Re-imagine Faith Formation!
Practical and Practiced Ways to
Accompany Families in Faith Formation
Spring Catechetical Workshops
In discussions across our diocese and across the nation, we hear that one of the biggest challenges today is getting parents and families involved in sharing and practicing the faith with their children. This workshop will address specifically how to better integrate parents into our faith formation programs. There are many ways to accompany families on the journey of faith: gathered together, coaching parents, digital outreach, flipped classrooms, and more. Which way is best for your parish? Learn how to reach parents and integrate families in a way that fits your community.
Our Workshop presenter, Denise Utter,
is the Director of Parish Faith
Formation at the Catholic Community of St. Jude in New Lenox, Illinois (since early 2007
), and worked for the Religious Education Office of the Diocese of Joliet from 2010-2017 helping leaders re-imagine faith formation in their own parish.
She is a writer, educator, and spe
aker who presents on topics of faith and evangelization at national, regional, and diocesan conferences.
Her experience at both the parish and diocesan levels shapes her work as a consultant for the organizations of Strong Catholic Families and Vibrant Faith.
Denise's passion in ministry lies in empowering pastoral and catechetical leaders to envision dynamic, systematic and intentional faith formation focused on families growing in and living out their
*You are welcome to invite other parish catechetical team members to join you for
one of the sessions listed below:
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
CLICK HERE to register for your preferred session.
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Lenten Mission of Mercy: Eden Village Project
Thank you to everyone who participated in our special Lenten project. If you have not turned in your final donations, please do so
this week
! We will be announcing our total donations collected and our contest winners next week. Bishop Rice will be making a presentation of our diocesan donation to the Eden Village Project.
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Diocesan RCIA Institute Rescheduled
Due to hazardous weather conditions on February 9-10, our diocesan RCIA Institute had to be postponed. The new dates are now set for April 20-21.
We are accepting NEW REGISTRANTS through April 16.
CLICK HERE
to register.
Would you like another opportunity to learn more about the RCIA process? The National Gathering on Christian Initiation will be held on July 5-6 in Chicago, Illinois. For more information on this national conference,
CLICK HERE.
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Opportunities for Young Women to Consider Vocational Calls
For young ladies, aged 16 or older,we will be offering two Project Mariam evenings. Project Mariam is an invitation to have dinner with Bishop Rice, Fr. Scott Sunnenberg, and others to discuss discernment and share in prayer. Each evening will begin with prayer at the designated church below, followed by eating out somewhere for dinner. For more questions or to RSVP, please contact the Office of Vocations at (417) 866-0841.
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Sunday,
April 22
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3:30 p.m.- 6:30p.m.
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St. Mary of the Annunciation Cathedral,
Cape Girardeau
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RSVP by
April 20
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Sunday,
April 29
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3:30 p.m.- 6:30 p.m.
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St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish,
Springfield
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RSVP by
April 27
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E
VANGELIZATION AND CATECHESIS
INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
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How well do you know the young people you are ministering to?
"Young People, The Faith and Vocational Discernment"
A Document from the Pre-Synodal Meeting
Rome, March 19-24, 2018
"The young person of today is met with a host of external and internal challenges and opportunities, many of which are specific to their individual contexts and some of which are shared across continents. In light of this, it is necessary for the Church to examine the way in which it thinks about and engages with young people in order to be an effective, relevant and life-giving guide throughout their lives."
For this reason, 300 young people met with Pope Francis and church leaders in Rome to begin the discussion about young people and faith. The discussion will be carried into the Synod with Bishops in October of 2018.
Please read this important document describing the young people of today.
CLICK HERE
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Did you miss our Catechetical Institute in October?
Go to our diocesan website to watch the video of a powerful presentation from Bishop Edward Rice (open resources tab under Evangelization and Catechesis).
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How to be an Evangelizing Catechist 
As the faithful people of God, we want to find ways to present the Gospel in a way that truly reaches people. Loyola Press just put out a wonderful series of articles entitle, "How to be an Evangelizing Catechist".
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Ascension Roundtable:
A podcast for those involved in Catholic Ministry
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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 4, 2018
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.
Classes held:
May 27th - June 30, 2018 (Seminar only)
Sample Courses for Cycle 3include
:
- Bible Basics**
- Catholic Beliefs**
- Prayer and Worship with Adolescents**
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- Images of Jesus**
- Introduction to Scripture**
- Sacraments**
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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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Initium Novum
Retreat for High School Seniors About to Graduate
April 20-21, 2018
Held at the Catholic Campus Ministry Center
on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield
Are you wondering if faith and college life really work together? Come spend some time on retreat with college students who are making it work!
Registration Deadline, April 15.
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Enlightening, Informative, and FREE training Webinars are available from NFCYM
Please take advantage of these wonderful opportunities to keep growing and learning best ways to minister to our youth today! You can register for a webinar and if you are not able to tune in during that time, you will be able to watch a recording at a time that works for you.Check out the
new topics and speakers:
CLICK HERE
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Help Us Connect Graduating High Schoolers
to Catholic Campus Ministry programs at Colleges Nationwide
Newman Connection is a non-profit organization working with our campus ministries, as well as with campuses nationwide. They use a referral system to connect graduating high school students to their Catholic campus ministry. This allows campus ministers and local parishes to contact their incoming students, inviting them in before they arrive on campus, regardless of what diocese they come from. Newman Connection has sent packets to youth leaders and it is important that you follow up on the information provided. Thank you for helping our youth stay connected to their faith!
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Design our Next Diocesan T-Shirts
Entries will be accepted through April 27th
 Once again, we are going to design and print diocesan t-shirts. As you may remember, we've printed the "Pope Quote" t-shirts for the past several years (see picture). The new design will be the same on all the shirts, but each parish gets to choose their own color! Most parishes wear these shirts one of the days of the Steubenville conference and at various other activities throughout the years.
For this next round of shirts, we are having a contest for you to design the diocesan t-shirts. Get your creative thinking caps on, get ideas from the youth of your parish and come up with a design that will appeal to many. Here are the simple requirements:
- The t-shirts will be printed on both sides - the primary image will be on the back of the shirt.
- The image must be your own creation (you cannot copy images from online or other sources),
- The image must look good printed in only one color (either black or white),
- The image must be readable from 10 feet away (no tiny print),
- Each parish may submit up to two designs,
- Your entry must be emailed to Katie by April 27th (that's not much time, so work quickly!!).
The parish with the winning entry will receive 10 FREE Shirts!
We will open up ordering of the diocesan shirts once the design is finalized (cost will be $6-8 each). They will be ready for the Steubenville conferences this summer. Each parish may choose their own color - it can be the same as last time, or different. The available colors can be seen by clicking here. Let Katie know if you want to reserve a color for your parish.
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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.
We are specifically looking for Medical Professionals (nurses, physicians, EMTs) to serve July 8-13 in Fredericktown, July 16-20 in Cassville and July 23-27 in Cassville.
Medical Professionals do not need to be Catholic to serve at Camp. Please encourage your friends to apply.
CLICK HERE for a full listing of available volunteer staff positions
CLICK HERE for an adult staff application
(anyone 18 and older at time of camp)
Camper Applications -
We are still accepting camper applications if we have space in camp. Currently there is space for all grades at Camp Re-NEW-All in Cassville. There are limited spots for Camp Re-NEW-All in Fredericktown.
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Lost and Found at DYC
 Thank you to everyone who participated in the Diocesan Youth Conference in West Plains! we had 437 people representing over 25 parishes attending! Don't miss the footage on the diocesan website of Bishop Rice participating in an epic lip sinc contest!
We have collected a few Lost and Found items: a bible in a zippered cover, a phone charger, a t-shirt. If someone from your parish is missing one of these items, please contact us.
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SOCIAL JUSTICE AND RESPECT LIFE
INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
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A Pastoral Response to Mental Illness
The National Catholic Partnership on Disability's Council on Mental Illness has shared a resource for the Catholic Community,
A Pastoral Response to Mental Illness.
Why is this important to my parish community? A mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life's ordinary demands and routines (Mental Health America).
Do people with mental illness feel welcome in my parish? The stigma attached to mental illness forces many to hide the severity of their symptoms or those of a loved one. Many stop coming to church due to the stigma. Stigma is the single greatest barrier to people getting effective treatment. Leaders of a parish, diocese, or other Catholic organizations can fight stigma by learning the signs of mental illness and reaching out to those living with the illness.
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Training ON FERTILITY AWARENESS
A Woman's Biology
Do you want to know about your gynecological health and/or fertility? This system of fertility awareness is 100% natural and will instruct on the factors related to one's own biology in order to educate participants on a host of issues that may assist you in achieving pregnancy or in avoiding pregnancy. The CREIGHTON MODEL OF FERTILITYCARE session is open to single women, including those in high school and middle school with a parent, engaged couples, and married couples. Cost: $40 per woman/couple and full scholarships for this program are available through the diocesan Office of Family Life until June 1, 2018. For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Caitlin Blaine, FCI, at (417) 234-2612
or Email her at
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Parish/School Reports of Completion and Employee/Volunteer List are DUE APRIL 15
Report of Completion
Every parish, mission, and school is required to submit the form with the pastor's signature, even if there are no religious education classes held at your location. This form is to be included with a list of employees and volunteers.
Employee/Volunteer List
This list is to be maintained for each audit year (July 1-June 30) and a copy emailed to the Diocese for verification. First record the names of your employees and volunteers, then go to the VIRTUS database to verify compliance. Auditors may ask to see this list. Note that the names of persons employed, and volunteers who have contact with children anytime during the audit year are to be recorded. Do not list everyone who has had a background check or been VIRTUS trained at your location. Do not submit a master report from the VIRTUS website. Obtain an Excel template from Rosie Francka.
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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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Click on the image below to see what the Catholic Church is doing to prevent child abuse.
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Monitoring and Supervision:
Using Ca
meras in Your Facility
Monitoring and supervision can be broken down into four concepts: monitoring staff, monitoring consumers, monitoring high-risk activities, and monitoring your facilities. Through experience, there is one piece of technology that organizations sometimes think is the monitoring solution for all four concepts: video cameras.
Video cameras are a great documentation and verification tool. Installing cameras in common areas like hallways, outside of locker rooms and bathrooms, and in heavy-traffic areas can help promote a sense of safety and security in your organization. If you receive a report, you can look back at your video footage to see exactly when something happened, where it happened, and if there are other people who saw something happen. If you receive an allegation, video footage can also be helpful for the authorities when they investigate incidents.
While video cameras can be highly useful documentation tools, they should not be a substitute for supervision in your programs. In our experience, the most effective monitoring and supervision is accomplished by well-trained staff and supervisors who are committed to providing a safe environment for their consumers.
If your organization includes video cameras as part of your monitoring and supervision strategy, click here to see the best practices we recommend implementing when using video cameras to assist you in monitoring and supervision:
- Utilize camera footage to retroactively review actions rather than as a sole measure to prevent incidents from happening;
- Continue to require program supervisors and other staff to frequently walk through the facility to monitor staff, consumers, and activities
- Review camera footage regularly. Examples of what to look for include red flag behaviors, policy violations, inappropriate youth-to-youth interactions, and staff who are out of ratio
- Ensure all individuals who review camera footage have completed training on how to review and utilize camera footage for monitoring
- Periodically evaluate the placement of cameras to ensure they capture high-risk areas in the facility (such as hallways outside of bathrooms, secluded areas, stairwells, out of the way places, and other high-risk locations)
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List of Upcoming VIRTUS Trainings
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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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