Parish leadership means diversity, sharing of gifts

Lay and ordained ministers from across the Albany Diocese will come together for "Prophetic Leadership: Swimming Upstream," a day of keynote speakers and workshops in three different tracks: leadership, pastoral councils, and evangelization/social teaching. The Oct. 30 event will take place at LaSalle Institute in Troy.

More than 400 people attended the most recent Parish Convening in 1997, including representatives from all 17 deaneries in the Diocese and even some from outside the Diocese.

Keynoter

Leaders must undergo continuous conversion and discern when making decisions, Mrs. Leckey pointed out. The relationship between a leader and those he or she leads also should be cultivated.

"Communities are formed by leaders, but communities form leaders within the Church," she said. "It's important to be the Word of God to the world."

Leadership

"A leader does not work alone; a leader comes from the community and works collaboratively with the community," he said. "Jesus sends them out two-by-two, He doesn't send them out alone."

Just as Jesus talks about taking nothing but a walking stick, "I'm going to talk about recognizing one's own emptiness in the face of ministerial leadership -- that we are one with those we serve," Father DeGiovine pointed out. "Being recognized as a leader doesn't mean the journey is over. We need to continue to grow."

Many in one

Parishes are becoming multicultural, and she will discuss the benefits of "looking for the gifts that people bring because of their diversity and trying to incorporate that into parish life, particularly parish leadership. Our parishes are diverse and are going to become more diverse, culturally and ethnically. That's not a bad thing."

Differences in age, economic levels and social classes also are represented in parishes, and while "it's nice to not point them out so there's no prejudice, it's nice to recognize those differences and see what a benefit it is to us," Mrs. Vamosy said.

Faith sharing

BY examining the goals of evangelization and principles of social justice, they will discuss ways "to promote Gospel values in society and value the dignity of the human person so we may be transformed by the life of Jesus," Mrs. Schrempf said.

They also want to show how faith sharing doesn't need to be done on a large scale but in the simple events of daily life.

"People think of evangelization as filling Pepsi Arena and making testimony publicly for Jesus Christ," Mrs. Schrempf said. "We want to show people that living and witnessing their faith are ways we teach others who Jesus is and what the Gospel is about. It's basic to who we are as Catholic Christians."

Many options

"We're encouraging parishes and clusters coming as a group to take different tracks and then share the information when they get home," she said. "To that end, we're asking all of the keynote speakers for outlines that will be given to all participants."

(The Parish Convening on Oct. 30 at LaSalle Institute in Troy begins with registration at 8:15 a.m., followed by a 9 a.m. prayer service and Mrs. Leckey's keynote address. Individual track keynotes will be given before lunch; workshops will be held in the afternoon. Registration fee is $15 per person or $12 per person in groups of five or more. For more information or to register, call 453-6661.)

(10-14-99) [[In-content Ad]]