Encountering Christ In Scripture
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
This familiar scripture quote reminds us that scripture expresses God’s unending desire to be in communication with us. If we want to know God and desire a deep intimate relationship, our meeting place is scripture.
In our 2016 Diocesan Pastoral Letter, “Called to Missionary Discipleship and Conversion,” Archbishop-elect Thompson writes: “Before proclaiming the Word, it must first be understood. Before it can be understood, it first must be heard. The bridges between hearing and understanding necessarily include study, meditation, and reflection.” The role of the catechist is to help build those bridges.
During this year’s annual Day of Formation on Aug. 26, we invite catechists throughout the entire diocese to join us as we explore the many ways that, through our catechetical ministries, we can share scripture as we accompany children, teens, young adults and adults on this journey of faith. We pray that our efforts to share the Good News will bear fruit for all those we walk with in a personal encounter with the Living God.
This year our keynote speaker is Joe Paprocki, DMin. He is a National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press in Chicago. His experience in pastoral ministry has spanned the last 35 years, and he has presented in nearly 100 dioceses in North America. Paprocki currently serves as a catechist at his parish and blogs about his experience at www.catechistsjourney.com.
Paprocki is the author of numerous books on pastoral ministry and catechesis, including the best-selling The Catechist’s Tool Box, A Well Built Faith and his most recent, A Church on the Move (all from Loyola Press).
The schedule for the day appears in this issue of The Message, as do all the outstanding presenters that we have joining us and the topics they will be covering. We will also have vendors available to you throughout the day allowing you to view current resources. An expanded version of the schedule, description of sessions and registration may be found at www.evdio.org/formation-day.html.
