St. Anthony Catholic Church
Davenport, Iowa
Weekly Email Newsletter
VISION 20/20
Renewing Our Hearts, Our Minds, and Our Church
by John Cooper
The Vision 20/20 Convocation last week was a life changing moment for both our diocese and for the more than 450 people who attended the gathering at St. Ambrose University. The renewed spirit it brought forth for our Church in this diocese has the power to transform in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. There are major themes and messages that you will be hearing much about.

Every speaker from Bishop Zinkula on down to the presenters in breakout workshops had something very meaningful to share for evangelization and sharing the Catholic faith today! Your parish team made up of Father Apo, Joe Laverty, Sam Lazio, Nancy McKee, Carrie Delcourt, John Cooper, Mary Boozer, Louis Granato, Kim Noftsker, and Diego Martinez attended presentations covering the following topics:
  • Vision 20/20: LensCrafters Wanted
  • How to Evangelize Married Couples
  • Evangelization Teams - Now What?
  • A Good Case of Heartburn (Practical Examples of Sharing the Faith)
  • How to Evangelize the "Churched"
  • Liturgical and Eucharistic Evangelization
  • Evangelizing in Smaller Parishes: One Size does not fit all
  • Evangelizing in an Age of Secularism, Atheism and Scientism
  • The Art of Accompaniment: Sharing that Christ is Alive Through Relationships 
  • Hearing the Voices of Immigrants
  • Catholic Teaching on Sexuality and Sexual Identity
  • Discovering, Naming, and Telling your Faith Story
  • How to Evangelize Youth and Young Adults
  • Reaching Out to Persons with Special Needs
  • Preaching in an Evangelical Mode
  • Reaching Out to Families
  • Ministering to Teens Today and a Paradigm Shift
  • Creating a Culture of Relationship & Hospitality
  • Reaching Out to the Nones - Those Who Have Left the Church
  • The Joy of the Gospel and the Vocation to Evangelizing Discipleship in a Time of Change

Expect to hear talks and be invited to presentations in the days ahead based on these evangelism themes! And remember, as baptized Catholics, we don't get a choice as to whether or not we evangelize. For we represent Jesus and His Church by everything we say or don't say, by everything we do and we don't do. With our every breath from the moment we are baptized is spent either spreading the Good News of our faith or the Bad News found in the world. It's our choice! 
In his opening remarks at the convocation, Bishop Zinkula spoke of this being a "mini" Vatican III for the Catholic church in southeastern Iowa. Bishop encouraged those gathered to be open to the Holy Spirit in this time of new evangelization.
Katie Prejean McGrady is a dynamic Catholic speaker who focuses on the Millennial generation. She gave a powerful keynote presentation on Day 2 that focused on the art of accompaniment...sharing the faith through relationships. Click here to learn more about Katie.
The opening keynote speaker was Mike Patin. A popular speaker at Catholic conferences around the country, Mike asked those gathered to be LensCrafters in sharing a new vision of our faith today. Click here to learn more about Mike.
Prayer was the anchor that held the convocation together in Christ. From morning and evening prayer to the celebration of Mass, we prayed for the Holy Spirit to enlighten us as we searched for ways to grow the Catholic faith.
Prayers rose like incense over the convocation participants.
There was a real diversity of ages, cultures, and thinking at the convocation which made it all that much richer of an experience.
The youngest member of our parish team is Diego Martinez. He's entering his senior year at West High School in August!
During meals and breaks each parish team met to discuss what they had heard from the various presenters. Pictured above was our team meeting at the St. Ambrose Beehive.
The Congolese choir from Iowa City brought the spirit alive in music as the convocation started!
You will be hearing more from our team in the coming weeks!
Do You Feel Comfortable Sharing Your Relationship with Jesus?
Yes, always.
Yes, sometimes.
Maybe, if someone asked.
I can't adequately explain my relationship with Jesus.
No, I would need help knowing how to do it.
No, I never would. End of discussion.
PLEASE GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN FOR THE PARISH DIRECTORY!

One simple way to evangelize is by having your picture taken as a member of St. Anthony Parish. What would we do without images of Jesus, Mary, Joseph? Pictures tell a story that words just can't convey. We have plenty of times available for this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday! All you have to do is click here to sign up. PLEASE!
Click on the Vision 20/20 Prayer Video and Pray It Often for Our Church