| |
Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan has requested that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee implement the RENEW program, Healing the Body of Christ. He has asked parishes to participate in this small group faith sharing process. Ideally this would happen in Lent 2003. However, if programs have already been planned for this Lent, the series could be implemented in the fall of 2003.
This program includes six small group sessions based on various topics designed to lead to spiritual renewal both individually and as a community. The small groups typically meet in people’s homes, but can also be held at the parish. Each small group participant receives a booklet that is used during the small group meetings.
The format for these sessions includes an opening prayer, an introduction to the topic, discussion questions, scripture passage, reflection on the reading from scripture, further small group discussion, determining an action for living out our faith, and a closing prayer.
Topics Addressed in Healing the Body of Christ
This RENEW series addresses six themes:
- The Church in Times of Crisis
- Healing, Repentance and Forgiveness
- A Church of Saints and Sinners
- Relationships: In the Church, to the World
- God’s Gift of the Eucharist and the Sacraments
- Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Recommitment of Faith
Healing the Body of Christ Deals with a Variety of Areas
Healing the Body of Christ is designed to invite healing in the midst of serious scandal in the Church, but it does not focus exclusively on sexual abuse. The program seeks to address six areas:
- How we can become a more authentic and holy people;
- How we can achieve a better knowledge of and fidelity to the teachings of our Catholic faith;
- How we can strengthen our Catholic faith;
- How we can begin to forgive in whatever ways we find necessary in our own personal lives;
- How we can improve our prayer lives and our openness to the Holy Spirit, and
- How we can realize the importance of viewing the Eucharist as the summit of our faith life.
Ordering Materials
A Healing the Body of Christ: Parish Kit that includes guidelines for implementation, a participants small group discussion booklet, a training video and guide, and handouts can be purchased from Paulist Press – 800-218-1903 or www.paulistpress.com. The kit is available in English and Spanish and costs $65.00. A bilingual kit is available for $125.00. Individual participant booklets are $3.00 each.
The training video and kit covers what is needed to begin Healing the Body of Christ. RENEW highly recommends that the parish form a planning team, sponsor a “Prayer Commitment Sunday,” and hold a “Sign-Up Sunday” all prior to beginning the small groups.
Training Events Scheduled
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has scheduled several training events for parish leaders.
Two-hour training parish Coordinator Training sessions will be held on Friday, February 14, and Saturday, February 15, in English and Tuesday, February 18, 2003 in Spanish. Each parish is encouraged to send at least one representative who will coordinate the Healing the Body of Christ program at the parish. This training will be repeated later in the year for parishes who will be implementing Healing the Body of Christ in the fall. There will be no fee to attend these trainings.
For Further Information
Please contact Randy Nohl at 414-769-3440, 800-769-9373, ext. 440 or nohlr@archmil.org if you have any questions or would like to discuss RENEW’s Healing the Body of Christ further.
|
