Renew program will prepare Diocese for new millenium

Renew has been renewed for the Albany Diocese.

In the mid-1980s, the Albany Diocese sponsored a three-year program called Renew. Small groups met in homes and parishes throughout the 14 counties of the Diocese to share faith experiences, study Scripture and walk together on their journey toward God.

As the Diocese heads toward the new millennium and after consultation with priests, religious and laity, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard has chosen "Renew 2000" as the program to prepare area Catholics for the next century.

Semesters

The updated version of the original Renew program, set to begin in the fall of 1998, will use themes for each six-week "semester" of the three-year program to promote faith development. As before, groups of eight to 15 people will meet weekly to talk about their faith and explore Scripture together. Renew themes will also be incorporated into liturgies throughout the process.

"Renew is a comprehensive process to encourage and facilitate the development of people's faith," explained Dr. Katherine Menard, recently named as the diocesan coordinator for Renew 2000. "The program recognizes that Jesus told us to gather, rather than isolate ourselves. If we gather and share our faith, He'll be there with us."

Dr. Menard comes to the Renew 2000 program from Community Maternity Services, an arm of diocesan Catholic Charities, where she taught English and math to teen mothers. Also an adjunct professor at the University at Albany, she has a doctorate in educational psychology and statistics, and has worked with "Coming Home" ministries for Catholics returning to the Church. Her new position will include planning for the various aspects of Renew, and leading workshops and training sessions for those involved in the program.

Millennium target

Dr. Menard will work jointly with Rev. Leo O'Brien, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Albany and diocesan chairperson of Renew 2000. He will help priests of the Diocese get the program started in their parishes.

The Diocese chose Renew 2000 as its millennium-preparation program for two reasons, said Father O'Brien: Catholics of the Diocese have prior experience with Renew; and Renew International, Renew 2000's New Jersey-based parent organization, provides resource materials and training for members of the diocesan "core community" who will lead the program.

Renew 2000 is also "a response to the Pope's desire for every diocese in the world to have a three-year planning program for the millennium," said Father O'Brien.

The program was developed using the themes of Pope John Paul II's document "Tertio Millenio Adveniens" ("As the Third Millennium Draws Near"), the Catechism of the Catholic Church and "Go and Make Disciples," the U.S. bishops' national plan for Catholic evangelization.

Preparation

Dr. Menard, Father O'Brien and four other members of the Renew core community recently returned from a training session in New Jersey: Cathy Lavender, director of the diocesan Prayer and Worship office; Jeanne Schrempf, director of the diocesan Office of Religious Education (ORE); Deacon Alfred Manzella, who serves at St. Thomas parish in Delmar; and Sister Anna Tantsits, IHM, director of adult catechesis for the ORE.

The core community includes six other members: Sister Kathleen Turley, diocesan chancellor for planning and pastoral services; Loretta Brown, youth minister at St. Mary's/St. Paul's parish, Hudson Falls; Rev. Thomas Konopka, pastor at St. Joseph's parish, Greenwich; Thomas Frieberg, campus minister at Union College, Schenectady; Sister Danielle Bonetti, CSJ, pastoral associate at Corpus Christi parish in Ushers; and Elizabeth Maloney, a member of the diocesan pastoral council.

Father O'Brien hopes that Renew will end in 2000 "with some small faith communities that will continue. People said [after the first Renew effort], `Let's get something like Renew. We've never had anything like it before or since.' We hope we will be able to follow up with this."

Getting started

When Renew begins in the fall of 1998, parishes will hold information nights and sign-up times for interested parishioners. The theme for the first semester will be "God as a trinitarian community of love." Other themes include "the joy of conversion," "the new evangelization," "reconciliation among people of various faiths" and "the renewal of society for the coming millennium to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus."

Renew International hopes to draw young adults and Catholics of many cultures to participate in the program. Father O'Brien commented that while Catholics may find it difficult to discuss faith in everyday life, members of Renew groups will have an advantage: "You can talk about your faith among friends."

At each small-group Renew meeting, said Dr. Menard, members will pray and reflect on passages read between meetings from a Renew 2000 booklet, focusing on how the readings are relevant to their lives.

Sesquicentennial follow-up

Renew 2000 planning will begin in earnest after the Albany Diocese finishes celebrating its Sesquicentennial, but it will be a scheduled topic at the annual diocesan priests' convocation this fall so that pastors can learn about the program.

Having had experience with similar faith-sharing groups, Dr. Menard called Renew 2000 "a wonderful process. When you move from private prayer and reflection on your faith to sharing with others in a group, you experience a real deepening of your faith. You support and challenge each other's growth. This is something that people should not deny themselves."

(07-17-97) [[In-content Ad]]