By Dan Sullivan
Catholic Herald

Workshops offered during fall institute

RICE LAKE -- During the Annual Fall Teacher and Catechist Institute, participants had a chance to increase their knowledge by attending numerous workshops. Two of the topics were a Catholic response to violence and how every parish can be a catechetical community.

Discussing violence, Bob Lecheler, who is from the LaCrosse diocese, defined it as "aggression wrongly done to a person or persons for the sake of having power over them."

In today's world violence can be viewed on television, heard in music and found within video games. "Studies indicate that children who watch violence become violent people," Lecheler said.

Because there is violence in the world, some believe it's all right to fight their enemy. "Others will (disagree and say), that's doing everything that God told us not to do," Lecheler said. "If we look at Jesus as being the example of what God wants us to do, we will hear him say to Peter, 'Put away the sword.'"

Lecheler questioned if United State went to Iraq because someone had to pay for the attacks on the United States during 9/11.

"The response to violence needs to be forgiveness," he said. Seeking forgiveness is a powerful expression, especially for world leaders.

"The Holy Father, publicly, when he was in Jerusalem and in other places, has said to the Muslim world, to our Jewish brothers and sisters, 'On behalf of the church, I am sorry for the hurt we have caused,'" Lecheler said.

"Have we heard any American leadership say that I am sorry?" Lechler asked.

If there is going to be an end to violence, Lecheler said, individuals must go beyond politics and work for peace.

"As a Catholic people we need to turn to our (Catholic Church) documents and turn to Scripture," he said.

In Diana Maki's presentation on building a catechetical community, she said with the three parishes in Woodruff, Lake Tomahawk and Minocqua joining together to form Holy Family Parish, it was necessary to adapt to better serve them.

"Most of our parishes are in transition, either through leadership or by clustering and merging," she said. "It's so important that we work on the spiritual (side) when so much of the physical is in crisis. It can be a challenge or it can be an opportunity. Our entire society is in need of conversion. We need to grasp where those priorities are, using that joyful discovery, letting go and seeking."

To help do this, Maki, who serves as a director of religious education in Woodruff, presented the "Eight Components of Comprehensive Parish Ministry."

These eight ministries are: prayer and worship, catechesis, pastoral care, justice and social concerns, community life, evangelization, advocacy, and leadership development.

Maki defined these eight points as a discovery of "how we are doing what we do -- the spirituality versus the religion."

"If we marry both religion and spirituality, they grow exponentially," she said.

The ministry of prayer and worship strives to celebrate and nurture a relationship with God through the sacraments and other forms of public and private prayer.

The ministry of catechesis helps provide for the life-long learning of all parishioners. "(It helps) them to increase their knowledge of the Catholic faith, develop a deeper relationship with God and the Catholic community, and (gain the) desire to use these gifts in a loving service to others," Maki said.

Pastoral ministry calls for a compassionate presence, especially to those who are hurting and in need. Justice and social concerns deals with serving those in the parish and beyond who have critical temporal needs and defending the dignity and rights of all people. Community life seeks to build a community of love and support that models Catholic principles in which the Catholic faith is nurtured and a meaningful relationship can develop.

The role of evangelization is seen as a way to help parishioners be a living witness of their faith in Jesus. Evangelization can be achieved with activities, setting priorities and building relationships with others.

With the role of evangelization, Maki said, people could do something simple as inviting others to the parish hall for coffee after Mass. "Get them involved in the parish," she said.

The idea of advocacy gets the parish to examine its activities, practices and priorities to see if the concerns of all parishioners are being addressed. Leadership and development is calling forth, affirming, training and empowering the gifts, talents and abilities of parishioners so that complex, comprehensive parish ministry is realized.

Maki shared with participants things that could be done to bring forth these components. She said attending Mass and receiving Communion is an important part of being Catholic.

"There is a connection with the Eucharist," Maki said.

She said it was important to have baptisms during Mass. She encourages having an RCIA process and encourages people to take advantage of reconciliation.

To build their faith, Maki said, men and women should become involved with the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, Knights of Columbus and other groups. To help individuals become better informed Catholics, she said people should subscribe, read and talk about the Catholic Herald and other Catholic publications.

As a way to inform parishioners about parish news and activities, Maki pointed to newsletters from her parish as a vital communication tool.

"In it we have a calendar to tell when Mass times are," she said.

"We try to list the activities at the three (chapel) locations. I also put out a monthly (religious education) newsletter for parents. How you advertise activities is important."

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2004