Parish convening attracts hundreds

"Re-envision and re-imagine the Diocese of Albany for the future."

Those words were part of Bishop Howard J. Hubbard's opening remarks at the 2006 Parish Convening, held Oct. 28 at LaSalle Institute in Troy. Nearly 500 parish leaders, staff and lay ministers attended.

The Bishop encouraged them to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ by giving witness to the vision of the Second Vatican Council, which was held during the 1960s.

He also highlighted six Council documents that called the laity to more active participation in the Church.

Keynote

Keynoter Timothy Mullner, the general manager of Benziger Publishing at Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, reinforced the Bishop's message by presenting a full history of the Second Vatican Council in his talk, "Celebrating 40 Years of Vatican II: The Greatest Story Never Told."

Mr. Mullner highlighted the life of Pope John XXIII and walked his audience through the four Council sessions that took place between 1962 and 1964.

He had the audience repeat "Don't wait for the movie; read the book," referring to the documents of the Council, as he laid out the tasks of what the Vatican Council proposed for the Church.

Participants then attended workshops on various aspects of parish life, such as "Called to be prophets," "Effective parish councils," "We missed you -- welcome home" and "What can we learn from the new mega-churches?"

Reactions

The Evangelist invited several participants to share their reactions to the day:

* Dore Schmidt, faith formation board member, bereavement committee member, lector and Eucharistic Minister at Christ the King parish in Westmere: "I really was impressed with the explanation of Vatican II and how Pope John XXIII was willing to collaborate with so many and trusted in the Holy Spirit. We can learn from that.

"Our 'Called to Be Church' initiative involves balancing tradition with transition. In our parish, our ministries develop collaboration and [our recent 'Called to be Church' town meeting on mission] encouraged input from all.

"We also work with area churches and community organizations to build bridges of understanding and service. We keep an open dialogue with other faith communities.

"Change is never easy. We need to be willing to listen to one another, collaborate and trust in the Holy Spirit as we plan for our future."

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* Mary Reardon, liturgy committee member, lector, youth minister and liaison to the Diocesan Pastoral Council from St. James Church, Chatham: "The key for me was the word 'transition.' We have the opportunity, right now, to exercise our baptismal gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit.

"'Called to be Church' is an opportunity for us to use these gifts. It forces us to recognize that this is our time to 'be Church.' The keynoter kept having us repeat, 'Tag, you're it!' and we are. It's up to us!"

* Chris Cain, faith formation teacher, youth minister and lector at St. James: "For me, the word 'connection' said a lot. We have to remember to always be open, listen to others and talk to people, particularly people you don't know.

"We must do this in the parish and outside the parish as well -- with the community, with people of other faiths. Right now, ecumenism is very important."

* Deacon Warren Dorsch, St. John Vianney parish, Claverack: "I've read most of the Vatican documents. Hearing about them today in such detail made it all come alive for me.

"I often use these documents as sources of prayer. They are so relevant to what we're now doing [in 'Called To Be Church']. These are liberating documents that say to us today, 'Laity, take back your Church.'"

* Elizabeth Castrodad, catechist at St. Bridget's Church, Copake Falls: "Collaboration between the new traditions and the old traditions is important.

"It's important for everyone to discern what the problems are and then discuss them. We must lovingly include every parishioner. No one can be left out [of the discerning process]."

* Mary Burntitus, pastoral associate for faith formation at St. Bridget's: "It's important that everyone involved in the parish be on board, working together and connecting with each other. Collaboration is very important."

* Kim Vossler, catechist and lector at St. Bridget's: "We all have gifts, and we all have a lot of work to do. Learning how to dialogue with each other is important."

(11/02/06)