News

Annual Leadership Convocation to kick off next October

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

Instead of the two-day Gathering of the Church of Green Bay, traditionally held in the fall, there will be a new one-day event for parish and school leaders, administrators and others in similar roles.

The Leadership Convocation 2007 will be held on Friday, Oct. 5, at St. Norbert College in De Pere. The Convocation replaces The Gathering, which was open to parish leaders, as well as teachers and catechists and offered more than 150 workshops. The Convocation, based on the major themes of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is aimed more at those in leadership and will focus on one theme with approximately 20 break-out workshops. Workshops will be directed to specific leadership roles, such as pastoral ministry, business administration and health management.

"The idea," explained Fr. Paul Demuth, diocesan vicar for ministers, "is that whether you're a business administrator, a pastoral associate, a secretary, a deacon, a priest or other staff, you will all find something to pick from in the variety of workshops."

Joseph Bound, diocesan education director, said Bp. Zubik will begin the day with an overall explanation of the theme - which for 2007 will be Catholic beliefs and identity, titled "We Believe" - followed by a guest speaker tying the theme to the various ministries, followed by the workshop sessions.

While the Convocation will focus on parish, school and religious education leaders, as well as administrators, Bound said the hope is that these people "will go back to their respective parishes, schools or hospitals and provide some in-services to transmit the information they learn on this day to people at the local level."

In the following years, the Convocation will focus on themes based on "the Christian Mystery" (worship and sacraments), "Life in Christ" (Christians in the social and moral settings of life) and "Christian Prayer."

Teachers, who will not attend the Convocation since schools will be in session on Oct. 5, will be asked to help in the development of curriculum as well as local in-services during the 2007-2008 school year. By the 2008-2009 school year, Bound said, there will be a new plan in place for staff development for teachers and catechists that will include a religious certification element. Teachers and catechists are being asked for input into that plan, at the local level.

TEAM Days, held each spring, and Administrators Days in August, will continue.

The Leadership Convocation team includes Fr. Demuth; Bound; Mark Mogilka, Stewardship and Pastoral Services director; Dcn. Mike Grceza, evangelization and worship director; Doris Vincent, associate director of administration; Tony Pichler, director of lay ministry formation, and Susan Perrault of pastoral services.

While the target audience of the Leadership Convocation is smaller than in the past, Mogilka noted that "anyone in a leadership role, even in the general public or at the diocesan level, is welcome."