Spring Enrichment draws hundreds to workshops on religious education

The four-day event was filled with celebration, learning, prayer, music and fellowship.

Spring Enrichment, which included a keynote address by Vatican II expert Maureen Kelly and music by noted liturgical composer Bobby Fisher, received high marks from attendees.

Refreshing

"It was wonderful," said Elizabeth Schlesier, pastoral associate for faith formation at St. John the Baptist Church in Greenville.

"It's always great," she said. "Spring Enrichment ties our richness of prayer and where we need to go in catechetical ministry together. When I leave, I'm usually very 'up.' I feel what I've done for the past ten months has been affirmed."

Sisters cited

Jeanne Schrempf, ORE's director, explained that these communities were involved in catechetical leadership 25 years ago and are still involved today.

"There is no group more worthy of this award than the religious communities of this Diocese," Mrs. Schrempf said. "They were heralds of Vatican II who staffed parishes, schools and diocesan offices. They have been wonderful companions on this journey. They inspired so many to this path."

Council's effects

"The Second Vatican Council was an act of the Spirit," she said. "We are here because of the vision of the Council."

Keynoter Ms. Kelly discussed the importance of Vatican II for today's Church, saying: "I believe it was prophecy and hope that energized the Second Vatican Council. Prophecy and hope are what we need to continue the work of the Council."

Spirit-filled

"We say that we believe the Holy Spirit works in the Church," Ms. Kelly said. "But sometimes we don't like the way the Holy Spirit is working. Some say about the Council, `That was a few liberals; it's over now we don't have to follow it.' But today John Paul II says in order for the Roman Catholic community to prepare for the third millennium, we need to go back to the documents of Vatican II."

While Vatican II took place between 1962 and 1965 and many changes have been implemented, more needs to be done, Ms. Kelly said.

"I propose that we got stuck on our way out of the Council," she said. "Has the discussion gotten off your parish and liturgy, and gotten around to capital punishment, the economy, war and peace? My response [to these issues] needs to be shaped by the fact that I have been baptized."

Church and world

As the Church struggles to learn these new roles, it is much like a blended family, Ms. Kelly said. Each time there is a marriage, a family becomes blended as two sets of traditions and customs try to live together under one roof. The Council married the Church to the world, she said, which was revolutionary at the time.

"It was a time when people began to worry about the world and culture," she said, noting the threats and challenges of nuclear war, communism, drugs, civil rights, television and the beginnings of family breakdown.

Through the Council, the Church was married to the world so that Catholics would be able to respond to the challenges of the world as Christians. "The 2,500 bishops gave us not just the documents but also an understanding of what it means to be Catholic," Ms. Kelly said.

Highlights

* A jubilee prayer celebration and concert with special guest Bobby Fisher, liturgical musician and composer. His song, "If We Dare To Hope," was the inspiration for the theme of this year's event.

* The presentation of the first-ever Sister Eileen Flanagan, CND, Scholarship to St. Bernard's Institute to honor the late founder of Spring Enrichment. Sister Eileen was a catechist, teacher, Scripture scholar and former associate director of the ORE. The scholarship was presented to C. Barbara Colangione of St. Bonaventure parish in Speigletown.

* 120 workshops on such topics as story-telling, teaching morality, effective catechetical techniques, children's liturgies and Scripture.

(The communities of women religious honored at Spring Enrichment were the Sisters of St. Dominic, Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of St. Catherine de Ricci, Dominican Sisters of Hope, Felician Sisters of the Order of St. Francis of Connecticut, Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement, Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Religious Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of the Resurrection, and the Congregation of Notre Dame.)

(05-14-98) [[In-content Ad]]