MOMENTUM: Rebuilding Church
MOMENTUM
Rebuilding Church: Forming Disciples with a Missionary Spirit
Rebuilding Church: Forming Disciples with a Missionary Spirit
How has the COVID-19 crisis changed how we minister to and with young people today? What new insights, strategies, and skills are necessary to navigate a new social order slowly emerging from the other side of a historic and world changing pandemic? How can we engage young people to become missionaries within their own communities and social groups? And what impact will all of these factors have upon what it means to be Church in the years ahead? Let’s join together with ministry colleagues across the country as we explore these questions with national leaders and one another.
Event Format
You are invited to join ministry colleagues from across the county to examine, discuss, and reflect on the questions above, and more, as we gather for a four-hour virtual symposium sponsored by NFCYM.
All sessions will be recorded and available for viewing post-event
Here’s the overview:
- Opening Session (1-1:50 pm ET | 10-10:50 am PT) – Keynote & Panel Reflection: Rebuilding a Post-Pandemic Church
- Breakout Workshops – Session A (2-2:50 pm ET | 11-11:50 am PT) – Select one of the three workshops (details below) to attend live and join a small group discussion
- Breakout Workshops – Session B (3-3:50 pm ET | 12-12:50 pm PT) – Select one of the three workshops (details below) to attend live and join a small group discussion
- Groups Discussions & Closing Session (4-4:45 pm ET | 1-1:45 pm PT) – Breakout Room Discussions and Share-Out with Practical Implementation
Emcees
Anna Johnson
Anna lives and works in Seattle, WA in Maryknoll’s US Mission Education Apostolate as Team Leader for the Young Adult Empowerment team and Unit Manager of Mission Formation. She works with young adults, teachers, catechists, and other ministers to enliven and mobilize the US Church towards mission and greater global solidarity through curriculum development, process facilitation, immersion trips, and small Christian Community models.
Anna holds a degree in Peace Studies and Political Science from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Sustainability Leadership. She grew up with a wild love of the outdoors, and on any given weekend can be found camping, kayaking, or hiking with her husband, Corbin, and their dog, Tilly.
Brian Rhude
Brian Rhude is the Project Coordinator for the Catholic Apostolate Center where he works in developing programming, resources, and social media content. He also serves as the Assistant Director of Summer Programs and Formation for the Lay Apostolate for the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America where he directs the school’s current summer program Light the World! Summer Institute, works to develop new programs, and does formation work with undergraduate students.
Originally from central Maryland, Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology and Religious Studies from the Catholic University of America and an Associate of Science Degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Opening Session
1-1:50 PM ET | 10-10:50 AM PT
Will be recorded for participants who cannot attend live.
Rebuilding a Post-Pandemic Church
Presented by: Bishop Frank Caggiano, Diocese of Bridgeport
As the grip of the pandemic slowly loosens and mindful of the many challenges and sufferings it has created, we have a unique opportunity to reimagine ministry among youth and young adults. Taking into account the lessons we have learned this past year, we can reclaim the fundamental dimensions of ecclesial life in ways that are inviting and creative. As a first step toward realizing this rebuilding, everyone in ministerial leadership is invited to use the coming months to enter into the Upper Room with the Lord, so to deepen our spiritual relationship with Him, through intense prayer and participation in the sacraments. For it must be the Lord who will help guide our efforts to rebuild His Church.
Presentation will be followed by a reflection from panelists.
Bishop Frank Caggiano
Breakout Workshops: Session A
2-2:50 PM ET | 11-11:50 AM PT
Participants can select from one of the three following workshops to attend live, including a Q&A session with the presenter.
Future Skills for Future Leaders
Presented by: Robert Feduccia (Equipping the Saints)
Even before the pandemic, there was a growing sense among youth ministers that things were changing. Things that worked in the past didn’t seem to be working now and the future seemed beyond the horizon. Emerging into a new time, a new approach and new skills are required. This workshop will provide reflections on the path forward and the skills needed for the future.
Christus Vivit – What Pope Francis Hopes for the Future
Presented by: Benito Medrano (Diocese of Fresno) and Nicole Perone (ESTEEM)
Our ministries with young people need to come alive stronger than ever in a post-pandemic world–Christus Vivit is key in reawakening the Church’s calling to accompany youth and young adults in the new reality that awaits us. The insights, concepts, and invitations we find in Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, so rooted in the experiences of young people through a synodal process led by the Spirit, will guide us to recover our vocation and mission; to dream about outreach and growth of our young people; and to take our first steps as we (re)build our ministries to serve them.
Families Forming Disciples: A Model for Engaging and Accompanying Families at Home
Presented by Patrice Spirou (Archdiocese of Atlanta)
Families Forming Disciples is founded on the belief that to evangelize the family is to evangelize the parish, the Church and the world! The Covid 19 global pandemic has once again confirmed the vital role of the Domestic Church in bringing the faith to life! It seeks to answer the questions: What do families really need from their faith communities right now and how can we respond in practical ways that help them to grow closer to God and to one another? Families Forming Disciples is a model that both accompanies and blesses each family as they discover who they truly are and the abundance God’s love for them!
Breakout Workshops: Session B
3-3:50 PM ET | 12-12:50 PM PT
Participants can select from one of the three following workshops to attend live, including a Q&A session with the presenter.
Think Differently
Presented by Michael and Crystal Marchand (Project YM)
Youth ministry has forever changed. There is no “going back to normal” post pandemic. There’s only going forward. But what does that look like for youth ministry – a field where youth workers have already been struggling to reach teens over the noise of the world?
In this workshop, we’ll talk about how to think differently. This pandemic has given youth ministers a wonderful opportunity to redefine what success looks like and how to minister to not only the teens themselves, but their families as well.
We’ll cover:
- How to define new metrics for success
- How to start over
- Innovative youth program models
- Overcoming virtual burnout
- Getting buy in for this “new ministry”.
This is a perfect time to throw around new ideas and brainstorm together as a community.
Post-Pandemic Disciple Making: Back to the Basics
Presented by Jake Mulder (Fuller Youth Institute)
Jesus’ clear words of invitation have called out through the generations: “Follow me.” While so much in our lives, world, and churches have changed in the past year, there are some aspects of ministry and faith formation that will never change. Relational discipleship, radically focused on the life and teachings of Jesus, still has the power to transform lives, write new ends, heal broken systems, and spark revolution. In this session, we’ll focus on how empowered leaders and caring Christian adults can shape teenagers’ identity, belonging, and purpose in our new reality…and how a collaborative discipleship movement (called the TENx10 Collaboration) can make faith matter more for 10 million young people over the next 10 years.
Leaning In: Embracing Pandemic-Based Ministry with Youth
Presented by Theresa Meuer and Chloe Rankin (St. Matthews Catholic Community, Gillette, WY)
Shortly after the original lockdowns and a time of “waiting for COVID to be over,” Director of Youth Ministry, Theresa J. Meuer, was inspired by her Bishop and pastor. Both stressed the importance of realizing that encounters with our Lord existed in the present reality and we could not live in the “better times” of the past or the wait for the future to arrive. Determined to help her teens navigate this unprecedented time of loss, confusion, and deep wounds, Theresa has found successful ways to work with restrictions and mandates to keep groups safe, but also relevant, personal and meaningful. Join Theresa and one of her high school seniors, Chloe Rankin, to hear how their community has faced the pandemic and created a year with great healing and spiritual growth as well as a new model of discipling youth as they move forward.
Recordings
View all the talks by purchasing the recordings for $25.
