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 February/March
2002
I'm sold on
Disciples in Mission
Three great reasons why you will be sold, too!
If you haven't received
information about Disciples
in Mission, an archdiocesan initiative created by the Paulist
National Catholic Evangelization Association (PNCEA), now is a great
time to check it out. This
promises to be a powerful force for the mission of evangelization in the
Church of Baltimore. Here are three great reasons why you will want your
parish or school to be part of this exciting process:
1. A Gospel Focus for your
ministries
One of the priorities that emerged
from the archdiocesan Renewing
the Vision process was evangelization. I have received a lot
of requests from parishes for evangelization resources and processes. Disciples
in Mission offers a way to move evangelization forward in a way that enhances, but
does not preempt, the other work of your community.
Disciples in Mission is
designed to work with whatever structures, programs, or ministries that
you already have it place. It helps you to restructure all of your efforts
in light of the three goals of evangelization:
+ Goal I: To bring
about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in
living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.
+ Goal II: To invite all people in the US, whatever their
social or cultural background, to hear the message of salvation in
Jesus Christ so they may come to join us in the fullness of the
Catholic faith.
+ Goal III: To foster gospel values in our society,
promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of the family,
and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be
transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ. 1
For once, here is a campaign
that focuses not upon money, bricks-and-mortar, or even the stewardship of
time. It simply calls Catholics to live more profoundly the Gospel
message. What a refreshing gift to offer our people! With our priorities
so focused, much of the other needs will fall into place.
How will this initiative make the three goals happen?
2. A Lenten Program, and More
I get a lot of calls from parishes
looking for presenters to do Lenten retreats and missions. At the very least,
Disciples in Mission will provide you with a solid, three year Lenten
program that includes not only resources for small groups, but family
guides, bulletin inserts, and homily suggestions. Beyond that, the
originators of Disciples in Mission designed the Lenten campaign to be a
springboard for lifelong parish planning.
One a year, during the Easter
season, participating parishes hold a Parish Reflection Day. The
entire parish is invited to discern how the parish is making the three
goals of evangelization a reality. This process results in a very
concrete Parish Evangelizing Profile that charts future action.
Maybe a community will decide that it needs to do more outreach to the
unchurched; maybe they will decide to focus on the Sunday liturgies, on
social ministry, on catechesis, or any other number of ministries. The
resulting follow up within the local community will be based upon where
the parish or school needs or want to go.
At the end of the five year
process, the parish will have done more than celebrate Lent multiple
times; it will have earnestly reflected upon and prayed about what it
means to be an evangelizing, Gospel-based community, and will have devised
steps for moving further on that journey.
3. Proven Methods with
proven results.
You will recognize many of the
elements of Disciples in Mission: small group faith sharing, family
materials, bulletin inserts, prayer campaigns, and large parish meetings.
These tools have been incorporated into the program because they are
time-tested methods. Disciples in Mission brings all of these tools
to bear on our mission of evangelization.
If your parish benefited from
RENEW, or developed new initiatives from its part in Renewing the Vision,
you should seriously consider Disciples in Mission. It will help focus
your parish's attention on the call to live our faith, share our faith,
and transform our world.
Come and See!
Consider sending representatives from your community to any one of the
information nights in March (listed in the sidebar). While this is a
parish-based initiative, schools will be able to take part as well. Feel
free to call me with questions or for more information about the program.
The other Central Maryland person on the Archdiocesan team is Joe
Swiss at St. John in Frederick. You can reach him at 301-662-8495
Chris Weber
Director
Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland
301-447-3707
Copyright © 2002 by the Catholic Education
Ministries Center of Central Maryland, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. All rights reserved.
*From Go
and Make Disciples, A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic
Evangelization in the United States, United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Comments about this
article? Great ideas that you want to share? Send me your remarks via Email...
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For
once, here is a campaign that focuses not upon money, bricks-and-mortar,
or even the stewardship of time. It simply calls Catholics to live more
profoundly the Gospel message. What a refreshing gift to offer our people!
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