazine. He now writes full time for several Catholic journals, including U.S. Catholic, Today’s Parish, and Catholic Digest. Fr. Boudreau has given numerous retreats and missions. He is currently “on loan” to the Diocese of San Bernardino, Calif.

The wonderful, marvelous, amazing Grace of God inspires us to walk and talk and sing of God’s goodness toward us. Come join in an exciting experience of witness through song. You’d better be prepared to be roused by new, alive ways of giving praise.

Richard Cheri serves as Associate Director for Parish Youth Catechesis in the Office of Religious Education for the New Orleans Archdiocese. He is also Music Minister at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church and Director of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Gospel Choir. Cheri has made numerous presentations and has been the music and liturgy coordinator at a number of conferences throughout the United States.

Art engages religious imagination. Visual art, music, children’s literature and audio‑visual methods are powerful tools in the catechesis of adults and children. Patrick Collins and Les Miller will engage participants with song, visual-art appreciation and audio‑visual presentations. This duo has been likened to the combination of Raffi, Sr. Wendy and Mr. Rogers! This workshop will move you and show new possibilities for “Awakening the Grace” in your ministry.

Patrick Collins is a long-time religious educator in the schools of Newfoundland and Ontario, Canada. In his current position as Religious and Family Life Education Coordinator for the York Catholic District School Board of the Toronto Archdiocese, he has led numerous workshops and in-services on childhood catechesis and adult spirituality at conferences in the Toronto area.

Les Miller has worked as teacher, chaplain, adult-faith animator, consultant, and most recently as Chair of the Catholic Association of Religion and Family Life Educators in Ontario, Canada. He is presently a Religious Education Consultant for Family Life Education and Adult Faith Development for the York Catholic District School Board of the Archdiocese of Toronto, Canada.

Join Jaime Cortez with special friends Amanda Niksa, Trisha Hoyt, John Flaherty, Anna Betancourt, Peter Kolar and Rodolfo López as they share concrete examples of how to weave music, spoken word and liturgical movement in different moments of our Mass. These will be beautiful ideas to take home to your parish.

Jaime Cortez is a pastoral musician, composer, clinician and author of many bilingual songs for multicultural liturgies. He lives in Mesa, Ariz., where he serves as Music Director at St. Bridget Catholic Church and music teacher for Queen of Peace School. He has made presentations at many national conferences, including the L.A. Congress and the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, as well as in Japan and England.

Each individual lives within the context of family, home, career. But something else is at work in life – something with a larger, greater purpose. How do we become aware of that purpose and let the freedom it offers change our lives?

Since 1980 Paula D’Arcy has been a speaker and retreat leader both nationally and abroad. In 2001 she established and is President of the Red Bird Foundation, which ministers to prisoners and women in need. The former therapist is a well-known author of a number of books; her latest is “Sacred Threshold.”

What’s working in Catholic youth ministry? What really works with youth? What can we do to improve our parish youth ministry? Over the past two years, the Center for Ministry Development and St. Mary’s Press have been working in collaboration with the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry to study effective practices in Catholic youth ministry. This workshop will present the findings of this national study and provide practical implications and starting points so that all of our ministries with youth can be enhanced by this information.

Tom East is Director of the Center for Ministry Development, based in Washington state. Previously he was Director of Youth Ministry and Associate Director of Religious Education for the Los Angeles Archdiocese. East is author of “Ministry Resources for Prayer and Worship” and “Effective Practices for Dynamic Youth Ministry.”

How do we bring the events of our lives and our world into the classroom/catechetical setting? Come to this workshop where we will look at the necessity of integrating what happens in the classroom with what happens outside, and explore simple steps to make this integration more effective!

Steve Ellair, a Certified Spiritual Director, is pursuing advanced studies in pastoral theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. The former Catholic school teacher, parish catechist and youth minister most recently served for over eight years as the Consultant for Elementary Catechesis in the Los Angeles Archdiocese’s Office of Religious Education. Ellair is currently a Senior Editor for RCL.

You have been told that ritual and prayer should be an integral part of your classroom, your RCIA process, or your adult formation sessions. Have you also been told why that’s important or how to do it? Do you know what ritual is, how to create a prayer, or ways to use symbols? Do you have the tools to effectively celebrate rituals with those you serve? This basic and practical presentation will teach you all that and more. Come learn, sing and pray with us.

Amy Florian is a liturgy and bereavement consultant with over 25 years of experience in parish ministry. She serves as Executive Director for Stauros USA, an organization dedicated to exploring the mystery of suffering. Florian travels the country conducting workshops, training sessions, missions and retreats. She has authored two books, has published numerous articles, and writes a regular column for Liturgical Catechesis magazine.

It is no secret that our parish communities are becoming increasingly multicultural. How can we, who minister liturgically in these parishes, help to make the worship of the parish both welcoming to people from various cultural and linguist backgrounds and faithful to the best of our Catholic liturgical traditions?

Rev. Mark Francis is currently serving as Superior General of the Clerics of St. Viator. Prior to his election in 2000, he was Professor of Liturgy at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union (CTU) for 13 years and was CTU’s Director of the Oscar Romero Scholarship Program for Hispanic lay ministers. Rev. Francis also served on the Translation/Revision Sub-Committee of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy.

The Catholic Church has always been proud of its emphasis on family life and family values, yet often our parish life, ministries and polices do not reflect these values. This workshop will briefly review the teaching of our bishops on the importance of family life in the parish, and then will offer practical strategies for creating and sustaining a family-centered parish.

Diana Gaillardetz, a pastoral ministry consultant based in Ohio, has extensive experience as both a parish pastoral associate in family ministry and a youth minister. She is a freqeuent workshop presenter for the Family Life Office for the Houston Diocese and has given workshops throughout the country in family spirituality, family ministry and marriage preparation.

Explore the movements of mystagogical catechesis, which takes the human experience of ritual and other key events as its starting point. Discover ways that this type of catechesis shapes catechumens, candidates and others in Christian formation into believers who can more easily uncover depths of meaning in ritual and life experiences.

Jerry Galipeau, currently Worship Resources Editor at World Library Publications, has presented workshops nationally and internationally on the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, ritual music and spiritual formation. Dr. Galipeau is Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate and is a frequent team member at the Forum’s institutes. He has published music as well as several magazine articles.

3-12 Transforming Spiritual Pain: Hopeful Lessons from Life’s Dark Nights of the Soul (workshop closed)

Suffering can lead to despair or a radically new perspective on living. Illness, loss, a crisis of faith or divorce are but a few of the common human experiences that cannot be healed by any pill or therapy alone. Our ancestors knew that only genuine spirituality holds the secret to abundant life and happiness – even in the face of a dark night of the soul. This workshop draws upon the wisdom of the ages. Here is an essential survivor’s guide for yourself and those with whom you live and minister.

Richard Groves is a religious educator and retreat director with 25 years of pastoral experience as a hospice chaplain. Founder of the Sacred Art of Living Pastoral Education Center in Bend, Ore., Groves trains candidates throughout the West Coast in the art of spiritual direction. The current project for this author of acclaimed adult education programs is called the “Sacred Art of Dying,” the nation’s first certification program for end-of-life care.

3-13 Get The Word Out: Helping Our Young People to Love the Bible (workshop closed)

With so many distractions, activities and temptations, today’s adolescent is bombarded with every imaginable “voice” or “direction” to follow. How can we take our greatest weapon of Christ’s truth – the Bible – and awaken our youth to the voice of God in the midst of this culture? Experience practical approaches, hear key insights and discover new ways to help your youth learn, embrace and follow God’s Word.

Award‑winning writer/producer Mark Hart currently serves as Vice President for LIFE TEEN International, running its Evangelization and Media division, which includes an Internet arm and television/film studios. As an author, Hart may be better known under his penname “Bible Geek,” publishing biweekly Scripture periodicals through www.lifeteen.com.

Every person belongs to a culture, and God works through every culture. This workshop will demonstrate the importance of multiculturalism for developing mature faith in every Catholic community. It will also propose practical strategies for all of them to make their catechetical ministries more multicultural and therefore more Catholic!

Sr. Eva Marie Lumas, a Sister of Social Service of Los Angeles, is Assistant Professor of Faith Formation and Culture and Co‑Director of the Master of Arts in Ministry for a Multicultural Church at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif. She also serves as Director of Sankofa Works, a resource network for the African-American community. In addition, Sr. Lumas is Associate Director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana.

This session will take a look at the personal spiritual journey, from the perspective of a Trinitarian spirituality. This very practical approach to everyday life and personal conversion will explain how easy and important it is for every Christian to have a relationship with all the members of the Trinity in their daily, ongoing spiritual lives.

Fr. John Markey, a member of the Southern Province of the Order of Preachers (or Dominicans), is Assistant Professor of Theology at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. He has spoken on Church unity and was 2000 keynote at Fanning the Flame, a 40th anniversary celebration of Vatican II at Seattle University. He is author of “Creating Communion: The Theology of the Constitutions of the Church.”

Pope John Paul’s social teaching is provocative and inspiring, yet too little-known by most Catholics. This session will explore the principal contributions John Paul has made to Catholic social teaching and the challenges they give to being a Christian disciple in the 21st century.

A priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, Fr. Bryan Massingale is a Professor of Moral Theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee and at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans. He publishes and lectures nationally on social justice issues and black Catholic life.

3-17 Humor and Faith-Sharing: Tools for Grace‑Filled Catechesis! (workshop closed)

Now more than ever before, parents, children and teens are looking for joy and hope! As catechists, how can we “echo the faith” with enthusiasm and help folks awaken to the “tug” of the Holy Spirit and God’s Grace? Come and practice the use of humor and faith-sharing as tools for Grace‑filled catechesis with the whole community.

Timothy Mullner is the National Consultant for Benziger-Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. He has taught in the adjunct faculty of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., and is a contributing author to “Continuing the Journey: Celebrating 40 Years of Vatican II.” Mullner has been involved in parish and diocesan ministry as keynote speaker and workshop presenter at numerous national conferences.

Museums are not only repositories of the past, but are ways to help people encounter contemporary cultures of the world. Join these unique docent sisters as they explore a museum in ways you’ve never experienced before. While they examine art and artifacts during the tour they will also offer you practical skills to share with others. Let them make your next visit to a museum a faith‑filled occasion for yourself, your family and students.

Sr. Rose Pacatte is Director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Culver City, Calif., and film critic for St. Anthony Messenger magazine. She teaches media education at the University of Dayton, Ohio, in the summer, facilitates their online media courses, and hosts “Sr. Rose Goes to the Movies” on the Hallmark Channel. With Peter Malone, she has written “Lights, Camera … Faith! A Movie Lectionary” for Cycles A, B and C.

Sr. Gretchen Hailer is a seasoned catechist and media educator who designs print, audio and video resources in faith formation for children, youth and adults. She is also a presenter on various topics to Catholic, ecumenical and interfaith audiences. Sr. Hailer has presented scores of workshops and retreats and is a Consultant to the White House regarding faith and media.

We worry so often about children’s prayers and their spirituality. Let’s take time to look at the spirituality of the catechist and find ways of helping a catechist connect with his or her own spirituality. Find out how to utilize music, texts from Scripture and sacred writings.

Bob Piercy is Catechetical Consultant for GIA Publications, where he has anchored several children’s and adult spirituality projects. He also serves as the Director of Worship and Music for Holy Family Parish in Shorewood, Ill. With experience as liturgist and musician in parishes throughout the United States, Piercy is a well-known author, lecturer and speaker on rites and rituals of the Catholic Church.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells His Disciples, “Be watchful! Be alert! … You do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight” (Mk 13:33-37). As Christians, we fully believe that Jesus will return to usher in the final days of the Earth. Though we do not know the exact time or place, we do know that He is coming back soon. Rather than thinking that we still have time, we ought to be thinking that it is already midnight. This interactive and fun workshop will focus on how we come to recognize Jesus in our midst and find a more rich, personal relationship with the Lord.

Fr. Tony Ricard, a priest of the New Orleans Archdiocese, currently serves as Pastor of both Our Lady Star of the Sea and St. Philip the Apostle parishes in New Orleans. He is Archdiocesan Liaison for Vocations in the African-American Community. Fr. Ricard teaches theology at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans and is Core Instructor for Church Doctrine at Xavier University’s Institute for Black Catholic Studies.

In all families, churches, communities and workplaces, we need women and men who, through absorbing tension, help take it away. To ponder, biblically, is to hold, carry and transform tension so as not to give it back in kind so that, like Jesus in His redemptive sufferings, we help “take away the sins of the world.” Here is your invitation to deeper discipleship.

Ronald Rolheiser is General Councilor for Canada for his order, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. For most of the 28 years of his priesthood, he has taught theology and philosophy at Newman Theological College in Edmonton, Alberta. He is a published author and newspaper columnist in more than 30 newspapers in Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States, including The Tidings, newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

Life is always offering graced teachings for our growth, if we are awake and listening. In Joyce Rupp’s pilgrimage of walking 450 miles across northern Spain, she discovered many significant lessons that now guide her life. Among the lessons she will share is the central one of learning how not to push and hurry so much in life. Her life lessons on the Camino will re‑energize and reorient your own life and ministry.

Joyce Rupp, international speaker and retreat director for more than 20 years, describes herself as a “spiritual mid‑wife.” She is a member of the Servants of Mary community and lives in Des Moines, Iowa. Sr. Rupp divides her time among conferences and retreats, spiritual guidance and writing. She has published 14 books, including her latest, co‑authored with Macrina Wiederkehr, “The Circle of Life: A Spirituality of the Four Seasons.”

Do you want your child to be capable of making reliable decisions, to be accountable and trustworthy, and to be able to stand up to peer pressure? Learn how your own parenting style affects your child’s ability to be accountable, and how to model the very behaviors you want and expect from your child. Straightforward and practical methods to teach responsible behavior will be discussed.

Steve Saso has over 30 years’ experience in the field of education as a high school teacher, administrator and pastoral counselor. As a media personality and professional speaker for more than a decade, he travels extensively giving seminars. He and his wife are co-owners of Saso Seminars & Counseling Services and authors of the award-winning book, “10 Best Gifts For Your Teen.”

How and why did the story of Jesus come to be told in the stories of the Gospels? What are the pastoral and theological implications of the simple truth that the Gospel message finds expression in these four diverse Gospels? This workshop will explore how we hold together the unity of the Gospel with the diversity and plurality of its various articulations, both in the early Church and today. Be sure to bring your Bibles!

Dr. Jeffrey Siker is Professor of New Testament and Chair of the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he has taught since 1987. He is author of several books and dozens of articles on the New Testament, Jewish‑Christian relations, and the history of biblical interpretation. Dr. Siker has spoken at various churches as well as at regional and national ecclesial and professional gatherings.

This session on the Book of Revelation – or, “How I learned to stop worrying and love the apocalypse of John” – will survey seven different approaches to understanding this enigmatic and fascinating book. Arm yourself with choices and never fear this book again!

Since 1989 Dr. Daniel Smith-Christopher has taught at Loyola Marymount University, as Professor of Theological Studies (Old Testament) and Director of Peace Studies. He has published dozens of articles and reviews as well as nine books. Dr. Christopher lectures frequently at conferences of the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and United Methodist Churches in Southern California.

This session will focus on the 10 years of covenant between Lutherans, Episcopalians and Roman Catholics, highlighting areas where it is successful as well as those areas requiring attention. The panel will consist of The Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith, Ecumenical Officer for the Los Angeles Archdiocese; Rev. Dn. Dr. Gwynne Guibord, Ecumenical Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles; and Pastor Carol Nolte, Ecumenical Officer for the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Special emphasis will be placed on practical suggestions of how this covenant might be implemented on the pastoral level.

In 1987, Rev. Alexei Smith, a Greek Catholic priest and Los Angeles native, was assigned to serve two small Eastern Catholic communities in El Segundo, Calif.: St. Andrew Russian Greek Catholic Church and St. Paul Melkite Greek Catholic Mission. In 2000, Rev. Smith was appointed Director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Los Angeles Archdiocese, making him the first Greek Catholic priest to head an archdiocesan office.

Rev. Dr. Gwynne Guibord is the Officer of Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. She is immediate past President for the California Council of Churches and past President of Progressive Christians Uniting. Dr. Guibord currently serves as Vice President of Southern California Ecumenical Council, as Chair of the national board of The Interfaith Alliance, and as member of the Los Angeles’ Interreligious Council.

Rev. Carol Nolte is a graduate of Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minn. Ordained in 1982, she has been an active member of the ecumenical dialogues for her entire ministry and was recently appointed by her bishop to serve as the ecumenical representative for the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Rev. Nolte is Pastor of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in West Los Angeles.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops states that the purpose of a parish or campus community is to feed and nurture people to be a leaven in society. This workshop will address practical steps for making this vision become a reality. It will provide models for involving more members in the mission of the parish. This workshop is designed for parishioners, as well as the leaders of the parish.

Bro. Loughlan Sofield is Senior Editor of Human Development magazine. A member of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, he has taught or lectured in over 200 dioceses on five continents. He is author of several books and is a former member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth.

Using the insights of great poets and their poetry, this session will be a time to re‑imagine and re‑dedicate ourselves to a deeper understanding of our life’s work. Work is important to human beings. Through our work we not only provide for self and family but also, unknowingly, shape our society and our future. Working is never a passive activity – every moment of doing we are also becoming someone different. Work can be soul destroying, worrying and burdensome, yet it can also be life-giving and an absolute gift to others. At its best, work is an intimate place of self-discovery, where we become more visible and knowable to ourselves and to others.

Poet David Whyte, a native of Yorkshire, England, has traveled extensively in his work as naturalist guide and leader of anthropological and natural history expeditions. He brings this wealth of experiences to his poetry, lectures and workshops. He is author of five books of poetry, an audio cassette lecture series, and an album of poetry and music. Whyte now lives in the Pacific Northwest.

The “General Instruction on the Roman Missal,” or GIRM, gives exceptionally detailed directives for celebrating Mass, but some questions linger: What do altar servers do? Which vessels are appropriate? How do we make the Communion rite more meaningful and prayerful? Who joins the procession at the end of Mass? What principles do we use to make liturgical decisions on the local level?

During this presentation participants will go through a Sunday Liturgy of the Word, discussing the overall structure and meaning of each element. Suggestions will be made for preparing the Liturgy of the Word during the week. Suggestions for the classroom, religious education and parish schools of religion will also be made.

Since 1991 Joyce Zimmerman, a Sister of the Precious Blood, has worked full time in pastoral liturgical education. She is Director of the Institute for Liturgical Ministry in Dayton, Ohio, and founding Editor and columnist of Liturgical Ministry magazine. The Adjunct Professor of Liturgy is also a liturgical consultant and frequent facilitator of workshops on liturgy. She has published numerous books and articles on liturgy and prayer.

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2005 PERIOD 3

Religious Education Congress
Friday, February 18, 2005
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

2005 PERIOD 3

Religious Education Congress Friday, February 18, 2005 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Religious Education Congress
Friday, February 18, 2005
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.