ACTS Missions Houston Chapter News Serving the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Adoration Community Theology Service

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1 ACTS Missions Chapter News Serving the Archdiocese of Galveston- Adoration Community Theology Service Third Quarter 2012 Chapter Facilitator: Bob Christy Website: actsmissionshouston.org Chapter Facilitator Bob Christy ACTS Brothers and Sisters: We have a full and I hope informative newsletter for you. Please take the time to read through it all. There is something for everyone. The Chapter is co-sponsoring an After ACTS Retreat with the CRC in Dickinson. This unique weekend brings the best of both men s and women s ACTS retreats together for a joyful celebration of Service and Community. It presents a wonderful opportunity for husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters who have attended an ACTS retreat to come together and experience all the love and joy of being with a lot of ACTS brothers and sisters. Date: August 17-19, Place: CRC Cost: $ per person for 2 nights and 5 meals. For more information and registration, please go to Chapter Missions Facilitator Rand Pombier Critiquing or Criticizing At the recent Town Hall a question was brought up about feedback from the team after practice sharings at team meetings. A concern was raised because the team might not be qualified to offer feedback especially people new to teaming. You have a team member spend hours in prayer and thought, pouring out their faith life in an intimate way, and unqualified people then criticize their emotional story. This criticism can cause hurt to the individual and a potential rip in the team bonding. How should this be handled??!! Some of the following thoughts and ideas come from experience and some does come from the Director s Manual and hopefully it will help with the teaming process. The first step actually starts with the person preparing the faith sharing. The director should provide the sharer with a copy the section from the Director s manual dealing with faith sharings in general and the section on the specific faith sharing (such as community). The director should also give the person the critique form from the manual all feedback is suppose to relate to each item on the form so the person writing the faith sharing can grade themselves after they write their talk. All of these items should better prepare the person in their preparation and help eliminate potential criticism. The better the talk is prepared should hopefully reduce the need for any feedback. The second step is another way to prepare the talk prior to the team hearing the sharing. Have a small team made up of leadership including director, co-director(s), spiritual director/companion and head table leader hear each talk prior to them being presented to the team. This small team should be better prepared to give appropriate feedback and can focus on the obvious items such as time of sharing (no more than 30 minutes including

2 music), use of scripture, start and end with prayer and inclusion of the retreat theme. The story belongs to the individual so you should leave that alone as much as possible but the structure of the sharing should be consistent to what is described in the Director s Manual. These small group practices can be done before meetings (not the night they give the practice to the team because changes might be needed) or on a Saturday morning with having all 6 given at scheduled intervals (start at 9:00 AM and have 45 minute per talk sessions will be finished by 1:30). This extra practice will also make the person giving the sharing more comfortable when they give it to the team. Finally it is the responsibility of the director to cover the ground rules for feedback at the meeting. The critique form should be handed out and reviewed by the Director with the team prior to all practice faith sharings. Page 8.10 of the new manual goes over this need to prepare the team for appropriate feedback and must be followed to avoid potential team conflicts. If even after preparing the team, someone still goes off topic, the director should immediately bring them and the rest of the team back to the actual purpose of the feedback. Remember, these faith sharings set the stage for the most important part of the retreat, the small group sharing at table, so faith sharings need to be properly prepared with appropriate feedback. If anyone has any other thoughts on this or has questions, please feel free to contact Rand Pombier at rpombier@sbcglobal.net. Chapter Development Facilitator Mary Pierson New Charter for Core Team and Required Training You've heard us talking for months of the changes coming from ACTS Missions and we are now able to implement them here in. The new Charter requires all Core Team members to receive Core Team training. We have begun offering the training here in. Although it would be best that all Core Team members attended training together we realize busy schedules don't always allow that opportunity. We suggest that you try and get as many as can to come together and the rest can attend trainings that better fit their schedule. Upcoming Core Team Training Events: Saturday, July 28th - Christian Renewal Center Saturday, August 4th - Cenacle Retreat Center Saturday, Sept 8th - St. Martha's Catholic Church, Kingwood, TX - Borski Room Saturday, Oct. TBD - St. Bartholomew's, Katy, TX The training begins promptly at 9:00 am and completes at 4:00 pm. You must attend the complete day for your Core Teams certification. The cost is $20 and covers materials and lunch. Register by ing with Mary Pierson - mgpierson7@comcast.net with a complete list of names of those attending from your parish. Questions call Mary Pierson (This is my cell. I work at a retreat house so it is usually on silent, leave a message and I will return your call.) 2

3 Scripts and Approvals ACTSM and Chapter both have scripts that are the only ones approved for use on your retreat. Both websites; actsmissions.org and actsmissionshouston.org are in the process of having the scripts posted to the websites. In the mean time you can Mary Pierson at to received copies of approved scripts. If your Core Team has a script that they would like to have approved please submit it to the same address. Please allow a couple of weeks to hear back on the approval. All scripts approved by Chapter are also submitted to ACTSM for final approval. Chapter Spanish ACTS Mission Facilitator Yolanda Lomeli Two new parishes are being missioned for Spanish ACTS. Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Magnolia, Texas area, St. Anthony of Padua in The Woodlands and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Port Arthur, Texas. There is much work to be done and Yolanda needs help. If you are an experienced ACTS person and speak Spanish and would like to help spread ACTS in Spanish across the archdiocese, please contact Yolanda Lomeli at or y_lomeli@yahoo.com Chapter needs help Communications Position Open on ACTS Chapter There is an immediate need on the ACTS Chapter for a Communications Facilitator who would be a voting member of the Chapter. The position recommends, develops, and implements Chapter communications methods that support and enhance the development of ACTS in the Galveston- Archdiocese. The Communications Facilitator should be available to attend the 6:30 PM Chapter meetings on the third Wednesday of each month and will participate in the decision making process for guidance of ACTS in our area. A key current activity is the redesign of the Chapter website. The Chapter prefers a person who has the skill set to select and execute an economical website design, operation, and maintenance project. This position will provide the technical support for the electronic publication of the Chapter s quarterly newsletter. An understanding of effective communication methods and how to implement them in the Chapter environment is desirable. While one position is open on the Chapter, a second person can be added as a non-voting Subject Matter Expert to work with the new Communications Facilitator to fill out the needed skills to effectively fulfill the communications needs of the Chapter. This second person does not need to come to all of the Chapter meetings. For more information and to submit your name for discernment, please contact Bob Christy at bobchristy67@comcast.net or UPDATES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: ACTS 25 th Anniversary Celebration We are now 18 parishes strong having recently added 4 new Core Teams. We also have 16 new parishes in the active mission stage and many more looking to bring ACTS to their parish community. So the area has much to celebrate as well as to honor the commitment made 25 years ago in Selma, Texas. 3

4 We know you have been anxiously awaiting to hear the details of our Archdiocesan celebration. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo will be celebrating the Eucharist with us at 7pm, Friday, November 16 th at the Co-Cathedral downtown. More than 20,000 people have attended ACTS in area parishes. Our Co-Cathedral has a capacity of approximately 1,200 seats; therefore, we are limited to the number who may attend the celebration. All active parish Core Team members will receive an invitation, as well as the parish priests and deacons involved in ACTS. Additional invitations will be determined for every parish (including those being actively missioned) based on how long they have been active in ACTS and the number of retreatants that have attended an ACTS retreat. In addition, parishes will be asked to provide ACTS community members to help as Eucharistic Ministers; Ushers; Greeters; Music; Parking, etc. Each person answering this call will receive an invitation which will not count in the total number of invitations assigned to the parish. Formal invitations will be mailed to parishes in early September. Each person attending the celebration will be required to bring their invitation for entrance. Your parish will need to RSVP by deadline date (to be provided in the invitation). If you have extra invitations that will not be used they will need to be returned to Chapter so we can distribute them to others who may wish to attend. Although the deadline has passed for purchasing a stole for your priest or deacon the Chapter did order a few extra priest stoles. If you did not invite your pastor to attend please do so right away and if you would like him to be wearing the ACTS stole contact Susan Graul (srg02@comcast.net) to place your order. We did not purchase additional deacons stoles so we are no longer taking orders for them. Continue to watch for additional details in upcoming Chapter News Letters and other notices being sent to the Core Team Facilitator and Co-Facilitator. If your parish has had changes in Facilitators or Co-Facilitators make sure you update Don Jacques (donjacques@suddenlink.net) so you will receive updated information. Spiritual Companion Training Have you ever experienced the graced moment when someone gave you undivided attention, listened to a segment of your life journey, or held in respect a special prayer experience you shared with them? This is a description of a spiritual companion. In the Christian tradition, the desert fathers and mothers were there to support another's desire to grow in their relationship with God and others. Today, we are seeing a renewed interest in this kind of companionship among men and women who want to deepen their faith life. Who are these people in our lives? Perhaps a pastor, pastoral life coordinator, pastoral associate, a catechetical leader, or a staff member in a parish is called upon to be in this role. On an ACTS weekend the Spiritual Companion is a very important part of the retreat team. If you have ever considered serving in this capacity at a men s or women s retreat you may wish to enroll in the Spiritual Direction Institute at the Cenacle Retreat House. This is a three year program with weekly classes from September to May. ACTSM acknowledges that having this opportunity right here in is a tremendous asset for our ACTS community. If you are interested in learning more about the program call the Cenacle at 4

5 and ask to be sent the information packet. The next class begins with an overnight retreat in late August so don t delay in making your application. Honoring the Holy Space From the first moment the retreatants arrive at the retreat center we must remember to honor their space. We want a place where they will be able to relax and become comfortable with those around them. This means that this is a place only for the retreatants and the team. Offsite teams might be better to be remembered as Out of Sight. The retreatants should not be seeing people who are coming and going throughout the weekend. This is especially true for the faith sharings and table sharings. Do not invite friends and family of the speaker to drop in. Nor should other teams come by to watch the services in order to see how you do them. If they need to hear or see have them come to a team meeting or practice session. The one exception would be in regards to priests; deacons, or spiritual companions that may need to come and go over the weekend. It is important that they be introduced when they first come to the retreat. Let the retreatants know what role they have in the retreat process. ACTS Chapter Website: Our website is undergoing growing pains and changes. Please see Chapter needs section of this newsletter for communications needs ACTS Chapter Members: Bob Christy Facilitator (713) bobchristy67@comcast.net St. Jerome - Rev. Rafael Becerra Clergy Rep. (832) padrerafael@hotmail.com St. Leo the Great - OPEN Communications Don Jacques Co-Facilitator (281) donjacques@suddenlink.net St. Martha - Kingwood Bob Kehoe Emeritus Member (281) robertkehoe@sbcglobal.net St. Clare of Assisi - Yolanda Lomeli Spanish ACTS (832) y_lomeli@yahoo.com St. Cyril of Alexandria - John Marek Financial Development (281) JohnMarek@TheMarekTeam.com St. Anthony of Padua - The Woodlands Mary Pierson Development (713) mgpierson7@comcast.net St. Jerome - Rand Pombier Missions (281) rpombier@sbcglobal.net St. Clare of Assisi - Upcoming Training, Retreats and Events: Additional details on each at Title Start Date Location Core Team Training 7/28/2012 Christian Renewal Center Leadership Training - Spanish 8/4/2012 St. Jerome - Core Team Training 8/4/2012 Cenacle Retreat House AFTER ACTS Community Retreat 8/17-19/2012 Christian Renewal Center Core Team Training 9/8/2012 St. Martha's Catholic Church, Kingwood, TX - Borski Room Leadership Training 9/22/2012 Prince of Peace - Core Team Training 10/TBA/2012 St. Bartholomew's, Katy, TX Leadership Training - Spanish 11/3/2012 St. Leo the Great - 25th ACTS Celebration Mass 11/16/2012 Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral Leadership Training 12/8/2012 St. Clare of Assisi - 5