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DIOCESE OF
SPRINGFIELD-CAPE GIRARDEAU
Office of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Youth Formation
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INVITING ALL CLERGY AND RCIA TEAM MEMBERS
January 9, 2018
for St. Mary, West Plains and St. Vincent de Paul, Cape Girardeau
(these 2 locations will feature a simulcast video screen presentation.)
February 2, 2018
for Holy Trinity, Springfield
(live in person presentation)
- Discover exactly how the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults forms missionary disciples
- Understand how RCIA rites and catechesis work together to make disciples
- Learn how to apply the core RCIA principles across all parish ministries
- Acquire the skills to build an evangelizing parish
- Gain the confidence you and your team need to transform your parish through the RCIA
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Rite of Election
St. Agnes Cathedral, Springfield: Sunday, February 18 at 3:00pm
St. Mary Cathedral, Cape Girardeau: Sunday, February 25 at 3:00pm
Pastors and RCIA Directors, please submit the following information for each Candidate and Catechumen from your parish:
First and Last name, address, phone number, designate as Candidate or Catechumen, designate which Cathedral service you will be attending and list name of sponsor. Please also let us know of any clergy or RCIA leaders who may be attending with your group. This information should be returned to the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis by email, fax, or postal mail no later than FEBRUARY 2. If you have any questions call Kim at 417-866-0841 or contact Kim by e-mail at [email protected].
CLICK HERE if you would like to use our downloadable spreadsheet through Microsoft Excel. Just download the form, enter all of the required information, save it and email it to [email protected].
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*PLEASE NOTE UPDATED DATES AND TIMES
Living as Missionary Disciples
Conference for Youth Ministry Leaders/Adult Volunteers/High School Catechists
7:00pm Friday, February 23 to
7:00pm Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018
*All those leading and helping in youth ministry and catechesis with high school youth are invited to the 2018 Diocesan Youth Leaders Conference. Click below for a complete flyer with information and registration form.
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Make Plans to Join the 25th Annual
Diocesan Youth Conference!!!
Parish leaders should have their registration forms and payment turned in to the Office of Youth Formation by March 2, 2018 for the discounted rate.
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Upcoming Cursillo Weekends in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau:
 Spring 2018
- Women's weekend - February 22-25, 2018
- Men's weekend - March 22-25, 2018
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SAVE THE DATES!
Spring Catechetical Workshops for all Pastors and Catechetical Leaders
Our Sunday Visitor will be helping to sponsor a special guest speaker for our Spring Catechetical gatherings. Denise Utter is a nationally known writer and speaker advocating for family integration in faith formation. She has also served as a DRE in a parish, and as an Associate Director of Family Faith in the Religious Education Office for the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois. Denise will be presenting some information, training, and resources for making our faith formation programs more engaging for the whole family so that families are better equipped for living and sharing their Catholic faith.
In an attempt to meet the needs of the various schedules of our clergy and ministry leaders, we are offering four workshop sessions to choose from:
Tuesday, May 1 - Catholic Center in Springfield 9:00am-12noon
Tuesday, May 1 - Catholic Center in Springfield 6:00 - 9:00pm
Thursday, May 3 - St. Mary Cathedral, Cape Girardeau 9:00am-12noon
Thursday, May 3 - St. Francis Xavier, Sikeston 6:00-9:00pm
More information will be coming. For now, PLEASE SAVE THE DATES!
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EVANGELIZATION AND CATECHESIS
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Connecting with Families through Faith Formation
"In forming missionary disciples within the domestic church, nothing is more important and influential than parents who live as missionary disciples and talk about why they do it."
~Diane Kledzik
Faith formation of youth involves supporting the whole family in learning, praying, and sharing together.
CLICK HERE
for article on "Encountering and Accompanying Families"
CLICK HERE for article on "Building Communities of Witness within and among Families for Mission"
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Evangelization for Everyone
It is the great privilege and responsibility of all baptized Catholics to share the Good News of the Risen Christ! Our office would like to provide resources and assistance to our parish leaders for empowering parishioners to become more confident evangelizers. Check this spot each month for suggestions and resources.
How do I begin to evangelize - thoughts from Rick Barnhart:
Each one of us is a Catholic by choice. Even if you were baptized and raised Catholic, you woke us this morning and decided to be Catholic; for at least another day. I strongly encourage you, through prayer and reflection, to find out why. Why is being Catholic important to you? When you find out why, share that reason with another person. Share it with your spouse, your children, your fellow parishioners, your friends and neighbors. Your children especially need to hear from their parents why they are Catholic. They need to hear this from their parents before the Church can begin to teach them any of our doctrine or our prayers. There is something about this person, Jesus Christ, and the Church he founded, that keeps you. What is that special something? Evangelization is, at its core, basically just one really hungry person, saying to another really hungry person, "I found the food...and there is enough for us all."
Being able to share our own journey of faith is key to igniting and engaging the recognition of a faith journey for others. Use the attached resource for reflecting on your own journey of faith so that you can begin sharing that story with others. This resource may also be used in a day of reflection, on a retreat, or during a time of prayer and preparation with ministry leaders who may then begin by sharing their journey of faith with one another.
CLICK HERE
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Delving Deeper Into the Catholic Faith
The Augustine Institute is offering free recorded presentations from esteemed professors. CLICK HERE to view any of these presentations:
Who Am I to Judge?
-
Dr. Edward Sri 
The Reformation: A Tragedy in Five Acts - Dr. Tim Gray
True Reformers: Saints of the Catholic Reformation
- Dr. Christopher Blum
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New to the diocesan library! And available to borrow.
THE EFFECTIVE CATECHETICAL LEADER SERIES, developed in conjunction with the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership and written by some of the top catechetical leaders in the country, encompasses all the various aspects of catechetical leadership. This series provides the practical skills, strategies, and approaches that can ensure successful parish faith formation in an evangelizing manner, which leads directly to a vibrant Church.
If you would like to borrow this from our Resource Library contact Kim Brayman at
[email protected] or (417) 866-0841.
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Retain Catechists and help them be more effective!
41 Parishes and
22 Schools are well on their way to becoming certified.
Are the catechists and teachers at your parish or school enrolled?
Need help? Call us!
After the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis page opens, click on the image similar to this one to find information and forms
for the new process.
If you are unable to print this information, please contact Rick Barnhart at
[email protected] or Kim Brayman at
[email protected]
or call (417) 866-0841 to request copies of the booklet or forms.
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Bulletin Announcement
Put this in your bulletin now! Registering now for Cycle 7, 2017
Catechist Certification and Adult Faith Formation courses online!
The Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) is a program of the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives at the University of Dayton. The VLCFF offers online adult religious education and faith formation courses in support of the Church's catechetical ministry. This means that you can deepen your faith at a time and place convenient to you via the internet.
The Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau partners with the VLCFF to extend these opportunities to all the faithful in our diocese at $50.00 per course. Courses may be taken for undergraduate credit
(for an additional fee) and courses qualify for credit in our diocesan Catechist Formation Process.
Registration: October 25 - January 10, 2018
Classes held: January 14 - February 17,2018
Sample Courses for Cycle 1 include
:
- Bible Basics**
- Introduction to Catechesis**
- Survey of Catholic Doctrine**
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- Introduction to Practical Morality**
- RCIA**
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**Courses recommended for catechist certification by our diocese
*You may apply for a diocesan Lay Endowment Grant for reimbursement upon successful completion of a course. This newsletter has more information about the grant.
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Diocesan Lay Endowment Grant
You may be eligible to apply for a Lay Endowment Grant to receive a reimbursement for course fees for the University of Dayton VLCFF. Click the links below for more information.
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YOUTH MINISTRY
INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
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Confirmation Retreat Opportunity
Need a Confirmation retreat opportunity for your Confirmation candidates? National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Bellville, IL is hosting a full day retreat (10am to 6pm) on Saturday, Feb. 10. Bellville is just across the river from St. Louis.
Registration Fee: $25 per youth and $10 per adult - one adult per 7 youth required
Keynote presenter is Kyle Heimann of Popple.
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Please help us to get the word out:
CAMP RE-NEW-ALL NEEDS ADULT VOLUNTEERS!
We are excitedly gearing up for Camp Re-NEW-All 2018! Much of the success of our diocesan camps can be attributed to the generous assistance of our many wonderful adult volunteers. Please consider joining in a week of fun at camp by donating a week of your time and talent at one of our diocesan camp locations this summer.
CLICK HERE for a full listing of available volunteer staff positions
CLICK HERE for an adult staff application
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SOCIAL JUSTICE AND RESPECT LIFE
INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
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New studies re-confirm that artificial contraception increases the risk of cancer and even devoutly pro-birth control sources such as the New York Times are covering the story. For more information please read articles below.
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The January 2018 Word of Life
is now available in English on our website and below. The Spanish translation will be posted as soon as it becomes available.
English:
PDF
Although included in the January issue, we are also highlighting this month's special feature below.
In Christ,
The Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities
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RESERVE YOUR SEATS NOW!
Join the diocesan excursion to Washington DC for the 45th annual March for Life.
CLICK HERE
for a flyer with information.
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2017 Code of Conduct/Children's Virtus Lessons
2017 Code of Conduct
Each year all parish/school employees (whether or not they work with children), and all volunteers who work with children (i.e. catechists, youth group adult members, Knights of Columbus members, etc.) must complete the current Diocesan Code of Conduct. Hopefully, all of your volunteers and employees would have completed that. Please ensure that volunteers complete the questions and sign page 4 of the document. Turn page 4 only into your local safe environment coordinator. He/she will in turn send the form to our office via mail or fax
Due date was December 1, 2017
.
Mail to:
Office of Child & Youth Protection
601 S Jefferson Ave
Springfield, MO 65806
Fax: 888-820-6032
If you are in charge of a program such as the Parish School of Religion, Youth Program, Confirmation, etc. please turn in your list of volunteers to the local safe environment coordinator at your parish along with the signed Codes of Conduct
f
r
om your volunteers.
Click here
for Local Safe Environment Coordinator list.
Children's Virtus Lessons
Lesson 2 is to be taught by during the 2017-2018 school year. Please note that the lesson has enough material that it can be split into two sessions. It is suggested that Lesson 2 is taught before December 16, 2017 and during the spring, review Lesson 2 with the children and include activities not covered during the fall session. The second part should be completed by March 16, 2018. The lessons are required for each child in Kindergarten through 12th grade who attends Catholic School or any parish religious education class. VIRTUS lessons are available to those who have the "Educator" tab on their VIRTUS accounts. If you need help with the VIRTUS lessons for children contact the our office. The lessons are new. Please destroy copies of previous lessons. Principals and Parish Catechetical leaders should insure teachers and catechists use the new lessons this year.
Report of Completion and Employee/Volunteer List (Due April 15)
School Report of Completion click here
Parish Report of Completion click here
Compliance Guidelines for Training
For further explanation on required training, click here for a Guidelines.
This information and more can be found on The Office of Child and Youth Protection
Web Page
Thank you all for the continued support of this mission and Ministry. If you have any questions please contact the Office of Child and Youth Protection at (417) 866-0841 or the Director, William Holtmeyer, Jr., MS, NCC, LPC, CEAP at [email protected] or Rosie Francka [email protected].
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List of Upcoming VIRTUS Trainings
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Are you prepared? Holiday activities bring additional risks.
The end of the year is a time for fun and festive holiday celebrations - often a time for bringing individuals together from all over to your parish/school for different events, parties, and activities. While your parish/school's existing monitoring plans are likely effective for everyday activities, your typical day-to-day procedures might not be sufficient to ensure the safety of the youth/vulnerable adults in your programs during this high-traffic time of year.
Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind as you plan an event at your facility:
- Remind employees and volunteers of your program's monitoring plans and revise plans where necessary based on new activities.
- Block off all unused locations so that there are no areas where program participants can find privacy with one another or where one adult could find privacy with a program participant.
- Identify the "hot spots" within your facility where supervision is difficult.
- Designate specific employees to walk through "hot spots" while events are taking place to watch for any high-risk or unusual activity.
- Do not allow unmonitored access into the building through the back or side doors.
- Have a formalized procedure for checking visitors in and out of your facility.
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Contact Us:
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Office of Evangelization, Catechesis,
and
Youth Formation
Director: Lynn Melendez
Assoc. Director: RickBarnhart
Assistant: Kim Brayman
Assistant: Katie Newton
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Office of Child and Youth Protection
Director: William Holtmeyer
Assistant: Rosie Francka
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The Catholic Center is now using this email system powered Constant Contact. It has made it much easier for us to maintain email lists, and assure that your information remains private. Within this system, the staff at The Catholic Center manages various email lists to ensure each person receives correspondence most relevant to them. Please
do not "opt-out"
or
"unsubscribe"
from this email. If you no longer desire to receive email from this particular office, please reply and let the sender know. They will remove you from that specific list. If you do "opt-out"
or
"unsubscribe,"
you will no longer receive ANY group correspondence from any of the offices at The Catholic Center.
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