RECongress 2007 - Period 7: Sunday, March 4, 2007

CONGRESS 2007 WORKSHOPS & LINKS
THURSDAY	• Youth Day Info • Youth Day Schedule • Youth Day Workshops
WORKSHOPS FRIDAY: SATURDAY: SUNDAY:	Page Links • Period 1 • Period 2 • Period 3 • Period 4 • Period 5 • Period 6 • Period 7 • Period 8	PDF Links • Friday PDF • Saturday PDF • Sunday PDF
EN ESPAÑOL VIERNES: SÁBADO: DOMINGO:	TALLERES • Sesión 1 • Sesión 2 • Sesión 3 • Sesión 4 • Sesión 5 • Sesión 6 • Sesión 7 • Sesión 8	• español PDF
2007 FEATURES	• Youth Day • Theme • Cardinal Online • Photos • Schedule • Speakers • Order Recordings • Comments • Exhibitor Listing • Exhibitor Categories • Statistics

Who is Jesus for us today and how do we live faithfully in his footsteps? Compassion is a central hallmark of the Judeo‑Christian understanding of God and of the life and ministry of Jesus. By exploring several key Gospel passages we will learn from Jesus what it means to embrace in our lives a “politics of compassion” today.

7-02 It’s Elementary! Using Music & Movement Creatively in Religious Education

How can music and movement be incorporated into religious education to creatively and effectively enhance the learning process? Participants in this workshop will be actively involved in a variety of energizing activities and songs that are suitable for children at the elementary level. Areas such as Scripture, Sacraments, doctrine and Church seasons will be addressed during this session.

This workshop will address our call to integrity, transparency and accountability in light of the recent scandals that have touched our Church.

7-04 Confronting the Massive Secularity of Today’s Young Adults (WORKSHOP CLOSED)

There is a lament among many in the Church today that our parishes are older, lacking in attendance and missing the vitality brought to communities by younger people. Apparently an increasing number of young adults do not see the need and value of religion in their lives. They are good people, spiritual people, but not religious people. This workshop will address that phenomenon and offer some practical strategies to make parish life more accessible to today’s younger, more secular, less-religious-but-spiritual young adults in their 20s and 30s.

The Gospel message reminds us that “we are light” and counsels us not to hide our light but rather “give it away.” As evangelizers we are summoned to share the light of faith in our households, in our parish communities, at work and always. What are the hopes and challenges for our evangelizing efforts as we proclaim the Word and live the Word in deed and action?

Msgr. Ray East is presently Pastor of St. Teresa of Avila in Washington, D.C., where he also directs the Office of Black Catholics and is Vicar for Evangelization for the Archdiocese. Msgr. East works in the areas of youth ministry and evangelization.

7-06 Effective Prayer with Children: It’s Easier Than you Think! (WORKSHOP CLOSED)

Ever get stuck when it comes to prayer with children? Looking for new and creative ideas to use? Then sign up for this workshop! We will explore how essential prayer is for children and learn easy techniques for creating powerful prayer experiences. We will identify the keys necessary for nurturing a child’s relationship to God.

On Monday, March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, capital of the Central American nation of El Salvador, was shot dead at the altar because he spoke the truth about the dark evils of repression and exploitation in his country. He loved his people and authentically lived out the option for the poor. He was an ordinary pastor who did extraordinary things. He walked in the Light, and it was his road to Calvary.

Are you involved in preparing Children’s Liturgy of the Word? Have you found that sometimes it turns into entertainment or just keeping the kids busy until they can return to worship? Who is looking for creative and liturgically appropriate ideas? This practical session explores why and how we create energizing and meaningful liturgical experiences for Children’s Liturgy of the Word.

7-09 Be Sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit: The Theology and Spirituality of the Sacrament of Confirmation (WORKSHOP CLOSED)

In exploring the Rite of Confirmation and the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” Dr. Paul Ford will share insights gained in teaching sacramental theology and spirituality and will suggest strategies for increasing awareness of the power of this Sacrament in the about‑to‑be- and the already‑confirmed.

Since 1988, Dr. Paul Ford has taught at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, Calif., where he is currently Professor of Systematic Theology and Liturgy. In addition, he teaches ecclesiology, sacramental theology, eschatology, Mariology, music and liturgy, chant and spirituality. In 1995 he was honored by Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony with the Laudatus Award “for excellence in the promotion of the liturgical life of the parishes and the people of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.”

Thomas Merton left a rich legacy of spiritual writing that rekindled the practice of lectio divina (“sacred reading”) for contemporary Christians. Sr. Meg Funk will teach the tradition of lectio divina through the manifold voices of Scripture, nature and experience, and musician-composer Sr. Kathleen Deignan will explore how spiritual master Thomas Merton invites modern worldly contemplatives to the sustaining art of lectio divina.

7-11 Formation and Evangelization: Whole Community Catechesis (WORKSHOP CLOSED)

Each and every parish exists in order to evangelize: “Go, therefore, and teach all nations!” Explore ways that Whole Community/intergenerational catechetical models can embrace this Gospel mandate for evangelization and Christian formation.

During this session we will explore the role of some women in Scripture as they come alive and speak to contemporary women. We will be empowered and affirmed by the living spirits of our sisters who have gone before us.

7-13 When Grief Follows a Suicide: Are God’s Loving Arms Wide Enough for All of Us? (WORKSHOP CLOSED)

The growing numbers surrounding suicide should be a concern to all of us. While we respond with horror when it involves a child or teen, the fastest growing numbers are with people over 65. Sometimes religion has burdened the griever. This seminar will discuss the journey of grief following a suicide, how we can walk with them and the wideness of God’s mercy through all of this.

7-14 The Ministry of Liturgical Music: A Musical, Liturgical and Pastoral Mission

Since Vatican II, the journey of liturgical music has been filled with creativity, experimentation, growth and diversity, alongside an explosion of repertoire and resources; resulting in a divided conversation about the role and place of music. Music ministry often becomes a division over style and purpose in communal worship. This session will explore these stances, and through music and reflection, re‑focus us all to the true role of music in the liturgy and to our calling as ministers of music – whether in leadership or in the assembly.

The “General Instruction of the Roman Missal” calls the Eucharistic Prayer the “core and summit of the entire celebration” (GIRM #78). In this session, we will explore its structure and theological themes and compare various musical settings of the texts.

How do you know which mission trips to go on? Go with your youth group or go alone? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Catholic experience vs. one that is ecumenical? What are my choices and what difference does it make? Learn how you and your group can participate in an amazing experience.

Jim Knowles is the Special Markets Manager for Group Publishing. He has more than 25 years of youth ministry experience in high school teaching, retreat work, parish and diocesan ministry and on the national youth ministry front. He has been a workshop presenter at both the Religious Education Congress and the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry.

7-17 Preaching to the Converted: How Do We Preach and Teach the Good News to Modern People?

As proclaimers of the Good News it is not what we have to say but how we say it that counts in the transmission of the faith. Using parables, stories and examples from television and film, Fr. Richard Leonard will show how we can present complex and traditional spiritual insights in the modern tongue.

7-18 The Common Good in an Unequal World (*)
(formerly titled "The Church Desired by Vatican II)

This session will reflect on the questions: Is the Church today truly the Church desired by Vatican II? Has the doctrine of Vatican II been received in the Church universal? Are there areas where this vision has been blocked or impeded? What are the challenges in the Church’s future?

A Gospel‑centered community is the basis for both the celebration of the Eucharist and for a eucharistic spirituality. Though these realities are interrelated, the health of the Christian community is at its foundation. This workshop will consider the eucharist of the world and the eucharist of the altar. Liturgy itself is a tool to enhance a Christian community, but it cannot play the major role. The Gospel plays the key role in building up a community and enhancing the Mass and eucharistic spirituality.

The U.S. Catholic population has grown by 20 million over the last 40 years. This growth also ushered an explosion of needs and expectations for ministry in every possible arena of Church life. Lay ecclesial ministers are the “new kids on the block” when it comes to parish leadership – a reality that continues to unfold throughout the United States, and most especially in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. This workshop will provide the theological foundation for alternative models of leadership and the hands‑on experience of those already serving in a parish as a Parish Life Director or Priest Minister.

Sr. Carol Quinlivan, a sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, is a spiritual director, retreat facilitator and a certified Master Catechist. She currently serves as Director for the Office of Parish Life at the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Previously, she worked for seven years as a Regional Coordinator for the archdiocesan Office of Religious Education, and five years as Campus Minister at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

In our busy world we often get caught in the whirlwind and miss the beauty of our truest, deepest self. This workshop is based on the parables of the pearl of great price and the treasure hidden in the field. Joyce Rupp’s reflections and suggestions will help restore confidence not only in your personal talents and self-worth, they will motivate you to enthusiastically re-enter your ministry with stronger belief in your inner resources. This workshop will also inspire those in leadership to enable others to believe in and activate their talents and abilities. It is time to recognize and celebrate our treasures!

Your soul receives and responds to the Light! In this session we will look at what we mean by the “soul” and how we nourish it. The session will revisit tradition, recent research, spiritual writers, art and music to consider what we understand by the soul, and how it compels us to bask in the Light. In the session we hope to inspire and encourage you to reconsider the soul, how it shapes our deeper desires and how we might feed it! As catechists and teachers we will look for ways to communicate what we are learning so that we not only stand in the Light, but reflect it!

One participates in liturgy, prays regularly, is active in the parish, and tries to be a good person, but it doesn’t seem to be enough anymore. One is plagued with the honest and practical question: What do I do next? In this presentation, invitations from both the East and the West are offered as to how the “inner soil” needs to be prepared for the next step in the spiritual life.

7-24 From Mental Illness to Spiritual Wisdom: A Father-Daughter Odyssey (WORKSHOP CLOSED)

Based on the powerful response to their presentation last year, Tom and Barbara Zanzig return to tell the moving story of their journey as father and daughter – through the pain and occasional trauma of Barb’s bipolar condition to spiritual insight and personal transformation. The lessons they have learned can help all young adults and their parents who love them.

After devoting 25 years to the development of youth ministry education materials, Tom Zanzig is now freelance writer, trainer, retreat director and speaker. He is President of his own publishing and consulting company, Zanzig & Associates. Barb Zanzig, 31, works as a make-up artist for MAC Cosmetics in Madison, Wis. She has learned to accept her mental illness as a gift that offers powerful spiritual lessons.

2007 RECongress Period 7

Religious Education Congress
Sunday, March 4, 2007
10:00 - 11:30 am

2007 RECongress Period 7

Religious Education CongressSunday, March 4, 2007 10:00 - 11:30 am

Religious Education Congress
Sunday, March 4, 2007
10:00 - 11:30 am