New catechetical directory center of day-long workshop

Empty seats were difficult to find last week at St. Clare's Church in Colonie.

Hundreds of priests, deacons, parish life directors, catechetical and youth ministry leaders, Catholic school principals, campus ministers, and other diocesan and parish leaders gathered to learn about the new 300-page National Directory for Catechesis (NDC), published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The day included presentations by the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis (OEC); a keynote speech by Bishop Richard Malone of Portland, Maine; and workshops on the NDC.

Inside the book

Bishop Malone stressed that parish staff need to be on "the same page" regarding the goals of the directory, which include religious education and evangelization.

He listed several "dominant themes" in the directory:

* that catechesis is the evangelizing of parishioners with the specific intent of "arousing, informing and helping" them reach a mature faith life;

* that all catechesis is Christ-centered, trinitarian and ecclesial in content;

* that family life, the parish and the school are critical elements in parish life;

* that parents and catechetical leaders should pay special attention to the impact of the media and other technology on children;

* that the Eucharist remains the source and summit of Christian life, and that "catechesis must always celebrate leading people towards the Eucharist"; and

* that parish leadership and the catechetical staff must be professionally trained.

Off the shelf

Jeanne Schrempf, executive director of the OEC, drew upon a list of goals and challenges that would help the Albany Diocese meet the criteria outlined in the document.

"The challenge is to not let this directory be just a book on our shelves," she said. "We have worked to establish effective evangelization and strong leadership in our [parish] faith formation programs. But we have developed a comfort zone in some of these areas, and our challenge remains to bring the Gospel to every phase of our lives."

Mrs. Schrempf listed such challenges as social justice, life-long faith formation, innovative family perspectives and new models for future catechesis.

Reaction

Reacting to the presentations, those on hand made several observations:

* Connie Smith, pastoral associate for faith formation and youth ministry at St. John's parish in Valatie, said: "Evangelization opportunities are everywhere. Really, it's [with] anyone who comes to your door or into the parish, whether it's at the parish office or in church for Mass."

* Dolores Winkler, pastoral associate for faith formation at St. James Church in Chatham, said that "catechesis and evangelization begin in the parish, but the opportunities for them are endless. We evangelize each other by our actions, not only by what we present to our parishioners."

* Rev. Charles Gaffigan, pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Corinth, told the group that an intergenerational approach to catechesis works for his parish.

"We have instituted a program that includes all the different generations of people in our parish," he explained. "Our families meet together, and it's been an amazing process. The number of attendees has increased, and we are almost maxed out."

* Rev. Frank O'Connor, pastor of Nativity/St. Mary's parish in Stuyvesant Falls, was pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Albany for many years, and many of his parishioners were Hispanic immigrants who could not speak English.

"Often, an ethnic group will be very community-oriented," he said, adding that an effective way to evangelize them is to appeal to that sense of community.

"Family and religious traditions are very rich, very strong, a big part of their lives. Minorities and ethnic groups will often evangelize each other through the community experience," he noted.

* "It's good to be here today," concluded Sheila Peiffer, campus minister at Academy of the Holy Names, Albany. "It gives us all a chance to dig into this document together, and share our ideas and concerns. I've had a chance to go through the directory, and it was a bit intimidating. But that intimidation factor is gone."

(10/13/05) [[In-content Ad]]