April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
A New Name for A Larger Mission: ORE BECOMES OEC ON SEPT. 19
We have chosen the occasion of Catechetical Sunday, Sept. 19, as the beginning of this new Office and The Evangelist as the herald of this news.
There is excitement and anticipation in this announcement -- and a bit of anxiety over what is new and unknown. But most of all, there is confidence that this is where the God's Spirit is leading.
There is great significance in a name. It identifies and connects. It reaches back to beginnings and roots. It stretches towards new possibilities and the future. A name evokes a sense of belonging and conjures familial pride.
The taking on of a new name in our Christian tradition signifies becoming something new, a letting go and a beginning, promise and expectation, dying and rising. "Naming" someone or something creates the hope that one will "become" or "live up to" that name.
Genesis
The Office of Religious Education was born under the episcopate of Bishop Edwin Broderick in 1971 in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. Its mission was to make the faith of all children, youth and adults "living, conscious, and active through the light of instruction." (General Catechetical Directory 1972).This diocesan office was created to assist the Bishop in carrying out his responsibility as the primary catechist of the Diocese. The work of the Office was to guide and facilitate the ministry of catechesis through the formation of its catechetical and youth ministry leaders. and its catechists in parishes and schools.
The processes used to accomplish these tasks are formation and certification programs, catechetical and sacramental guidelines and processes, prayer and spiritual renewal, youth ministry programs and processes, adult faith formation, catechesis for persons with special needs, consultations, mentoring, training, communication, and the development of catechetical resources.
And all of this will continue to be the mission of this "old" Office with a "new" name.
Why the change
Then why do we feel called to change our name and expand our mission? And why, with 5,500 catechists to be formed and certified, 40,000 children and youth in our parish catechetical and sacramental programs to be formed in faith, adults in all age groups in need of adult faith formation, with expanding youth ministry, unchurched and unconnected families, people hungry for spirituality, and a world in need of conversion -- why would any office or agency ask for "more on their plate"?The answer has come from the prayer, study, consultation, and discernment of Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and the present staff. The expansive needs of the Diocese raised in the strategic planning process have made it evident that the ministry of catechesis had outgrown the narrower perimeters of religious education alone.
New call
In many ways, the decision was made for us with the publication of the new General Directory of Catechesis by the Vatican in 1998. It calls the Church to a new vision for new times. It reaffirms that evangelization is the task of the entire Church and that catechesis is a "moment in the process of evangelization."Evangelization calls us to conversion and sends us out as disciples to bring the good news of Jesus into every human situation. It calls us to live our faith with enthusiasm, and to share it through the power of the Gospel and the witness of our lives.
The vision of the Directory connects catechesis to evangelization and evangelization to catechesis. And so this year will be a time of stepping out in faith, of "trying on" this new mission, adjusting programs and processes, providing opportunities to grow in our understanding of evangelization, and building this vision with all diocesan offices and agencies and with each parish.
Appreciation
For the 28 years of the ORE and all who were part of this mission, I can only express my deepest gratitude and love. The great legacy of people, programs and processes has shaped the faith of thousands and thousands of children, youth and adults throughout this Diocese. It has been one of the greatest gifts in my life to have had the opportunity to serve this office and mission.As we move rapidly towards the 21st century, we are called to a wider vision and greater task -- "to bring the good news of Jesus Christ into every human situation and to seek to convert ourselves, others and society by the divine power of the Gospel itself" (from "Go and Make: A National Plan for Catholic Evangelization in the United States").
We ask for your prayers, insights, wisdom and collaboration in becoming a new Office with a new mission and a new name.
(Editor's note: The author is director of the Office of Religious Education.)
(09-16-99) [[In-content Ad]]
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