RECongress 2014
March 13 (Youth Day) & March 14-16, 2014

2014 Theme
"Hope: A World Afire" / "Esperanza que Enciende al Mundo"

Youth Day Theme
"Never Alone, Forever Accepted"

 • What is Congress?

 • Dates

 • YM Contact

 • YD Deadlines

 • YD T-Shirts

 • YD Speaker Feature

 • Congress Speakers

 • Registration

 • Congress Spotlight

 • Hotel Specials

 • Disney Ticket Offer

 • For So. Cal Only

 • RECongress.org

 • Emailing

Online at archive.recongress.org


Email us at
congress
@la-archdiocese.org

Office of Religious Education - Archdiocese of Los Angeles

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Happy New Year! And that means the 2014 Religious Education Congress is only two months away — with some deadlines approaching. For Youth Day, there is the January 3 deadline for those interested being MCs; and January 8 for those who would like to join the Youth Day Choir or Band. Beginning Tuesday, January 7, Congress attendees are able to pre-order online specially priced Disneyland and Disney California Adventure tickets. And, remember, the early (lower) pricing for Youth Day and Congress registration is schedule to end after January 22. Are you receiving this Congress Emailng in your inbox? Pass along this emailing or our link — archive.recongress.orgg — to receive the latest information about Congress 2014 and encourage your friends to sign up for our Congress Emailing for updates. If you do not care to receive future updates, you can find removal information at the bottom of this message. ¡Para información en español, clic aquí!

WHAT IS CONGRESS?
The Religious Education Congress, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Religious Education, is the nation's largest annual gathering of Roman Catholics! Our last RECongress, held in March, brought together nearly 40,000 people during the four-day weekend! We had registrants from across the country and as far away as Ireland and Australia.

See 2013 Congress Statistics

Location
Congress is held annually at the Anaheim Convention Center, located at 800 West Katella Ave. in Anaheim, Calif. (just south of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure). See a Yahoo Map

Fees
The registration fee for Youth Day 2014, March 13 is $30 per person. The adult days have a separate registration and fee, which is $70 per person. Fees increase after the late registration date (postmarked after January 22, 2014). There is a $30 processing fee for refunds. There are NO REFUNDS AFTER JANUARY 22, 2014.

Registration
You can register for Congress by check (mailing in your registration) or online by credit card. And with your registration — both online and mailed — be sure to provide your email address. EVERYONE who has provided a working email will receive confirmation of registration along with your ticket assignments. Want to switch a session? Want to change a workshop to attend with a friend? No problem. Go online and make your changes. Changes can be made up until the time tickets are printed.

Register for Congress

YOUTH MINISTRY CONTACT: CHRISTINA LAMAS
With the new year, the Los Angeles Office of Religious Education (ORE) gains a new Associate Director, Christina Lamas. Christina will be taking over Mike Norman's position of leading the Youth Ministry Team, working closely with Katie Zeigler and Heather MacDonald to direct the Youth Ministry efforts of our archdiocese. A reminder to update your Michael Norman contact information to Christina Lamas at CLamas@la-archdiocese.org or (213) 637-7674.

See the Congress Updates page

YOUTH DAY DEADLINES
JANUARY 3 - Youth Day Emcees
Friday, Jan. 3 is the deadline to apply to be a Youth Day MC to introduce the speakers and MC other parts of the day. Youth must be registered for Youth Day to attend the training, which will be held on January 11, 2014. For more information, download the form.

JANUARY 8 - Youth Day Choir & Instrumentalists
Wednesday, Jan. 8 is the deadline for all high school youth (grades 9-12) who would like to be part of the Youth Day liturgy by joining the Youth Day Choir or Band. Participants must also register for Youth Day through their parish or school. For information, please download the form.

FEBRUARY 14 - Youth Day Ault Volunteers
Friday, February 14 is the deadline for any adults who are NOT chaperone young people and would like to volunteer to help with Youth Day crowd control, room directing, bus unloading, and so much more. For further information, download the form.

ASAP - Youth Day Group Volunteers
We are looking for a parish or school ministry group to entertain those waiting in line for the Arena, for both the morning and afternoon sessions. There would be some meetings required for the coordinator prior to Youth Day. For more details, please contact Christina Lamas at clamas@la-archdiocese.org.

See the 2014 Youth Day pagee

YOUTH DAY T-SHIRTS
Official Youth Day T-shirts are available for custom and group pre-orders. Customize your Youth Day shirt with your youth group or parish name on the back for only $2.50 additional. Custom orders with payment must be received by February 17, 2014 for direct shipping.

The special pre-order discount pricing (valid thru February 24, 2014) is :
     T-shirts: $12.50 ($15 at Youth Day)
     Sweatshirts: $25 ($30, limited quantity at Youth Day)
     Adult sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL

On Youth Day, merchandise will be available at the Seraph7 booth in the main lobby of the Convention Center Arena. Pre-order to ensure you get yours at www.seraph7.com  or email store@seraph7.com

See the Youth Day Schedule

YOUTH DAY SPEAKER FEATURE: GREG WASINSKI
Greg Wasinski is an inspirational Catholic speaker, author and former radio talk show host from Cleveland. He has been a presenter at many parishes, dio­cesan rallies and major national youth conferences, as well as keynote at youth rallies across the country for both middle school and high school. Wasinski is also a confirmation retreat leader (for high schools, middle schools and adults), a Bible study lecturer and a contributor to national resources for faith formation. He is expecting completion of his book, “Finding Jesus in the Eucharist,” in 2014.

YOUTH DAY
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Session X: "Where Faith and Real Life Come Together: Living Our Faith in the World"
Join Greg Wasinski as he reminds us, in his genuine and humorous style, to “be nothing more than God created us to be.” He will help us find the ways Jesus is present in the world and how we can share this Good News with our friends, family, parents and, yes, quite possibly, even complete strangers. Greg’s own examples of courage and strength will put our relationship with God on display so that we may begin to encounter him more deeply. You won’t want to miss this workshop to learn that we should not be embarrassed by who we are in faith. Be proud to bring others into the wonderful experiences we have by living a life where Christ is No. 1 and the impact it can have on changing the world.

See the Youth Day Workshopss

SPEAKER FEATURE: DR. JOSEPH WHITE
Based in Austin, Texas, Dr. Joseph White is a clinical child psychologist and National Catechetical Consultant for Our Sunday Visitor Publishing and Curriculum. He has taught courses in catechetics and pastoral guidance at the University of Dallas and at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Dr. White is a popular workshop presenter at national and diocesan conferences, a frequent guest on national Catholic radio shows and maintains a blog on catechesis.

Saturday, March 15, 2014
10:00 - 11:30 am — Session 6-27
"Attention, Please! Using the Divine Pedagogy to Help Children Focus and Engage in Their Faith" (*)
In the midst of our culture of distractions, God is continually inviting us into a relationship with him. By reflecting on the divine pedagogy (the way God teaches us), we can gain insights about how to craft our catechesis in ways that meet the attentional and spiritual needs of children today. This workshop, facilitated by child psychologist and catechetical author Dr. Joseph White, will provide practical steps for making our catechesis more attention-grabbing, formative and fun.

Sunday, March 16, 2014
10:00 - 11:30 am — Session 7-24
"Early Childhood Catechesis: Why It’s Important and Six Steps for Success" (*)
This workshop, led by a child psychologist and author of the Allelu Early Childhood Curriculum, will focus on current research about how preschoolers and kindergartners learn best. Participants will be shown specific techniques for actively engaging the mind of the preschooler in learning the lessons of our faith.

See the Congress 2014 Speakers Page

ONLINE REGISTRATION TIPS
With our new online registration system, did you know that:
— You should choose all your workshops BEFORE you begin the online process, especially to avoid any timeout problems with your browser.
— You can register online using a Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover credit card.
— If you register online, you will immediately see if your workshop is available and know if you get your "first choice." If you mail in your registration, you will have to make first and second choices.
— You can register first and pay later (OR you can even pay first and choose your workshops later).
— Your email address is your key to registration. Sign on and review (or change) your workshops. All info how to do this comes to your email inbox.
— Even people who register by mail will receive an email confirmation of their registration, showing all their workshops. BE SURE to include your email address with your registration.
— You can make changes in your workshop selections at any time (UNTIL tickets are printed).

See Register online

ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ CONGRESS CHAT
Join us on Friday, March 14, at 10:15-11:00 am live at the Technology Center in Hall A as Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez (pictured with Bishop Edward Clark) conducts a live, online chat session with students from St. Columbkille in Los Angeles. This will be the Archbishop's fourth annual live, online chat from Congress with school students from the Los Angeles Archdiocese. You can find transcripts of past Congress Chats from Congress (with Archbishop Gomez, Cardinal Mahony and Bishop Edward Clark) on our web site.

Go to the Congress Spotlight page

HOTELS
Don't forget to make your travel arrangements now for the 2014 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. We have secured special rates for Congress attendees at a number of hotels with pricing to meet everyone's needs. Make sure when making your reservations you mention the Religious Education Congress so that you receive our special rate.

See the RECongress Hotels Page

SPECIAL DISNEY OFFER
Beginning next Tuesday, January 7, 2014, Congress attendees will be able to pre-order specially priced Disneyland Resort Tickets. Find specials  to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, with special pricing on evening, single- and multi-day passes for both Disneyland Resort parks. This online offer is only available at www.disneyconventionear.com/ZMRC14A. Tickets are valid March 7-18, 2014. See information and notes on our Updates page.

See the Congress Updates page

JUST FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIANS
Ralphs Grocery Company, a major supermarket chain in the Southern California area, supports schools, churches and other non-profit organizations with annual contributions. The Los Angeles Religious Education Congress is a member of Ralphs Community Contributions Program. Simply by using your Ralphs rewards Card a portion of eligible purchases are contributed to the RECongress. This is an annual program that must be renewed each year. The current term runs from September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2014!

If you were part of the program last year, we thank you, but everyone needs to re-enroll each year. We encourage all Ralphs shoppers to sign up for the free Ralphs rewards Card and register their card with the Community Contributions Program. It’s easy! Every time you shop for groceries and scan your card at Ralphs, RECongress will automatically earn up to 5% of all eligible purchases per enrolled card. Sign up now! It’s never been easier to contribute to the RECongress.

Organization Name: Archdiocese of Los Angeles - Religious Education
Organization Number: 90658

Find step-by-step instructions and information online.

See the RECongress Ralphs page

RECONGRESS.ORG
You can find all Congress information and updates online. We have posted all the speakers and workshops, along with ways to find workshops by topic. Check our site for updates and announcements.

archive.recongress.org

EMAILING
Be sure to sign-up for this twice-a-month Emailing about Congress updates and events. You may opt out from the Congress Emailing at any time from the link below. Our Emailings for Congress 2014 are scheduled only through April 2014.

© 2014  RECongress.org