April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
AUTUMN DIOCESAN GATHERING
Keynoter will focus on joy
The event, to be held Oct. 25 at LaSalle Institute in Troy, features prayer, a keynote presentation, workshops on ministry topics and a plenary session with Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger.
Sister Donna Ciangio, OP, a national presenter, workshop leader, author and Church leadership consultant, will deliver the keynote address. She is the faith formation director at a parish in Short Hills, N.J., and an adjunct faculty member in the Doctor of Ministry program at Drew University in Madison, N.J., where she earned her doctorate.
Sister Donna will share reflections on Pope Francis' "Joy of the Gospel" document in a talk titled, "Fanning the Fire: Ministry in a Missionary Key." She added her own subtitle: "Go Forth with Joy to Love and Serve."
Q What lessons should we take from Pope Francis' lengthy letter?
Sister Donna: I concentrate on the word "joy" and the fact that we have this great opportunity to minister to people and just be joyful in that whole process. I mean, Jesus rose from the dead! We have to be able to reflect the joy. [The document is about] being realistic, being yourself, doing things with a smile, greeting other people. It's sort of like looking at Francis himself: It's hard to find pictures of him where he's not smiling.
Q Pope Francis is calling Catholics to live and minister in a different way. How can Catholics begin to do this?
Sister Donna: One of the ways is figuring out how [we] reach out to people. Look at the parents of the kids you're working with [and] put adult faith formation into all of the different meetings. How are we utilizing the gatherings we have? When we talk about new evangelization, we have to understand who our parishioners are, involve them in program development, make sure we're providing experiences for all the different age groups. How do you market yourselves as a parish? Are we just doing things the way we did it before?
Q The pope emphasizes the role of the parish in the new evangelization. Why is the parish so important?
Sister Donna: The parish is the place where most people gather. They feel it's their home. That's where they celebrate life in terms of their faith. You've got to have a place that people really focus on. Structurally, it's critical. People have to really think about what [we're] doing when we do ministry today. What's it all about? If you're really understanding what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you're evangelizing. You've got to help people understand that notion of what Jesus [wants] us to do.
Q What will participants get out of your time with them?
Sister Donna: I'm hoping that they'll leave kind of on fire and they'll understand that [we're] doing this in the name of the Lord - not because we feel good about it or it's a nice thing to do. I hope people will leave feeling like joyful disciples.[[In-content Ad]]
250 X 250 AD
250 X 250 AD
Events
250 X 250 AD
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