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ExPRESS Newsletter - July 2000 + 2000/04
The Electronic Newsletter of
the USCCB Secretariat for Evangelization
Those who sincerely accept the Good News, through the power of this acceptance and of shared faith, therefore gather together in Jesus' name in order to seek together the Kingdom, build it up and live it. They make up a community which is in its turn evangelizing.
Celebrating 25 years of Evangelii Nuntiandi
Evangelization happens when the word of Jesus speaks to people's hearts and minds...This vision we share is the power of the Good News. As it compels us, we believe it can compel, by its beauty and truth, all who sincerely seek God.
Go and Make Disciples, A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the US
Mature faith is open to the action and power of God's Spirit and cannot remain idle or unproductive. Where the Spirit is active, faith is fruitful. Adult faith bears the fruit of Evangelization.
Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, A Pastoral Plan For Adult Faith Formation In the United States
...Pope John Paul II in his greeting set the tone, "At the dawn of the new millennium, as the Catholic community in America takes up the challenge of the new evangelization, all are called to embody that fruitful unity within diversity which is its origin in the communion of the Blessed Trinity and is the dynamic source of the Church's mission in the world. It is my hope that the present Encuentro, by bringing together representatives of the many cultural and linguistic groups which make up the Church in the United States, will lead to a more effective witness to the Gospel at every level of American society.
Many Faces in God's House was celebrated in the great richness in which the Church in the United States is blessed. Everyone's eyes were opened and all experienced the Word alive in a great diversity of ways. Sister Marie Chin did not shy away from the challenges that await each of us in being open to this rich diversity. "I am only too aware that encountering cultural difference is simply too difficult to be sustained by our social impulses. It can be sustained only as we return time and time again to a felt knowledge that God's desire for our contemporary world is that we risk entering our humanity in such a way that we can connect and bond together, human to human in the shared journey of honest, reverent, patient dialogue. We have to truly believe that God desires to release the power that resides in each of us and within our various cultures; that God wants us to engage in relational struggle in order to liberate and transform our world." This patient dialogue happened in Los Angeles and the Spirit was facilitating a great openness to each culture's celebration. Participants, represented over 150 countries and over 26 languages, found their ways into the prayer services and liturgies.
Archbishop Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace told those assembled, "I dream of a Church that bears in its heart the Fire of the Holy Spirit. Where the Spirit is, there is freedom, there is sincere dialogue with the world and especially with young people, with the poor, and the marginalized, there is discernment in reading the signs of the times. The social teaching of the Church, an instrument of evangelization, will guide us in making this discernment in the midst of the immense social changes taking place today." He was named coadjutor archbishop Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh Archdiocese in 1975 and experienced many years in prison in Vietnam. His pectoral cross is made of wood he carved while in prison and the chain it hangs on is made from electric wire he received from a guard once he convinced the guard he would not hang himself with it.
Bishop Wilton Gregory, Vice President of the NCCB and Bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, IL focusing on mission said, "Our unity in the midst of our diversity, our respect for the differences that distinguish us, remain the most powerful and effective witness that we can offer to a world that has grown callous and unimpressed with what they now erroneously consider the stale message of organized religion. That same disinterested world keeps a noticeable hunger for the things of the spirit...Encuentro 2000 is a wonderful response to the Church's mission is so far as it calls us to a deeper awareness of our unity in Christ while simultaneously joyfully celebrating our diversity. We become a living sign of the Catholicity of the Church and the joy that springs from that reality."
Check out Encuentro: Words and Photos on the NCCB website: www.nccbuscc.org
The Bishops' Committee on Evangelization met in Milwaukee during the June meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The BCEV approved their response to the National Study on the Implementation of the RCIA. This three year comprehensive study is in the final stages and the BCEV hopes to present its final report to the Administrative Committee in September, 2000. In addition to the BCEV, this study is a collaborative effort of the bishops' committees on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Education, Liturgy, and Pastoral Practices. Each of these committees also approved their respective responses to the study.
Fr. Hurley reported to the BCEV that its Retreat 2000 for diocesan evangelization coordinators is attracting over 70 participants. Final preparations are underway for this jubilee year event for the BCEV. Retreat 2000 will take place in the Diocese of Saint Augustine's Marywood Center in Jacksonville, Florida.
The BCEV reviewed the first draft of "operating procedures" for a National Commission on Catholic Evangelization. In its inaugural phase, it is proposed that there be three standing committees. The three standing committees will represent province evangelization coordinators, province ethnic/multicultural coordinators, and national Catholic organizations. Fr. Hurley will be sending out a revised first draft to selected diocesan coordinators for their review and suggestions. This will be in preparation for a second draft which will be sent to the BCEV in September for review and suggestions to be included in a final draft which will be submitted to the BCEV for approval at their November 2000 meeting.
Amsterdam 2000: An International Conference on Evangelism...is scheduled for July 29th-August 6th. Bishop Michael W. Warfel, Chairman of the BCEV and Fr. John E. Hurley accepted this special invitation from Dr. Billy Graham to attend the international conference. Both Bishop Warfel and Fr. Hurley will be two of 50 Roman Catholic observers from around the world and will join over 10, 000 participants from almost every country and territory where there is a Christian presence.
, Conclusions of Assisi Congress, the May, 2000 ExPRESS article, - Dr. William Cork, Chair of the Evangelization Commission, Diocese of Galveston-Houston, attended a conference at Harvard on "The Internet & Society" and has summarized some of his thoughts on the following website: members.aol.com/galhouacm/IS2K.htm.
Bishop Houck, former BCEV Chair, speaks out...
from Catholic News Service
Bishop William R. Houck, of Jackson, Miss., makes evangelization his mission. Nearly 40 years ago, during the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI called upon Catholics to pronounce their faith and demonstrate actions that work to attract others to the fold. But it's still a difficult task for Catholics in the United States, said Bishop Houck, who addressed a group of clergy Feb. 25th at St. Charles Borromeo Pastoral Center in Romeoville.
In the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, when priests and vowed religious were abundant in the United States and supervised church activities, the laity accepted the role of backseat worshipers, believing it wasn't their jobs to spread the faith, said the bishop, who was chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Evangelization in 1988-93. Evangelization often was viewed as an extravagant, theatrical effort, such as distributing literature about being saved, going door-to-door, doing street preaching or holding placards with Bible verses at public events, he said. Generally, Protestants, especially members of small, nondenominational Bible churches, carried out these methods, he added.
"In the past, Catholics looked at our faith as a very private thing. They didn't want to be seen as religious fanatics, and they frowned on those who acted that way"...... Catholics need to share out faith and to get comfortable talking about what Jesus means to us and how much we need to do the work of our church...It's the job of the laity, the baptized, to spread the work," he said.
Over the past 10 years, Catholics have begun to see the rewards of evangelization. Often the most active in the spreading the Gospel are those who have participated in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Through the RCIA process, the church is taking what used to be a private matter and acknowledging new members, in the front of the church. Bishop Houck said, "Now people are lifted up...If we ever get to the stage that every born Catholic serves as a sponsor in a vibrant RCIA process, we wouldn't need to promote evangelization. It would be natural. People say they get as much or more out of sponsoring someone as the person in the program." The goal of RCIA is to promote a "deeper, better understanding" of the faith for all participants, he added. But Bishop Houck believes that spreading the word about salvation should first be placed in the context of prayer, the need to recognize that it's the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives."
The National Council For Catholic Evangelization announces the election of Sister Prescilla Lemire, RJM as Executive Director. The BCEV congratulates Sr. Priscilla on her election and sends her "our best wishes and prayers" for success in her new, challenging position which takes effect on September 1, 2000. Sr. Priscilla most recently served as President of NCCE and was a consultant to the BCEV. Fr. Larry Esposito of the Diocese of Worcester, MA, vice president, will become NCCE's president in September.
World Prayernet...Father John Hurley recently met with Mr. Thomas Sonni, of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, concerning World Prayernet. The genesis for World Prayernet began in the Archdiocese of Baltimore as part of a larger vision to prepare the Church to enter the new millennium. Since a clear goal for celebrating the great Jubilee year 2000 is realizing greater unity among Christians, an invitation was extended to other leaders of Christian denominations to conduct the campaign together as an initiative of the greater Body of Christ. The focus of World Prayernet is to help people to deepen their personal relationships with God through prayer. This campaign will provide ideas and helpful resources on the "how" and "why" of personal prayer as it tries to encourage people in a practical way. For more information check out their website at: www.worldprayernet.org.
Pastoral Formation Institute...How Can We Evangelize Through What We Already Do? How can we draw more people to parish faith-sharing groups, small Christian communities and ministries? How can we evangelize inactive and unchurched friends and family? Such questions are explored in the "Training for Ministry of Evangelization" each year in the Pastoral Formation Institute of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY. This extensive training includes personal and group prayer, individual reflection, presentations, readings, small group sharing and field trips spread out over seven Saturdays, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (upcoming monthly from September, 2000 to March, 2001). Participants discover a Catholic approach to one-to-one evangelization. they develop practical skills for sharing faith and the message of Jesus in everyday life, and learn how to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Up-to-date Catholic evangelization resources (print, audio/video, internet) are offered to participants. Parishes are encouraged to send several parishioners each year in order to develop an evangelizing focus in all our ministries. For more information contact the Office of Pastoral Formation, 50 N. Park Ave., Rockville Centre, NY 11570, (515) 678-5800, ext 537, e-mail: jjbcharism@aol.com.
National Black Catholic Evangelization Forum... Strengthening the African American Catholic Family for the 21st Century is a program and publication of the National Black Catholic Evangelization Forum. This 12-page booklet is packed with concrete, positive suggestions intended to strengthen the African American Catholic family for the purpose of confronting personal and institutional racism. Its four broad themes are: Shared Spiritual Moments, Appreciation of Cultural Contributions, Evangelization and the Eradication of Racism, and Church and Community Priority. The booklets are $2.00 each, includes shipping and handling (all shipped to same address). To order send organization name, contact person, complete mailing address, telephone number along with the number of copies and payment to: NBCEF, 22 State Street, Westfield, MA 01085. For additional information visit: www.bcn.net./~wsavage
.Check Out Our Website for Information These and other Events!
www.nccbuscc.org/evangelization
National Council for Catholic Evangelization (NCCE) will hold their 2001 annual conference in Raleigh, NC, June 7-10. Check out their website: www.catholicevangelization.org.
National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL) will hold their 2001 annual conference in Buffalo, NY, April 29-May 3. Each day of this conference will focus on Evangelization. Fr. John Hurley, Director of the NCCB Office for Evangelization will deliver one of the keynote addresses. For more information, check out NCCL's website: www.nccl.org.
ALPHA Conferences - ALPHA could be one way to answer the call of the Spirit to bring about the new Springtime of Faith and Christian Living desired by Pope John Paul II and to help make your parish an evangelizing Community. The Alpha conference is a 2 day training conference that helps those attending to learn how to use their Alpha course in parishes, youth , young adult, college and prison ministries. For information about the Philadelphia Alpha Conference, on Sept. 14, 15, go to ChristLife's web site: www.christlife.org/alpha/alphaforcatholics, html or contact their center for evangelization at 888-498-8474.
Mission Congress 2000...A Jubilee Call To The U.S. Church, from September 28 - October 1, 2000, is designed around a holistic model that brings together in various elements of mission and evangelization. Delegates will reflect on and discuss critical issues organized around these topics: prayer, spirituality, and liturgy; proclamation, conversion, and catechesis; social transformation and solidarity; dialogue with other religious traditions; mutual exchange between churches. The welcome address will be given by Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago. The keynote address will be given by Archbishop Marcello Zago, OMI, from the Secretariat for the Evangelization of Peoples. For further information call 202 832-3112 or E-mail: uscma@uscatholicmission.org.
The Parish Ministry Conference, is being sponsored by the National Pastoral Life Center and will be held in San Antonio, TX.from November 9-11, 2000. This conference's theme is Bold in our Hope:The Many Gifts of Parish / Fuerza en Nuestra Esperanza:Regalo de Nuestra Parroquia. For more information contact the NPLC at 212-431-7825 or on E-mail: conferences@nplc.org.
July 20
July 25-Aug. 3
August 4
Sept. 7-10
Sept. 15-17
Sept. 27-29
Sept. 30 |
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Archdiocese of Louisville
Amsterdam 2000
Archdiocese of San Antonio
Diocese of St. Augustine
Diocese of Boise
Mission Congress-Chicago
Diocese of San Diego |
North American Forum For Small Christian Communities (NAFSCC)...
The 14th Annual Gathering of the North American Forum For Small Christian Communities will be held October 19 - -21, 2000, at the Holiday Inn - Calgary Airport and Our Lady of Grace Parish, Calgary, Alberta Canada. The theme, Small Christian Communities: Shaped By Culture? Reshaping The culture? They will explore how SCCs can be counter cultural yet at the same time be an integral part of our everyday culture. The keynote speaker will be Dr. R. Scott Appleby. An historian of religion who earned his Ph.D from the University of Chicago (1985), Appleby is the author of Church and Age Unite!, co-editor of Being Right: Conservative Catholics in America and co-author of Transforming Parish Ministry: The Changing roles of Clergy, Laity, and Women Religious.
Sowing Seeds, Notes and Comments on the General Directory For Catechesis
EVANGELIZATION (an excerpt)
The General Directory for Cathehsis weaves the themes of these earlier documents into a coherent pattern that displays catechesis's many tasks. The first and dominant theme is evangelization. Catechesis has been understood in many ways over time, but in the GDC "the concept of the catechesis takes its inspiration from the post-conciliar Magisterial documents, principally from Evangelii Nuntiandi, Catechesi Tradendae and Redemptoris Missio" (no. 35). Citing Evangilii Nuntiandi, it makes the bold assertion that the Church "exists in order to evangelize" (no. 46), and affirms that the Church's identity is inseparable from the ministry of the word. The Church's vocation is to proclaim the good news of salvation, reconcile sinners with God, and perpetuate the memorial of his death and resurrection in the sacred mysteries. The creative dynamic of evangelization combines witness and proclamation, word and sacrament, preaching and teaching, interior change and social transformation. Exclusive emphasis on one or the other of these elements impoverishes, even distorts that element. The 1997 Directory builds on the premise that evangelization is not just one of the Church's many ministries, but its principal mission.
Sowing Seeds is a resource developed by the Department of Education, United States Catholic Conference. This book directly follows the structure of the General Directory for Catechesis. To order, call toll-free 800-235-8722, ask for publication No. 5-317.
By Frank P. DeSiano, C.S.P.
(an excerpt)
...I am aware that when it comes to evangelization, for most parishes, the truth comes down to this: "The spirit is willing but the parish doesn't know what do to." This is even truer of individual Catholics who have a profound and powerful grasp of the Gospel...but who feel so reluctant to share faith or so at a loss when the opportunity comes to express faith to another."
That's why I've written this little "handbook,"....a little guide to open up the "how to" in evangelization...
For more information visit www.paulistpress.com or e-mail info@paulistpress.com.
ExPRESS is now added to the BCEV Website under "Newsletter"...Check this site for other information and upcoming events across the United States
www.nccbuscc.org/evangelization
Office for Evangelization
3211 Fourth Street, NE + Washington, DC 20017-1194
Telephone: 202-541-3012 + Fax: 202-541-3322
E-mail: evangelization@nccbuscc.org
Rev. John E. Hurley, C.S.P.
Director
and
Mrs. Iris Brown
Administrative Secretary
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