RECongress 2010 - Period 6: Saturday, March 20, 2010

CONGRESS 2010 WORKSHOPS & LINKS
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What does it take to engage people in the life of the parish? What are the results of parishioner engagement in the lives of individuals, in the parish and in the world? Explore practical steps to build and sustain engagement among your parishioners. Plan now to engage parishioners at key moments in their lives, for lasting faith and life within the Body of Christ.

Research indicates that young adults, like most North Americans, are only passingly familiar with the grand narrative of Christianity: the gripping, inspiring, instructive story of women and men who have attempted to imitate Christ over the ages, and the struggles, triumphs and sufferings of ordinary Catholics to live the Gospel. The story is complicated and vast. How do we retrieve and present the stories within the story in a way that is accessible to contemporary people? The presentation will focus on means and methods of retrieving the tradition and re-presenting it in preaching, formation, catechesis, education and social justice ministry.

Scott Appleby is Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where he teaches courses in the history of Catholicism and global conflict and peace. He is also the John M. Regan Jr. Director at the University’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Appleby authored "Church and Age Unite! The Modernist Impulse in American Catholicism," and was General Editor of the Cornell University Press series "Catholicism in Twentieth Century America."

6-03 Engaging Faith in the World: A Spirituality of Solidarity for Young People (workshop closed)

In a world with such dramatic changes, it is essential we help young people acquire a clear and unifying vision of human society rooted in the Gospels and in Catholic social tradition – based in the truth that we are all members of one family. Join staff from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for an interactive presentation that explores a theology and pedagogy for solidarity that fosters transformation and deepens engagement in the world. Thomas Awiapo will share his story of hunger and survival growing up in Ghana, West Africa, bringing to fullness God’s invitation to live as one human family.

Orphaned by the age of 10, Thomas Awiapo survived poverty and hunger in his small African village. His search for food led him to school at age 12 where he eventually won scholarships to attend college and later earned a master’s degree from California State University, Hayward. Awiapo is currently the Global Solidarity Coordinator with Catholic Relief Services, Ghana, West Africa, where he participates in speaking tours and hosting delegations.

After serving two years in Central America 20 years ago, Baltimore native Ted Miles worked in parish ministry, Catholic high school education and archdiocesan leadership development. Since 2005, he has worked for Catholic Relief Services as the Relationship Manager for Religious Education and coordinator of the agency’s youth outreach in the United States. Miles has presented at numerous regional and national conferences.

In this session, we continue the multi-year Los Angeles Congress "series" that now focuses on relating the reality of the presence of gay and lesbian Catholics to the realities of church teaching, toward further conversation on pastoral approaches to ministry with gay and lesbian Catholics. Dr. Tom Beaudoin will moderate a panel including Sr. Fran Ferder, Fr. Richard Benson, and Bishop Raúl Vera López.

The Year of St. Paul is over, but do we make Paul’s spirituality the core of our spirituality as disciples and teachers? We can concentrate on his 10 key insights and 10 key methods of preaching and teaching to become true disciples and partners of St. Paul in the Church’s mission.

Fr. Lawrence Boadt is President and Publisher of Paulist Press and Professor Emeritus of Sacred Scripture at the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C. Fr. Boadt frequent gives public lectures, workshops and retreats throughout the United States. He is author of "Reading the Old Testament" and commentaries on Jeremiah, Proverbs and the Book of Genesis.

6-06 Jesus, Gang Members and Attachment: Creating a Secure Base for Those on the Margins

In this session, Fr. Greg Boyle leads a theological and practical exploration of the themes of attachment, resilience and re-identification of gang members in the community context of Homeboy Industries – a model for a national program providing job training and placement assistance for those seeking to leave gang life.

Fr. Greg Boyle is founder and Executive Director of Jobs For a Future/Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention and employment referral program for gang-involved youth in the United States. Fr. Boyle is an acknowledged expert on gangs and intervention approaches and is a nationally renowned speaker. He is also a consultant to youth service and governmental agencies, policy makers and employers.

Come get a taste of the liturgical year as you are plunged into the inspiring, exciting genre of gospel music. This will spark your praying community to give praise to God with a joyful noise!

Richard Cheri is Director of Liturgy and Music at Our Lady of the Sea Catholic Church in New Orleans. He has published several musical compositions and has made numerous presentations at liturgical and catechetical conferences throughout the country with his team of liturgical musicians: Jalonda Robertson, Timothy Jones Jr. and Jennifer Broyard Bonam. With the musical contributions of Kenneth Louis, W. Clifford Petty, and Cheri’s young son, Richie, this team of liturgical music ministers has given workshops and provided music at conferences throughout the United States.

This workshop will deal with fundamental issues regarding end-of-life concerns, with special focus on the meaning of an Advanced Directive, encompassing issues as allowing one’s self to die as well as palliative and hospice care.

Discover ways to draw catechumens and the assembly into powerful celebrations of the three Lenten Scrutinies. This is an opportunity for musicians, liturgists, initiation ministers, catechists and presiders to work together to prepare liturgies at the heart of the Lenten journey of conversion for the entire parish.

While today’s economic challenges have impacted our workplaces (including churches and schools), our workplace environment has undergone enormous change, securitization, threat and the necessity of a survival mentality. People come to work for a variety of reasons: personal/professional goals, salary and benefits, a sense of purpose. Much of that remains, but the workplaces are discovering that loss, including death, comes to work, too – the death of an employee, the death of a job, the death of the workplace, violence in the workplace. This seminar will focus on prevention/intervention/retention, types of losses, and how we can help.

Fr. Dick Gilbert is an Anglican priest, thanatologist (one who studies death), author and teacher. He is presently Executive Director of the World Pastoral Care Center and Instructor at the Benedictine University of Illinois, teaching courses in psychology, counseling, spirituality, bereavement and pastoral care. Serving 25 years as a hospital chaplain and bereavement counselor, Fr. Gilbert has a long record of advocacy for the bereaved. He has presented throughout the United States and internationally.

The ministry and call of liturgical music ministry is multi-faceted, and in the midst of the present climate, where the liturgy and music "wars" seem to be poisoning not only our worship but our call "to love and serve the Lord," a conversion of heart and a re-commitment to our vocation is needed. Come and join a musical and reflective journey to seek a new and better way to serve as ministers of music, and make a new covenant as we go forward to be more faithful to our baptism, to rediscover the joy of our song and the call to love. We will sing, pray and find a path to move beyond the "wars" and embrace the love of Christ in our song.

If you find it difficult to forgive, this workshop can offer you encouragement. If you’re having trouble accepting forgiveness for something you have done, this can be your inspiration and guide. Join us as we take an honest look at the major obstacles to forgiving, at time-tested ways to get past these, and at the spiritual transformation that follows when we do.

Paula Huston, a Camaldolese Benedictine oblate, is a wife, mother and grandmother. She taught writing and literature at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and served as a core faculty member of the California State University Consortium Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program for many years before leaving academia to write full time. She is author of five books and also a regular contributor to print publications including Image, Geez, America, The Christian Century, as well as online Catholic resources.

What we sing, and how well we sing it, can either nourish or hinder the faith-lives of those we serve. Discover what the documents have to say about catechesis and liturgy, and experience the power of sung, communal prayer. New, exciting arrangements of African-American spirituals will be featured. These beautiful songs have classic and contemporary lyrics that speak to today’s realities. Learn how to use this American, sacred music to inspire, to uplift and, most importantly, to teach.

Tom Kendzia has been a professional liturgical musician for over 30 years and has 20 collections of liturgical and instrumental music. He has appeared in concert and as a speaker throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Far East, and he is regularly featured at national conferences. Kendzia is the National Music and Liturgy Consultant for Harcourt Religion Publishers, and since 2002, has been the Music and Worship Director of the East Coast Conference for Religious Education.

ValLimar Jansen is a well-known singer, composer and recording artist. She is also an experienced college professor, a leader of worship and prayer and a workshop presenter at conferences across the United States and abroad. ValLimar also conducts retreats, parish missions, youth rallies, liturgy in-services and parish workshops. She and her husband Frank perform concerts at the parochial, diocesan, regional and national levels.

Frank Jansen, a professional musician for over 30 years, is a highly regarded pianist and keyboard player as well as composer/arranger in both live and studio settings. He has served as arranger or music director for numerous liturgies and concerts at local festivals and national events. Frank performs with countless names in the fields of sacred, popular and jazz music. He and his wife are winners of two 2008 Unity Awards for Best Gospel Album and Best Gospel Song.

6-14 NCYAMA: A National Network for Reaching Young Adults – and How It Can Help You (workshop closed)

In recent years, there are less and less ministries for adults in their 20s and 30s. Meanwhile, more and more young adults are disappearing from Catholic pews. Is there a connection? The National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association (NCYAMA) seeks to reverse those trends by providing resources, networking and training for those in parishes, dioceses, religious communities and Catholic organizations. Learn what NCYAMA is all about and how it can help you in your ministry in the Church today – no matter what you do.

Parishes that embrace and foster the reality of cultural diversity discover that their spiritual rootedness and expression become more conscious and compelling. This workshop will explore ways to develop parishioner awareness and pastoral leadership to more fully embrace and nurture multiculturalism in a local parish.

Sr. Eva Lumas, a Sister of Social Service of Los Angeles, is Assistant Professor of Faith and Culture and Director of Field Education at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif. She is also Director of Sankofa Works, a faith development/resource network for the African-American community. Sr. Lumas also serves as an Adjunct Professor of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, and as Co-Director of the resource network, Godworks.

If you are excited about filling the church with young people, you’ll want to come to this workshop! If you’re looking for full, conscious, active and passionate participation in the liturgy with youth, then this workshop is for you! If you’re in need of more effective ways of recruiting for youth cantors, choir and band, ministers of hospitality, proclaimers and, need we say, awaken and inspire vocations to the priesthood and religious life, then this workshop is for you. There will be faith. There will be song. There will be fun.

Self-labeled "Catholic Lay Evangelizer and Undercover Catechist" Jesse Manibusan is co-founder of 2 by 2 Ministries. With experience as music minister, catechist and youth worker, he travels throughout the United States, Canada and beyond, with numerous appearances at the L.A. Congress, four World Youth Days (Denver, Toronto, Cologne and Sydney), and various parish missions, Catholic schools and diocesan events. Manibusan also has recorded several CDs.

This workshop will engage participants in exploring the current best practices in adult faith formation. We will examine dynamic methods for engaging adults in faith forming in age-specific, family and individual, parish and wider community settings.

Mariette Martineau is both student and freelance writer/trainer. She formerly was Project Coordinator for Family and Intergenerational Ministry at the Center for Ministry Development. She has presented workshops and institutes on lifelong faith formation and intergenerational ministry across the United States and Canada. Currently completing an intensive degree program, Martineau would like to continue her service in Catholic schools ministry.

Joan Weber has been with the Center for Ministry Development since 1995. Presently, she is Project Coordinator for Young Adult Ministry and Project Coordinator for Lifelong Faith Formation, and does training and writing in both of these areas. Weber has experience at the parish, diocesan and national levels, has taught theology in a Catholic high school, and has taught ministry formation at several universities.

The gracious gift of forgiveness and mercy, born of justice and compassion is the heart of Jesus’ life and message, and it must be so with us also. Jesus’ words ring out: "Nor do I condemn you!" These words must echo in our hearts and in our world, in our mouths and in our relationships. Always we are summoned to remember: See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? (Is 43). We must be this new thing that proclaims by our very presence and actions that the incredible abundance of God’s mercy sings through us and illuminates our souls and world. Come be light and revel in the vast excess of our God.

It is well-known that the evangelical churches are drawing large numbers of Catholics, especially the young, into their communities. We Catholics often wring our hands in exasperation at this phenomenon. But that response is inadequate. This workshop will try to offer some constructive alternatives based on the experience of the evangelicals and the riches of our own tradition.

Fr. Martin Pable, a Capuchin-Franciscan friar of the Midwest Province, is Adjunct Professor at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. He is also Co-Director of the Capuchin Formation Program. Besides teaching and his extensive writings, Fr. Pable conducts retreats and other programs for priests, religious and parishes, both in the United States and abroad.

Starting with Jaroslav Pelikan’s ironic remark that he feared his grandchildren would grow up without a faith to reject, this presentation looks critically at the current "I’m spiritual but not religious" phenomenon and the reduction of religion to one more commodity, then makes several suggestions aimed at helping young adults to encounter the living God.

Fr. Tom Rausch is the T. Marie Chilton Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. A specialist in ecclesiology, Christology and ecumenism, he has published extensively. Four times his work has been recognized by the Catholic Press Association. Fr. Rausch is a member of the Anglican/Roman Catholic Consultation USA; he also co-Chairs both the Los Angeles Catholic/Evangelical Committee and the Theological Commission for the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

We are born into this world with a tortured complexity. There are no simple answers. Love asks us to have wide loyalties, to not sell-out truth no matter where we find it, to respect God’s abundance in all its forms. The path of discipleship then comes laden with certain innate tensions. Fidelity asks us to live inside those tensions. What are these tensions? How do we stay within them without selling-out or breaking down?

6-22 The Ecstatic Clarity of John: A Profoundly "New" Easter Triduum Celebration

Lifting us out of all pain and suffering, a Triduum practice that focuses on the Gospel of John is not any kind of historical re-creation. Instead, the words of John offer a passionate present-moment experience of Jesus that helps us learn to fully receive the gifts of joy, of sensuality, of wholeness and plenitude with which we are surrounded. Focused on the foot washing, Jesus’ trial, his quiet death and the subsequent scene between Mary and the resurrected Jesus in the garden, Dr. Alexander Shaia presents a wholly new vision of John’s Gospel that will transform both your personal prayer and your homiletic preparation for Easter.

Volunteers provide countless hours of service and can be the power plant that keeps a ministry running. Keeping your volunteers fueled is an essential part of parish leadership. According to Martin Luther King Jr., you only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love to serve. Take those hearts full of love – your volunteers – and help generate their souls. You’ll leave with strategies for enriching, empowering and inspiring your volunteers.

As Director of Volunteer Services for the Girl Scout Council of Orange County in California, Vikki Shepp works with a volunteer group that is 5,000 strong. Additionally, as a ministry consultant, she has been involved in many aspects of ministry with volunteers, staff, youth and diocesan leaders. Shepp has spoken at diocesan events and national conferences, including the L.A. Congress and World Youth Day, Toronto in 2002.

Christian life challenges us to live abundantly! This session will re-define what it means to live an abundant life – in our daily eating, our lifestyle, our spiritual life, and reaching out to others through hospitality. Carol Showalter and Maggie Davis will inspire and equip you with positive ideas and practical wisdom for nourishing your body, mind and spirit.

6-25 Forming Strong Catholic Teens by Building Strong Catholic Families (workshop closed)

The research on teens and faith cannot be clearer: Parents matter … a lot! So what is the Church doing to engage and partner with parents in supporting them in their rightful role as primary formers of faith for their family? And what can parents do to take ownership for leading their children and teens toward a vibrant faith that embraces discipleship? Come and explore the answers to these important questions as we begin a process for apprenticing strong Catholic parents who will help form the next generation of faith-filled disciples.

Michael Theisen presently serves as Director of Membership Services for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. He has been engaged in youth ministry and adolescent catechesis for 25 years, authoring numerous articles and more than 15 books. His experience extends from parish to diocesan and national levels, and is a frequent speaker and trainer throughout the United States. Theisen also serves as the Convener for the Partnership for Adolescent Catechesis.

The story of The Great Recession is not one of just a few bad apples spoiling it for the rest of us. It is a story of a sin as old as history – idolatry. In the market we put our trust, our hope and our future. Market values replaced moral values and we are now bearing the consequences. Our economic recession must be met with a moral recovery.

Jim Wallis is a best-selling author, public theologian, speaker and international commentator on faith and public life. His latest book is titled "The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith & Politics in a Post-Religious Right America." Wallis is President and CEO of Sojourners and is Editor-in-Chief of Sojourners magazine. His columns appear in major newspapers, and he regularly appears as a television commentator and on National Public Radio.

Whoever tells the stories defines the culture. Today the traditional storytellers are being pushed aside by electronic storytellers. Video games, TV, MySpace and YouTube have become our modern storytellers. Dr. David Walsh will describe the promise and peril, peer into the digital future, and explain how religious educators can respond to the challenge.

Did you ever stop and think that parenting is the only job that we will ever have that required no training. Our children do not come with manuals! Char Wenc will empower and encourage you with practical parenting skills: "Becoming a parent is a gift from God, while parenting itself is a learned skill."

2010 RECongress Period 6

Religious Education Congress
Saturday, March 20, 2010
3:00 - 4:30 pm

2010 RECongress Period 6

Religious Education Congress Saturday, March 20, 2010 3:00 - 4:30 pm

Religious Education Congress
Saturday, March 20, 2010
3:00 - 4:30 pm