RECongress 2020 - Period 4: Saturday, February 22, 2020

CONGRESS 2020 WORKSHOPS & LINKS
THURSDAY	• Youth Day Info • Youth Day Schedule • Youth Day Workshops
WORKSHOPS FRIDAY: SATURDAY: SUNDAY:	Text Links • Period 1 • Period 2 • Period 3 • Period 4 • Period 5 • Period 6 • Period 7 • Period 8	PDF Downloads • Friday Workshops • Saturday Workshops • Sunday Workshops
EN ESPAÑOL VIERNES: SÁBADO: DOMINGO:	CONFERENCIAS • Sesión 1 • Sesión 2 • Sesión 3 • Sesión 4 • Sesión 5 • Sesión 6 • Sesión 7 • Sesión 8	• conferencias en español
	• Horario • Eventos • Información de Congreso
REGISTER	• Register • Order a Registration Guidebook • View the Registration Guidebook • View the Program Book
2020 FEATURES	• Livestream • Youth Day • Spotlight • Schedule • Speakers • Updates • Workshops • Topics • Entertainment • Hotels • Travel • Handouts • Book Signings • Order Recordings • Exhibitors • Exhibitor Categories • Statistics • Tech Center • Theme Songs • Photos • Closed Workshops • Media Access

Amid the challenges of life there are many opportunities to experience in deeper ways the peace of God and to share it with those we meet every day. When we do this, God offers us not only new wisdom when we stand in the darkness but also provides the strength to offer a “spiritual smile of hope” to those who need it most. Topics include understanding “spiritual sadness”; exploring the amazing paradox of letting go; failure and “entertaining angels”; grace, really; unnecessary personal darkness; and exploring the three inner journeys all of us must take in the spiritual life.

Dr. Robert Wicks is Professor Emeritus at Loyola University Maryland. He has also taught in universities and professional schools of psychology, medicine, nursing, theology and social work as well as offering a number of commencement addresses. Dr. Wicks has published over 50 books. He is a recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the American Counseling Association’s Division on Ethics and Values and has received the Papal Medal from Pope John Paul II for his service to the Church.

In the story of the Good Samaritan, the theologian asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus’ answer is startling for the theologian and for us. Divine mercy is always startling and incomprehensible. What is our response in the face of it? How might we mirror it?

Sr. Dianne Bergant, a Sister of St. Agnes of Fond du Lac, Wis., is the Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP Distinguished Professor Emerita of Biblical Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She was President of the Catholic Biblical Association of America and has been an active member of the Chicago Catholic-Jewish Scholars Dialogue for the past 30 years. For more than 15 years, Sr. Bergant was the Old Testament book reviewer of The Bible Today, and wrote the weekly column “The Word” for America magazine in 2002-2005.

Beyond belief in God is knowing the God of Jesus and inhabiting the mysticism of his tenderness. Join Fr. Greg Boyle as he shares stories of those he has met while traveling along that road.

From 1986-92, Fr. Greg Boyle served as Pastor of Dolores Mission in Los Angeles and, in 1988, along with parish community members started Homeboy Industries, now the largest gang rehabilitation program in the world. The author and speaker has received the California Peace Prize and been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. In 2017, Fr. Boyle received the University of Notre Dame’s Laetare medal, the oldest and most prestigious award given to American Catholics.

If your newsfeed has got you dodging tough questions and avoiding certain topics in your classroom or ministry, then this session is for you! It doesn’t matter on which side of the political spectrum you fall, there are some challenging and scary things going on in our world. When adolescents and adults look to you for answers, it can feel like a minefield trying to serve others while staying out of hot water. This workshop will explore how grounding discussions of current events in building the skill of civil discourse and Catholic social justice can provide a “safe space” for ministers and teachers to navigate timely topics within appropriate boundaries.

Andrea Chavez-Kopp serves as Director of Formation and Digital Engagement for the National Catholic Education Association in Washington, D.C. She joined the NCEA staff in 2015 and has 19 years of teaching and ministry experience. Kopp has served in several leadership capacities including iPad Coordinator, Google Apps Administrator, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, and Confirmation Coordinator. She has served on several national committees, including the Partnership for Adolescent Catechesis.

4-05 Islam and Interreligious Dialogue: How Our Catholic Faith Calls Us to Dialogue and Action

At the Second Vatican Council in 1965, the Catholic Church declared its “high regard” for Muslims and people of other faiths. How can we live that out today, and communicate this teaching to our fellow Catholics? Jordan Denari Duffner, an author and scholar of Muslim-Christian relations, will discuss the Church’s teaching on Muslims and interreligious dialogue, introduce some basics about Islam, and give examples of how Catholics and Muslims are engaging in dialogue and partnership today. She will also share how her own Catholic faith has been impacted by friendships with Muslims in the Middle East and in the United States.

Jordan Duffner, a leading Catholic voice on Muslim-Christian relations and interreligious dialogue, is author of the award-winning book, “Finding Jesus Among Muslims.” She is a doctoral student of Catholic-Muslim relations at Georgetown University, where she also serves as an Associate of their research project, the Bridge Initiative. A former Fulbright researcher in Amman, Jordan, Duffner writes about Catholicism and Islam and gives interviews and presentations around the country on interfaith relations.

Fr. Dave Dwyer, SiriusXM radio host and expert in young adult ministry, will break down Pope Francis’ document “Christ is Alive!” written following the recent Vatican synod on young people. Pope Francis encourages us that “through the holiness of the young, the Church can renew her spiritual ardor and apostolic vigor,” and he offers young adults concrete advice for growing in holiness and discovering their personal vocation. This workshop, which is for young people or those who work with or care about them, will also touch on steps to be taken here in the United States to truly bring the pope’s vision to life.

Paulist priest Fr. Dave Dwyer is Executive Director of Busted Halo Ministries, publisher of BustedHalo.com and YoungAdultMinistryIna

Box.com, presenter of the “Sacraments 101” videos and host of “The Busted Halo Show” on Channel 129 on SiriusXM radio. Fr. Dwyer has appeared on CNN, Fox News, NBC News as well as “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Daily Show.” Fr. Dwyer worked in campus ministry at the universities of Colorado and Texas. Prior to his ordination, the native of Long Island, N.Y., directed and produced television for MTV, HBO and Comedy Central.

Drawing on a lifetime of reflection and writing about saints, Robert Ellsberg shows how the lessons of the saints are reflected not just in their words and deeds but in their lives – a “living gospel” – in which we can read God’s story. Their journey of faith was marked not only by triumphs and victories, but also by doubts and failures, in their ongoing struggle to be faithful and in the full expression of their humanity. And in reading their stories we can learn to read God’s story in our own lives.

Robert Ellsberg is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Orbis Books, headquartered in New York, where he has worked for 32 years. A former Managing Editor of The Catholic Worker, he has promoted the life and legacy of Dorothy Day, editing her diaries and letters, and serving on the Historical Commission preparing her cause for canonization. He writes a daily piece on “Blessed Among Us” for Give Us This Day, and has written many award-winning books on saints, including “All Saints,” “Blessed Among Us” and “A Living Gospel.”

What does it mean to be holy – to be perfect as God is perfect? Does having depression, addiction, HIV or other illnesses mean we are not holy? (Hint: No, it doesn’t!) We will discuss how people feel stigmatized, and the impacts this can have on one’s health. What does it mean to be merciful and holy in ministry with stigmatized people? What does it mean for stigmatized people to be merciful and holy to ourselves? We will discuss how the Church is called to work against stigma and help all marginalized people feel loved, regardless of why they are stigmatized.

Dr. Arthur Fitzmaurice is a freelance speaker and minister who currently resides in Uganda, in East Africa. He has served 14 years as Chair of the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons for the Los Angeles Archdiocese and has received their Lumen Christi and the Cardinal’s Young Adult awards. Dr. Fitzmaurice has spoken at various professional and religious conferences. He also appears on several YouTube episodes produced by the Ignatian News Network.

4-09 What is Mercy Anyway? Five Insights into the Mercy that Makes Us Holy as God is Holy

Fr. Richard Fragomeni, a priest of the Diocese of Albany, N.Y., is Associate Professor of Liturgy and Homiletics at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he is also Chair of the Department of Word and Worship. He has written widely on liturgy, music, symbolism, the Catechumenate, the Eucharist and liturgies with children, among other subjects. In addition to his teaching and preaching duties, Fr. Fragomeni serves as spiritual director for the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, an Italian American parish in Chicago’s Little Italy.

The RECongress theme this year is about mercy and holiness. Both words are used a lot, and sometimes we take the experience of both for granted. Join Fr. Richard Fragomeni and meditate on what mercy can be and examine five insights that open up a transformation of mind and heart into becoming the mercy of Christ incarnate again in 2020. This workshop will inspire those who attend to a greater holiness of life in the middle of the chaos of living.

Catholic theologies of vocation too often still focus on distinctive states of life (e.g., the priesthood, religious life, marriage, the single life). This presentation will explore the possibility that Christian friendship can provide a foundational perspective for considering our call to Christian holiness. This emphasis on friendship allows us to consider questions about marriage, religious life and the single life from a fresh perspective.

Dr. Richard Gaillardetz is the Joseph Professor of Theology at Boston College. He has authored or edited 14 books and over 150 pastoral and academic articles. He previously taught at the University of Toledo in Ohio and at the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Theology in Texas. His most recent book is titled, “By What Authority: Foundations for Understanding Authority in the Church.” In 2018, Barry University in Florida conferred on Dr. Gaillardetz the Yves Congar Award for Theological Excellence.

When we are in times of tension with families, friends and fellow church members, we can end up feeling very isolated and alone. We feel as if we must be doing something wrong. No one else has these problems, do they? But a look at our Church’s history reveals that conflict is a part of every Christian’s life. We are not alone. We have companions on the journey and models of handling tension well. Come discover five saints who were no strangers to conflict and who may have clues to help us unknot our own tough relationships.

Ann Garrido is Associate Professor of Homiletics at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, and Director of Spiritual Formation in their Master in Arts program. In addition, she is a Consultant with Triad Consulting Group, a conflict mediation and communications team based in Cambridge, Mass. Garrido’s teaching and research has focused on Christian conflict management and administration. Her books include “Redeeming Administration,” “Redeeming Conflict” and her most recent, “Let’s Talk About Truth.”

Dr. Tom Groome is Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry and Director of their doctoral program. The award-winning author has written or edited numerous articles and essays and 10 books. Dr. Groome has made over 800 public presentations throughout the last 40 years, including all the major North American conferences of religious educators, Catholic educators and pastoral ministers. This marks his 38th year of giving presentations at the LA Congress.

By baptism, all Christians are called to evangelize, to share their faith in persuasive ways with others. But to what end are we to share faith and what is the best way of doing so? A key to remember is that Christian faith is for living – to be alive, lived and life-giving for self and others. For this reason, it must deeply engage people’s everyday lives – suggesting how to evangelize.

4-13 Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: The Prayer of St. Francis as a Path for Hope and Renewal

This revered prayer that is attributed to St. Francis has nurtured and challenged the hearts of believers for centuries. Its centrality to the Christian life has been a necessary heartbeat for both the individual and universal call to holiness. We are called to “put on Christ” and so we look to the life and spirit of this poor man from Assisi. Through sung prayer, storytelling and sparks of challenge to consider, we will take time to travel the prayerful and discipleship-soaked journey of this amazing prayer-poem that speaks to what it means to follow Jesus in these times, for our individual spiritual life and as we move forward in community as the Body of Christ.

David Haas is Director of The Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry in St. Paul, Minn., as well as the Animator for the Order of Baptized Franciscans. He has composed and produced over 50 collections of original liturgical music and authored more than 35 books. Haas was founder and Executive Director for 19 years of “Music and Ministry Alive!” and has traveled throughout all 50 states as well as internationally as a conference speaker, workshop presenter, retreat leader and concert performer.

Terry Hershey is an inspirational speaker, humorist, author, dad, Protestant minister and landscape designer on Vashon Island in the Puget Sound near Seattle. The internationally renowned speaker and retreat facilitator regularly travels throughout the United States and Canada. His work has been featured on The Hallmark Channel, CNN, PBS and NPR and his gardens and books have been featured in magazines and newspapers of the Pacific Northwest.

We are, every single one of us, wounded. And broken. That is a gift. We are blessedly human, and no one of us is on this journey alone. That too, is a gift. It doesn’t always feel that way, because we see brokenness and woundedness as impediments or disabilities, to be tidied up, overcome or prayed away. What we don’t see is the invitation to befriend our brokenness. To allow our self to be loved for being this wonderfully imperfect me. Grace, it turns out, is WD-40 for the soul. Join Terry Hershey and the Velveteen Rabbit as we pause to hear the voice of grace, trust our sufficiency, embrace our wounds and become places of empathy, compassion and healing.

Bill Huebsch has been a farmer, a writer, a diocesan administrator, a master catechist, a college professor and a spiritual director. He is on the adjunct faculty at the Institute for Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago. For many years, Huebsch has maintained a busy international lecture schedule; he has published more than 30 booklets and books on spirituality and ministry, including “Promise and Hope: How to Become an Accompanying Parish,” “The Art of Accompaniment,” and several others.

Do you want to serve others in your parish as a pastoral accompanist? Do you want to train people in your parish or program to do so? As parishes adopt accompaniment, many people will be needed to assist in this ministry. Those who come forward will have to live mercy and be holy! Who can do this? How will you be trained? What is the commitment? What skills are needed? What guidelines will you be asked to follow? This workshop will be packed full of practical, concrete information based on real case studies and examples.

4-16 Compassionate Christ, Compassionate People: Living the Holy Mercy of Christ

In the liturgy, Christ gathers us through the bread of the Word and the bread of the Eucharist so that we can become instruments of his compassion and mercy in the world. St. Paul calls this “having the mind of Christ” (Phil 2:5). In short, Jesus’ spirituality is to become ours. This session shows how the stages of the liturgy – from the Gathering to the Word, and from the Word to the Eucharistic Prayer, Communion and Sending – lead us progressively to greater and greater participation in Christ’s kenosis or merciful self-giving. Bob Hurd will explore this theme in reflection and song.

Bob Hurd is a composer and author who teaches in the Graduate Theology and Ministry Program of Seattle University. He has 42 years of teaching at the college and graduate level, and over the same period, as a liturgical composer and workshop presenter. His widely used liturgical music is published by OCP and is featured in numerous hymnals in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Australia. In 2010 he received the National Association of Pastoral Musicians’ “Pastoral Musician of the Year” award.

Jesuit priest Fr. Felix Just is Minister of the Loyola House Jesuit Community in San Francisco, Calif. He formerly taught at all three Jesuit universities in California – Loyola Marymount University, the University of San Francisco, and Santa Clara University. He conducts many adult faith formation programs for parishes and dioceses, and leads biblically based days of prayer, parish missions and retreats. Fr. Just has produced seven audio-CD programs with Now You Know Media and also maintains the internationally recognized website, catholic-resources.org.

The letters of St. Paul teach us many things about Christian virtues in general, and mercy and holiness in particular. Paul recognized that although he was a great sinner, the astounding mercy of God not only offered him forgiveness and salvation, but also called him to a life of holiness and mission. Thus, he not only proclaimed God’s mercy through his preaching and teaching, but also showed God’s love in action through his life of missionary service. This workshop will explore how Paul’s writings can help us also to experience God’s mercy and lead us to holiness.

Breaking open the Word (B.O.W.) in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults provides the opportunity for catechumens and candidates to make new discoveries about how God loves them. In B.O.W., the catechist helps people to stop, pause and look at the Word of God, pointing the way, letting them do their own seeing and helping them find the best vantage spot for them to see God for themselves. The session defines B.O.W., gives helpful suggestions about proclamation and preaching, and models a breaking-open session. Afterward, participants will have catechist’s box filled with practical tools to allay fears about leading a B.O.W. session.

Dr. Suzanne Nawrocki is an adjunct Professor of Homiletics at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. A member of the Catholic Association of Homiletics, the Academy of Homiletics, and the international guild Societas Homiletica, she also consults with the University of Notre Dame preaching initiative. In addition to her work with preachers, she gives a wide variety of workshops in parishes across the country. Her latest works include chapters in “Effective Preaching: Bringing People Into an Encounter with God.”

4-19 Marriage Preparation and Ongoing Formation: How to Make This Sacrament a Source of Holiness for the World!

Based on his best-selling book, “Spicing Up Married Life,” this presentation will help couples (dating, engaged and already married) see marriage as a powerful vocation to bring holiness into the world! This is good for priests, deacons and all ministers who work with pre-marriage classes, Retrouvaille ministries and even for teens and young adults discerning their possible future vocations. This session (the topic was one of the most popular at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Rome) will also end with a special celebration of marriage!

Born in the Philippines and raised in the Baltimore area, Fr. Leo Patalinghug is a priest-member of the secular institute Voluntas Dei (The Will of God). He is founder and host of “Plating Grace,” as well as the founder and Chairman of The Table Foundation. Fr. Patalinghug, a sought-out speaker and best-selling author, is host of “Savoring Our Faith” on EWTN and of the podcast, “Shoot the Shiitake,” and winner of “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” on the Food Network.

All catechists know that creativity is needed in order to teach the faith to young children. The “General Directory for Catechesis” states that adaptation to young people is urged, in order to translate into their terms the “message of Jesus with patience and wisdom and without betrayal.” This workshop will explore the ingredients of children’s music that engages and excites children, as they are formed in the pillars of our faith.

WLP composer James Wahl has been performing children’s music for nearly 20 years. Director of Liturgy and Music at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Raleigh, N.C., he previously ministered in California and in Arizona. Wahl is a musician/presenter at various national and diocesan youth events over the past 10 years, including the National Catholic Educational Association, the Atlanta Eucharistic Congress and the Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference. His latest work is “Sitting at the Kids’ Table,” a CD/songbook for young children.

Ministers and people of faith today are overwhelmingly busy and moving toward burnout, which has resulted in many physical, psychological and spiritual challenges. What can we retrieve from our spiritual tradition that can assist us today in living lives of wholeness and joy able to confront the challenges of today?

Dr. Vanessa White is Assistant Professor of Spirituality and Ministry at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where she is also Director of the Certificate in Black Theology and Ministry and the Certificate in Pastoral Studies. She is a member of the Summer faculty at Xavier University of Louisiana’s Institute for Black Catholic Studies as well as adjunct faculty at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Dr. White is an experienced workshop presenter, retreat facilitator, spiritual director and teacher who lectures nationally.

Happiness has often been an elusive pursuit due to the false belief that it would be found by changing the external circumstances of our lives. Recent psychological research on happiness has uncovered false myths about happiness and has identified effective behavioral strategies that can make us happier. Fortunately, they are under our control and within our reach. We can further deepen our joy if we also live a spirituality of unity because Jesus promised that when we live mutual love: “my joy will be yours and your joy will be complete” (Jn 15:11).

Dr. John Yzaguirre is a psychologist and author specializing in family life and Catholic spirituality. He co-directs the California Prosocial Institute with his wife, Claire Frazier-Yzaguirre, MFT, MDiv, with whom he has co-authored “Thriving Marriages.” Dr. Yzaguirre has been a keynote speaker at conventions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia. In addition to his active private practice in Irvine, Calif., he offers numerous marriage and family formation seminars at churches throughout the United States.

This session is a conversation between Dr. Phyllis Zagano and Fr. Christopher Bazyouros on the future of women in leadership and ministry in the Catholic Church. Do women have a place? How can women more fully participate in Church’s leadership and ministry?

Dr. Phyllis Zagano is Senior Research Associate-in-Residence and adjunct Professor of Religion at Hofstra University in New York. A leading expert on women in ministry, she has authored or edited hundreds of articles and 23 books, including “Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church” and “Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future.” She was appointed to the 2016 Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women.

Fr. Chris Bazyouros has served the Los Angeles Archdiocese in various roles: he was Director of the Office of Religious Education; had previously served as Adult Faith Formation Consultant; and was involved in the Catholic Bible Institute and various programs in that field. Fr. Bazyouros was a member of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission for five years and has presented workshops and facilitated retreats at numerous diocesan events. He presently serves as Administrator at St. John Chrysostom in Inglewood, Calif.

Nhiều người Công giáo bỏ Giáo Hội đơn giản vì họ thiếu căn bản giáo lý khi cho rằng Giáo Hội độc tài, và họ là những nạn nhân nô lệ cho những lời dạy mà họ không thể lên tiếng. Thực ra, Giáo Hội luôn cần đóng góp của giáo dân, nhưng những đóng góp cần tiến hành trong quy trình được chấp nhận. Đâu là cách thức lên tiếng khi ta bất đồng với giáo huấn của Giáo Hội?

Many Catholics have left the Church simply because of their lack of basic catechism. Some feel that they are obliged to obey the Church blindly, and that they have no voice in the Church’s structure. This is not true. The Church does listen to the faithful. However, the voice of the faithful must be accompanied by Scripture, tradition and the magisterium. Then, how can a Catholic raise his or her voice in disagreement with the Church’s teachings?

Cha Hy Nguyen, một linh mục người Sulpician, đã được tấn phong năm 1997. Sau sáu năm giảng dạy tại Đại học & Chủng viện St. Mary ở Baltimore, Maryland, và ba năm tại Trường Thần học Oblate ở San Antonio, Texas, ông đã giảng dạy tại Đại học Công giáo Nước Mỹ ở Washington, D.C. Vào tháng 7 năm 2019, Fr. Hy được đặt tên là Hiệu trưởng Chủng viện Giả định ở San Antonio, Texas.

Sulpician priest Fr. Hy Nguyen was ordained in 1997. After six years of teaching at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, Md., and three years at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, he taught at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In July 2019, Fr. Hy was named as Rector of Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas.

2020 RECongress Period 4

Religious Education Congress
Saturday, February 22, 2020
10:00 - 11:30 am

2020 RECongress Period 4

Religious Education Congress Saturday, February 22, 2020 10:00 - 11:30 am

Religious Education Congress
Saturday, February 22, 2020
10:00 - 11:30 am