News

Their mission: Helping parishes to renew focus

By Joanne Flemming
Compass Correspondent

	NEW EYES: Jane Angha and Dcn. Pete Reinl have teamed up with the Bridge-Between Retreat Center to help parishes focus in on who they are and what they want to do. (Rick Evans photo)

Sometimes when parishes are overwhelmed with the challenges of linkages, mergers or capital campaigns, they need spiritual renewal.

"There is a need to focus back on who we are," said Dcn. Peter Reinl, Appleton. "Folks want to focus on spirituality; they really want to focus on their heart."

One way to do that is through a parish mission, Dcn. Reinl said. That is why he and Jane Angha, faith formation director at St. Bernard Parish, Appleton, organized "New Eyes, New Hearts," a ministry of the Bridge-Between Retreat Center Inc., Denmark.

Dcn. Reinl said he and Angha chose to affiliate with the Bridge-Between because "we like their holistic approach to faith, spirituality, their focus on creation, their focus on authenticity and genuineness."

The team is offering missions to Green Bay diocesan parishes to help each become "alive, on fire and healthy." They do this by involving the whole parish - staff, children, youth, singles, families, the homebound and nursing home residents, Angha said.

What also makes "New Eyes, New Hearts" unique, they said, is the kind of commitment the team makes to a parish. Before a mission, they talk to staff and parish focus groups to determine parish needs and to involve members in preparations for the event.

After the mission, Angha and Dcn. Reinl provide on-going support for a year through newsletters and on-site visits.

Parishes can choose from eight themes for the mission - conversion, faithfulness/vocation, stewardship, spirituality and faith, healing, peace and justice, leadership and church. Conversion and healing are the most popular themes, Dcn. Reinl said.

The mission begins at weekend liturgies, Angha said. Weekday evening gatherings are intergenerational and follow a format similar to the "Generations of Faith" religious education program. Parishioners meet in a large group, then break into smaller ones by age for discussions or activities. To end the evening, everyone returns to a large group "for reflection and sharing."

Dcn. Reinl and Angha want each mission to include a service project that can be done either at the parish or in the community.

The missions include music, prayer, worship, ritual and hospitality.

"There's a lot of emphasis on hospitality and welcome," Dcn. Reinl said. "It's one of the cornerstones of what we do."

Besides parish missions, "New Eyes, New Hearts" offers staff missions and days or evenings of reflection.

Dcn. Reinl, community outreach director and bereavement support services coordinator at Wichmann-Fargo Funeral Homes, Appleton, has served as a faith formation director, youth minister, family life minister, youth retreat center director, middle school teacher, campus minister and pastoral associate.

Angha has been a youth minister, retreat director and high school teacher. During summers she works on service and outreach for Center of Ministry Development with Young Neighbors in Action.

Information on "New Eyes, New Heart" is available from the Bridge-Between Retreat Center, by phoning (920)864-7230 or by e-mailing bbrci@theglobalnet.net.