October 23, 2005

Dear friends in life and in ministry,

Its been a rainy weekend in the Southern Tier of New York State. Its Sunday afternoon and I've hit the computer instead of the pillow I planned on hitting an hour ago.

Once again this weekend I officiated at a wedding on Saturday afternoon, this time at Norton Chapel of Keuka College which is located at the top of Keuka Lake near Penn Yan. In spite of the constant and heavy rain, John Vito Curioni and Karen Rapplee (both of Elmira) remained calm (kinda) and good natured as they said their vows before about 150 family members and friends. Following the wedding, I returned to Bath to preach and shown a video concerning the Diocesan Ministry Appeal. Often parishioners question how a diocesan pastoral office located about 100 miles away assists the local parish in its ministry. On Saturday morning, I quickly listed 25 diocesan services, ministries, events or activities that served our parish and especially our staff during October alone.

The Diocesan Youth Ministry staff has an especially significant impact on our parish youth offering exciting Retreat opportunities for both Junior and Senior High youth throughout the year. On Wednesday, I'll join 22 of our teens and chaperones at the National Catholic Youth Convention at Atlanta's Georgia Dome. About 700 kids from our Diocese of Rochester will join 20,000 teens and adults from around the country. The DOR boasts one of the largest delegation. I've been out of youth ministry for quite a few years - but am looking forward to witnessing the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts of these young people. Our only fear is that the "Winds of Change" theme may be joined by the Winds of Hurricane Wilma which is expected to hit Georgia on Tuesday or Wednesday. But what safer place is there during a hurricane than in a domed area. (Hum? Sounds vaguely familiar.)

Happy Birthday to our youngest - Monica Joy Defendorf who turned 27 on Friday. I'll hit the big 62 on November 4th. Golly, that used to be old.

This week's Sent to Serve offers some thoughts on a diocesan educational meeting I attended on Tuesday morning. It concerned the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' document of how we share our faith with others - both formally and informally.

Blessings to all . . .

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October 23, 2005

COOPERATING WITH GOD’S GRACE . . . FOSTERING GROWTH IN FAITH

Tuesday morning Mary Carol Wall and I attended a diocesan catechetical workshop featuring
Lee Nagel, theDirector of TotalCatholic Education for the Diocese of GreenBay. Mr. Nagel’s
presentation was titled “Cooperating in God’s Grace . . . FosteringGrowth in Faith,” - a review
of the National Directory for Catechesis (NDC) the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’
recently published instruction on Catechesis—a “churchy” term that means to “proclaim the Gospel
and bring people to God.”

Most of us grew up in a Catholic culture that left the teaching of religion to the “professionals” - priests
and sisters. But, following Vatican II’s “Church in the Modern World” proclamation of the important role
the laity plays in sharing the faith, more and more lay people became “professional” catechists. Their job
was most often to recruit, train and oversee the work of lay volunteer catechists who staffed increasing numbers
of Catholic CCD programs aimed primarily at children attending public school.

The NDC expands this role of “cooperating with God’s grace and fostering one another’s growth in faith’ to
include all Christians. Our baptismal call to be “priest, prophet and king” tells us that God intends that each of us
offer sacrifice (the work of a priest), speak boldly the Good News (the work of a prophet) and do so with confidence
that our lives can in fact make a powerful difference because - we are the King’s children and therefore heirs to the
most powerful force in the Kingdom—the love and favor of our father.

Sharing this good news can be as simple as listening with compassion to another’s problems, grieving with
them at a time of loss, and offering words of assurance and hope when all seems lost. Christians who have not
let their faith become ritualized or stagnant can do this with ease — for they . . .
• know Christ intimately through prayer,
• have learned compassion through service,
• and have experienced the rewards of generosity through sharing their gifts with others.

They are good stewards of the Gift of Faith - and can enthusiastically share their Gift with others.

Off to Atlanta
Last Saturday night and again on this Sunday morning, the teen and adult pilgrims to this year’s National
Catholic Youth Conference in Atlanta will be donning our multicolored Jester Hats and seeking a blessing
from you and Fr. Erb. For many years I was heavily involved in youth ministry, but I’ve not recently had the
opportunity or desire to enmesh myself in the active and sometimes quite noisy lives of teenagers. I’m honestly
looking forward to spending these exciting days with our young people and our parent chaperones. Past experiences
with youth gatherings at the University of Steubenville and elsewhere have convinced me that the Holy Spirit has a great fondness for young people and is manifested in wondrous ways at events such as this. Being in the presence of
thousands of other young people alive with the Holy Spirit and proud of their Roman Catholic faith can be a life
changing experience for our teens and the adults who work with them. All of us who are journeying to Atlanta this
Wednesday are grateful for your prayers and support.

Annual Diocesan Ministry Appeal
This weekend following our Gospel, I’ll be asking for your support for the Annual Diocesan Ministry Appeal
(formerly the Thanks Giving Appeal). We’ll also watch a video featuring several glimpses of our own parish
and people from throughout the diocese who have chosen to financially support our diocesan ministries. This
week alone our parish has been enriched by our diocese’s Catechetical and Youth ministries. We have also interacted
with Catholic Charities to assist several people in need. I hope you will join Pat and me in responding generously to
Bishops Clark’s recent letter. Extra brochures and pledge forms will be available at this weekend’s Masses.

Have a good week. Serve one another well.

I pray that you will enjoy this visit, and if you like,
                                          E-Mail me with your comments

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