STEP Newsletter, August 2016
Camino Program Flourishes

Online theology courses in Spanish continue to draw participation throughout the country, and Camino's course catalog is expanding to meet demand. October courses include El Camino de la Fe, based on the United Sates Catholic Catechism for Adults and La Iglesia Intercultural, based on the USCCB's Building Intercultural Competence for Ministers. Please visit our bilingual website or contact Esther Terry for more information.  

New Facilitators

As STEP continues to grow, we continue to hire new facilitators to guide participants through courses. Here are a few of the new names. Please give them a big welcome if you’re lucky enough to meet them in a fall course. Anne Chrzan, IL; John Fryqvist, IN; Katie Infantine, CA; Kelley Dawson, IL; Katherine Jones, ME; Tanya Rybarczyk, MA; Stephanie Blumeson, CA; Patrick Smith, CO; and Carrie Sallwasser, MO. 

The Problem of Hope 

Last month, Pope Francis announced that the liturgical celebration of St. Mary Magdalene would be raised from Memorial to Feast, an attempt to honor the “Apostle to the Apostles” and the first witness of the Resurrection, as well as to emphasize the importance of this woman in the life of the Church. But who is Mary Magdalene, and why is this minor liturgical adjustment important? Anthony Oleck explains in a "Church Life" blog post.

Creative Projects Building Up the Church

STEP’s Certificates of Catholic Theology require a series of several courses and a final project to help synthesize and expand course studies. Certificate students use their studies and benefit their faith communities with dynamic projects. Here are a few topics they have developed: 

  • A pastoral response to people’s most serious questions on death or suffering through a Q&A pamphlet for chaplains;
  • Tweeting the Creed: Educating about the faith through a series of Twitter Posts
  • A Course on Holy Scripture for Adults with a focus on Romans and Galatians (The Struggles of St. Paul, the Apostle of Christ);
  • And God Saw that it was Good: Scripture and the Natural Environment (A Contextual Approach to Examining the Place of the Natural Environment in Scripture).

World Youth Day 2016
The World Youth Day "pilgrimage is meant for every young person and young adult, for all young people of faith, not simply those who have the privilege to travel to Krakow...I invite every Catholic young person, every catholic young adult, every leader in our church to come together and embark with me on this great pilgrimage of faith and mercy," Bishop Frank Caggiano, WYDUSA Episcopal Liaison and Bishop of Bridgeport

Explore the Catholic Apostolic Center's resources to celebrate World Youth Day!
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