Leaders learning their role

BY DR. KATHY MENARD

More than 150 parishes, a number of correctional facilities, several extended care facilities and several communities of religious women have all made a decision to participate in RENEW 2000, the Albany diocesan millennium celebration program.

RENEW 2000 is the Albany Diocese's response to Pope John Paul II's directive to the entire global Catholic community to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus and prepare for the third millennium. It involves spiritual renewal through prayer and worship, faith-sharing, reflection on Scripture, and action.

More than 1,500 Catholics throughout our Diocese have accepted leadership roles as members of their RENEW 2000 parish, cluster or organization core communities. These core communities are being commissioned in ceremonies at weekend liturgies and are participating in training workshops. At those workshops, they learn about their mission and responsibilities as RENEW 2000 leaders, pray together and share their faith, and plan the activities of RENEW 2000 in their parish or organization.

The words to the following "theme song" for RENEW 2000 training sessions were written by Larry Sieteski, a member of the RENEW 2000 core community at Great Meadow Correctional Facility (the tune is "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"):

Let's start RENEW 2000/It's so easy to do;

We'll need a leader and books, of course,

Topics that we can discuss till we're hoarse.

Don't forget the main thing is people,

So go and gather them in;

Oh, bring one, two, three, six or ten

And let's all begin!

Come to RENEW 2000/It's held just once a week;

You'll find a lot you can talk about;

Soon, you will see that you can't do without

All you get from being RENEW-ers;

You'll never be quite the same.

So bring one, two, three friends along;

They'll be glad they came!

(Editor's note: The author is diocesan coordinator for Renew 2000.)

Because of weather, four of the core community training sessions were canceled. Those four sessions (St. James, Fort Plain; St. Gabriel's, Rotterdam; Annunciation, Queensbury; and Sacred Heart/Columba, Schenectady) will be combined with the part 2 sessions at the same sites.

(03-05-98) [[In-content Ad]]