Evangelisation in the Mission of the Church

Transcription

1 SEPTEMBER 2014 JUNE 2015 Evangelisation in the Mission of the Church PROGRAMME for CATECHISTS, TEACHERS, LAY LEADERS All of us are called to mature in our work as evangelizers. Pope Francis Evangelii Gaudium 121

2 FOREWORD We are very blessed in our Archdiocese to have so many lay people collaborating with their parish priests to provide quality catechesis for every area of sacramental life. Some have now participated in three years of training where in the first year we examined the basics of catechesis, then there was a further two years of formation exploring the eight theological themes in THIS IS OUR FAITH called Theology for Catechesis. This has helped all who participated to grow in confidence in their skills for sharing faith. This new course for catechists, teachers and lay leaders of parish groups Evangelisation in the Mission of the Church has been inspired by Pope Francis who calls us to be a Missionary People. He wants us all to have enthusiasm for spreading the Good News about our Lord Jesus Christ, but he is also calling us to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to do this well. We hope that this course will help us all to make our parishes pro-active evangelising communities. This is a challenge for us today in our secular world. You can see from this booklet that we have a good team of experienced dedicated tutors who will deliver the sessions. This programme will be offered once every three years. If you complete all sessions our Archbishop will award the Archdiocesan Certificate in Evangelisation. This year the programme is offered in two separate venues covering the north and south of the Archdiocese in St Alexander s Denny and Sacred Heart Lauriston. Teachers who take part can add this to their CPD and to credit towards completion of the CREDL course.

3 TUTORS for the EVANGELISATION CERTIFICATE Patricia is the Director of Pastoral Resources for the Archdiocese. Her expertise is in Adult Faith Formation and Christian Spirituality. She is the Team Leader for the Pastoral Resources department. She has trained Catechists to lead teams in parishes providing catechesis for the RCIA, Parents Retreat and Reflection Evenings. She will begin this series by speaking about Pope Paul VI s Evangelii Nuntiandi and how we can play our part in Announcing Good News. She will also look at what Pope Francis is saying to us about Baptism and why it is so important to prepare parents for the celebration of this sacrament at a time when so many have lapsed from the practice of their faith. Patricia will end this series by examining how we can spread the Joy of the Good News in our own settings with the help of suggestions from Pope Francis. Brid O Brien Brid is the Director of the Religious Education Department and Primary Advisor. She is expert in curriculum development. In this capacity she works closely with teachers in our schools to develop the teaching of THIS IS OUR FAITH. Brid will speak to us about Pope John Paul s Theology of the Body and how this is Good News for us today. This will be related to how we educate our young people to form lasting relationships of love and respond unselfishly to God s call to love. Sally McElroy Sally is the Marriage and Family Life Coordinator for the Archdiocese. She is a very experienced councillor and has worked in Catholic Marriage Preparation for nearly twenty five years. Since her post was created more than a year ago, she has trained twenty marriage catechists to offer a catechesis on the Sacrament of Marriage for engaged couples. She has also trained fifteen new facilitators for the new Prepare/Enrich course which couples take part in before the celebration of the Sacrament. Sally will speak to us about the need to spread the Good News about Marriage and the Family as an expression of the Domestic Church, and help us to see how we can promote Marriage and Family life in our parishes. Miriam McHardy Miriam is Justice & Peace Coordinator for the Archdiocese and has worked in the field of faith and social justice for many years, including working with SCIAF, Trocaire, and New College at the University of Edinburgh. She has a particular interest in the evangelising role of faith in encouraging people to engage in action for a just world as a practical outcome of a committed faith, as articulated in the social teaching of the Catholic Churches. Her recent publication Welfare benefit changes: a guide for parishes has been reproduced and used across the UK.

4 Anne McEvoy Anne is Youth Ministry Coordinator for the Archdiocese. Anne coordinates events for Young People in the Archdiocese, providing forums for Faith Sharing among Young People and supporting those who are leading Youth/Young Peoples groups. With Anne s strong lead twelve people have just completed a three year cycle of Youth Ministry Training. With the Youth Core Group Anne is now developing a Youth Mission Team to reach out to Young People in the Archdiocese and help them to become Evangelisers. Anne will talk to us about how Young People can be Primary Evangelisers of their peers and about ways to grow Young People into leadership. Monsignor Philip Kerr VG Monsignor Philip Kerr is one of the team of Vicar Generals in the Archdiocese. He has enabled the development of Adult Faith Formation through the work of the Pastoral Agencies of the Archdiocese as line manager. Monsignor Kerr is parish priest of St Francis Xavier Falkirk, where lay team leadership has been key to developing the parish as an evangelising community. He will speak to us about the Sacrament of Confirmation and how it empowers us to be witnesses in the world to the Good News about Jesus Christ. Monsignor Patrick Burke VG Monsignor Patrick Burke is one of the team of Vicar Generals in the Archdiocese. He will speak to us about the importance of our encounter with the person of Jesus Christ as a necessary prerequisite of discipleship, so that we can share the joy of our encounter with Him. A Prayer from POPE FRANCIS Spirit-filled evangelisers means evangelisers fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, the Spirit made the apostles go forth from themselves and turned them into heralds of God s wondrous deeds, capable of speaking to each person in his or her own language. The Holy Spirit also grants the courage to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with boldness (parrhesía) in every time and place, even when it meets with opposition. Let us call upon him today, firmly rooted in prayer, for without prayer all our activity risks being fruitless and our message empty. Jesus wants evangelisers who proclaim the Good News not only with words, but above all by a life transfigured by God s presence. Evangelii Gaudium 259

5 SESSIONS ALL 7 9pm Date Title Speaker 15th September SA 17 th September SH 29 th September SA 1 st October SH Announcing the Good News Good News about our encounter with Christ Monsignor Patrick Burke 22 nd October SH 27 th October SA 3 rd November SA 5 th November SH 19 th January SA 21 st January SH 2 nd February SA 4 th February SH 23rd February SA 25 th February SH Good News about Baptism Good News about the Holy Spirit and Confirmation Good News about Marriage and Family Life Good News about Catholic Social Teaching Good News about the Human Body Monsignor Philip Kerr Sally McElroy Miriam McHardy Brid O Brien 2 nd March SA 4 th March SH 27 th April SA 29 th April SH 11 th May SA 13 th May SH 25 th May SA 27 th May SH Good News about Reconciliation Good News for Young People Good News about the Domestic Church More Good News about Catholic Social Teaching Monsignor Philip Kerr Anne McEvoy Sally McElroy Miriam McHardy 8 th June SA 10 th June SH Venues for Sessions: The Joy of the Good News SA - St Alexander s Denny SH - Sacred Heart Lauriston

6 REGISTERING to TAKE PART: EVANGELISATION in the MISSION of the CHURCH Name: Parish/School: Telephone No: Please tick your chosen venue below: St. Alexander s Denny Sacred Heart Lauriston To register by send to: jacqueline.heron@staned.org.uk or post to Pastoral Resources, The Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Rd, Edinburgh, EH1 9BB