Parish evangelization conference scheduled for June
Focus will be on church teaching and how to apply it
A recent note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that the Year of Faith, recently declared by Pope Benedict XVI, is "intended to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the risen Lord in the world of today -- capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the 'door of faith.'"
Mindful of this, the diocesan Department for Evangelization will host a conference, set for June 8-9, to help those who attend understand their baptismal calling to be joy-filled witnesses to the Lord. The conference, "The Evangelizing Parish: Vision, Passion, Practice," is planned for O'Connor Hall at St. Paul Seminary, 2900 Noblestown Road in Crafton.
Deacon Alex Wroblicky, diocesan secretary for evangelization and social concerns, said he hears many parishioners say things like, "Just teach us what evangelization is and how to do it."
The conference "is designed to provide the first half of that request and to begin the process of discerning the latter in order to unlock the potential in their parish for bringing inactive Catholics back home and to proclaim the Gospel to those who have never heard an authentic proclamation," he said.
The conference will begin with an opening session and social on Friday at 5 p.m. and continue Saturday at 9 a.m., concluding with a vigil Mass at 4 p.m.
"The main goal of the conference is to help all who attend to understand the church's teaching on evangelization and how to apply that understanding in the renewal of their parish and/or organization," Deacon Wroblicky said.
Presenters will be Kathy Kuczka, director of music and liturgy at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Alpharetta, Ga., and James Schellman, executive director of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate.
Kuczka is an award-winning journalist who spent years covering news for CNN. She is a member of the Atlanta Forum on the Catechumenate and a freelance writer who contributes regularly to various religious publications and Travelgirl and Classical Singer magazines.
Schellman served previously as associate director of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy and as associate director of the Worship Office in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. He was one of the final editors of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
Though the conference is open to anyone, it will be especially geared toward parish leaders, including the ordained and lay pastoral leaders such as, catechetical administrators, youth and young adult ministers, pastoral council members and members of evangelization teams and/or committees.
The hope is that every parish in the diocese will send at least one person to the conference.
Cost for attendance is $65 per person. Registration information is available online at: http://www.diopitt.org/department-evangelization/evangelizing-parish-con.... Call 412-456-3156 or e-mail evangelization@diopitt.org for information.