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Sower January, 2010
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| A Monthly Newsletter - the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago |
Issue 5
January, 2010 |
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 Dear Catechists, Youth Ministers and Catechetical Leaders,
Happy New Year!
The New Year often starts with promises to change some aspect or behavior of our lives. Whether it is taking off a few pounds, exercising more, scheduling time for daily prayer, etc., the objective is to improve the quality of our lives. The New Year is also a time when we start planning our calendar of classes and events for the next year. As you plan your next catechetical or youth ministry year I encourage you to take advantage of the many opportunities for enrichment and professional development offered by the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry throughout the year.
One of these special opportunities is the Chicago Catechetical Conference, which will be held on November 5 & 6, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. I encourage you to reserve those days and to come, as a catechetical and youth ministry community, to enrich your lives with prayer, knowledge and the fellowship of others.
May God bless you, your families and your ministry throughout the New Year.
Maruja Sedano,
Director, OFCYM |
 Queridos Catequistas, Ministros de la Juventud y Líderes Catequéticos,
¡Feliz Año Nuevo! El Año Nuevo comienza, con frecuencia, con promesas de cambiar algún aspecto o conducta en nuestra vida. Ya sea perder algunas libras, hacer más ejercicio, tomar tiempo para la oración diaria etc., el objetivo es mejorar nuestra calidad de vida.
El comienzo de año es también el tiempo en que comenzamos a planificar el calendario de clases y eventos para el próximo año. Según van planificando para el próximo año les animo a que se aprovechen de las muchas oportunidades de enriquecimiento y desarrollo profesional ofrecidas a través del año por la Oficina para la Catequesis y el Ministerio Juvenil.
Una de esas oportunidades es la Conferencia Catequética de Chicago que se llevará a cabo los días 5 y 6 de Noviembre en el Donald E. Stephens Centro de Convenciones de Rosemont. Les animo a que reserven esos días y vengan, a enriquecerse con la oración, el aprendizaje y la convivencia con otros catequistas y ministros a la juventud.
Que Dios les bendiga a ustedes, a sus familias y a su ministerio durante el Año Nuevo.
Maruja Sedano,
Directora, OFCYM
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 In This Issue ...
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Adult Faith Formation News
AFF Leader Training Course
 Adult Faith Leadership Formation will meet on Fridays, February 5, 12, 19 2010 at St. Mary Parish, 794 Pearson St., Des Plaines, IL 60016.
Information on our website.
Adult Confirmation Preparation Sites
Adult Confirmation preparation throughout the Archdiocese begins this winter. The schedule may be found on our Confirmation prep web page.
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Prophetic Voices
Who Are Today's Elijahs?
 by Lois DeFelice
Prophets in the Old Testament were those who were inspired by God and called the people back to what they were supposed to do. Today's prophet speaks out for a cause and is often gifted with more than ordinary spiritual and moral insight.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. certainly would be considered one of today's prophets.  In December of 1955, King led the first Black nonviolent demonstration, the bus boycott that lasted for 382 days. During this boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed and he was subjected to personal abuse. The U. S. Supreme Court declared the laws requiring segregation on buses unconstitutional in December of 1956. From 1957 to 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action. In 1964 he was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. When he found out that he was the recipient, he announced that he would turn over the $54,123 prize money to the furtherance of the civil rights movement. We remember him during January.
Who are the prophets today? Prophets are called to take care of the Anawim (a Hebrew word that means "the poor seeking God for deliverance.")
 Muhammad Yunus, another recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, is a Bangladeshi banker and economist, he is known as the banker of the poor.
Aung San Suu Kyi was elected Prime Minister of Burma and was prevented from moving the country to democracy by the military junta.  She has remained under house arrest for 14 years. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and used the $1.3 prize money to establish a health and education trust for the Burmese people.
 Bono, the lead singer of the Irish group U2 is a co-founder of the ONE campaign. It is a grassroots organization which attempts to mobilize supporters around issues and look for ways to receive more funding towards ending extreme poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.
Who are the prophets among us that you can recognize? Drop a note to Lois and the names you submit will appear in the February issue.
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Bible in the Media
A Review of A Serious Man, a Movie by the Coen Brothers
by Brigid Wolff, coordinator of the Chicago Catholic Scripture School
 The new movie by the Coen brothers opened in November. You may recall that these are the boys who gave us Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and more recently, Burn After Reading.
The movie is the Coen brothers re-telling of the Book of Job, which for scripture scholars is quite interesting. Except for some differences in chronology and one fatal choice made by the protagonist Larry Gopnik played by Michael Stuhlbarg, the script is remarkably faithful to the biblical text.
I was fortunate to see the movie with people who each provided unique perspectives on the film. I went with my husband and a friend who is an English Professor at a local University. My husband hated the movie. Stories about good guys who care for their families and do the right thing but essentially, get the short end of the stick (think The Piano here) are not his favorite way to spend a Saturday night. He also didn't like the movie because it takes place within a Jewish sub-culture in a Minneapolis suburb and, being a cradle Catholic, did not get the Jewish context of the film that frequently provided the viewer with some needed comic relief from an otherwise difficult subject.
My friend and I, on the other hand, quite enjoyed the film. Clearly we are not as plagued by provider anxiety as my husband is. (I am not sure I want to think about what that says about us.) My friend had the benefit of having dated a Jewish man from a suburb of New Jersey for four years, which supplied her with access to the humourous bits in the movie.
 As with the Book of Job itself, A Serious Man leaves the viewer with many questions. My favorite, spoken by Larry a.k.a. Job, on his visit to the second friend, in this case a Rabbi, was "Why does Hashem give us these questions in the first place if we can't answer them?" Why indeed? I guess this, in the end, is what drew me so much towards the movie, and the Book of Job itself. Sometimes suffering just happens and we don't have an answer as to why it happens. The fact that suffering exists does not, for the believer, mean that God is not good. Rather, true discipleship requires the ability to accept some amount of uncertainty. I think, in some circles, this is called faith. It is our task as believers to model this fidelity even in the face of great pain and suffering.
If you would like to read what someone else thought about the movie, check out the New York Times review posted online on November 23, 2009: click here.
Meanwhile, if you don't want to wait for Netflix and want to see a rendition of the Book of Job on the big screen A Serious Man will be running in January at the LaGrange Theatre and at the Beverly Art Center. Either way, the viewer might get more out of the film (notice I don't say "enjoy") by re-reading the Book of Job before seeing the movie.
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Jegen Center News
Curriculum Exploration Day
by Sr. Judy Dieterle, SSL
 Happy New Year from the Jegen Center! May 2010 be filled with inspiration and blessings for each of you!
Save the date!
Friday, February 5, 2010, from noon to 2:45 pm at St. Roman's we will have a Curriculum Exploration Day. This day is designed to give you the opportunity to browse the religion texts and other materials that are available and approved for use in the Archdiocese.
The four major publishing companies will be with us - Loyola Press, Our Sunday Visitor Curriculum Division (formerly Harcourt), RCL Benziger, and William H. Sadlier, Inc. Both English speaking and Spanish speaking representatives will present their products.
The time is broken into four slots, and the participants move from one publisher to another to compare their products and see what fits best for specific parishes and schools.
One of the big attractions is that it starts with FREE FOOD! The publishers will sponsor the lunch at noon, then at 12:45 the meetings with the publishers will begin. To be able to have enough food, we need a to know how many people will be coming. If you are interested in joining us, click here to download the flier/registration form in either Spanish or English. Hope to see you there! It's always good to keep up to date on what is available.
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Guide to the Sunday Gospels
January 10 through 31
 by Thomas McLaughlin
January 10
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
 In each of the Gospels Jesus' ministry begins with his baptism by John the Baptist. John serves as a transition figure between the Old Testament and New. John realized that he was living at a transitional moment in the history of salvation. By his preaching and actions he directs people's attention to look not to the past, but for a coming prophet who will be filled with the Holy Spirit and whose baptism is not with water but with the Holy Spirit and fire.
When John's work is finished and everyone is baptized, including Jesus, a voice from heaven tells Jesus "You are my beloved Son." In Mark's Gospel the voice is directed to Jesus as well. However in Matthew's Gospel the voice reveals this to the crowd. Jesus' life as a carpenter in a small town in Galilee is over and he is ready to begin his true work - preaching the coming Kingdom of God, his Father.
This Sunday marks the transition from the Christmas Season to the Liturgical Year's first experience of Ordinary Time.
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Marketing Catechesis
Branding: How about "Catholics Come Home to [your own parish or program name]"
 by Frank Koob
A brand is a name that gets results. It defines an event, has heart and soul. creates energy and movement.
Catholics Come Home was created by an advertising man in Kansas. It was piloted in Phoenix with positive results. We (Chicago, Joliet, and Rockford), along with several other American dioceses, have adopted it now. Obviously, we are in the midst of its media ad blast! Money and time are being spent to impress CCH in the minds and hearts of its intended audiences, along with the positive images and testimonials that accompany it.
Why not tap into this phrase to title your own parish programs or events by localizing it? Perhaps you already are. If it works, you could get a year or two of energy out of it.
You can develop your own brands for your initiatives. St. Giles in Oak Park decided that instead of Just having Advent this year, they would "Welcome the Sacred in Our Midst." Used properly with good programing, the energy of this name for a season could be used as a theme for other seasons or events. It could even become a theme for all parish offerings for awhile.
St. Francis Borgia's adult faith formation initiative "The Borgia Cafe" was adopted for an evening series years ago. It still works and is used to name AFF series that are still nicely attended. The word gets around. "Are you going to the Borgia Cafe during Lent?" "Oh, what is being offered this year." and so forth.
Be creative, and in the meantime, latch onto "Catholics Come Home"!
More on parish marketing next month!
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Celebrating the Richness of Unity
by Cathy Walz
The people of Blessed Sacrament parish recently gathered as one to celebrate the richness of their newly formed community in the installation of Rev. Tom Smithson, SSS as their first pastor. The people have been neighbors for years. They were members of St. Maurice, Our Lady of Good Council and SS. Peter and Paul Parishes. But now they are one. These three parishes have come together to create Blessed Sacrament Parish and to serve the Catholic community of McKinley Park.
Every parish community possesses a variety of gifts. The richness of these gifts becomes evident when we come together in the celebration of the Eucharist.
The installation Mass celebrated by Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller brought together the richness of McKinley Park. The church, the choir loft and the narthex were overflowing with people eager to celebrate! The theme of the Mass was "Unity" - and the unity of McKinley Park was evident! A trilingual choir led the community in song. People sang and prayed in English, Spanish and Polish. Gathered as one, they gave thanks to God for their new pastor. And, as they gathered as one, they discovered one another. They discovered people who attend Mass at different times and in different languages. They discovered the treasure riches in the Catholic community of McKinley Park.
 As Fr. Tom spoke in English, expressing gratitude for the staff, the parishioners and for Fr. Mike Boehm, former pastor of St. Maurice who now serves as the Associate Pastor of Blessed Sacrament, Fr. Mike humbly translated Fr. Tom's words into Spanish. Together they make quite a leadership team. The combined gifts of the people of McKinley Park are truly a gift to the Church. Following the Mass their was a fantastic array of food and drink prepared by and served by the families of the parish community. Like the three kings, the people of McKinley Park come together to praise and honor God, to open their treasures and to share their gifts with one another.
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Opłatek dla Katechetów
Elzbieta Wojtas
 Zapraszam dyrekcję szkół, księzy i całe grono katechetyczne wraz z rodzinami na opłatek dnia 23 stycznia 2010 w sobotę w klasztorze Sióstr dominikanek, proszę zobaczyć załączone zaproszenie, aby, jak co roku uczestniczyć we Mszy Świętej dziękczynnej w intencji wszystkich katechetów, podzielić się opłatkiem - chlebem dobroci, wspólnie kolędować i ucztować narodzenie Pana podczas wspólnej agapy.
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Adult Faith Formation Anniversary
During the coming year the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry will be offering brief written reflections on adult faith formation in the Archdiocese of Chicago to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the United States Catholic Bishops' statement "Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States."
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Promoting the Dignity and Sanctity of Human Life
 by Mary-Louise Kurey, Director, Respect Life/Pro-Life Office Archdiocese of Chicago
The U.S. Catholic Bishops in their pastoral plan for adult faith formation "Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us" recognized that many social ills, including abortion and discrimination against women, threaten the dignity and sanctity of human life. Our Bishops teach that a thorough adult catechesis must include a catechesis on the Gospel of Life.
More than a century ago, my great-great-grandmother Bridget Cosgrove Haney fought for equality in the women's suffrage movement. As a young widow, she traveled across New York and northern Pennsylvania with her five children to speak out against an injustice that was legally permitted in our country - denying women the right to vote.
Today, I carry on her great tradition, using my voice to speak out against another legally permitted injustice against women: the violence of abortion.
My feminist foremothers would agree. Susan B. Anthony wrote, "We want prevention, not merely punishment. We must reach the root of the evil... It is practiced by those whose inmost souls revolt from the dreadful deed." Elizabeth Cady Stanton stated, "It is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."
Read the complete article »
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Gift Exchange and Today's Teens
 The urgency to find the right gift for loved ones during holidays seems to get more and more intense each year. What used to be a few simple gifts in a stocking on Christmas morning or some trinkets in a shoe on the feast of the Three Kings has turned into a shopping marathon that begins on Black Friday and ends in January when winter coats need to make room for spring fashion-wear.
As noted by our pastors every Advent season, our commercial-driven world has shifted waiting for the coming of the Christ Child to waiting in line at the cashier register at 5 a.m. with our precious door buster item.
Because all the stores take down the decorations so quickly after December 25th, Christmas season in the Liturgical year often becomes an afterthought. Only by staying connected to the liturgy can one escape the subsequent loneliness, isolation and anonymity that often engulf one in the hangover after Christmas.
Most of us hope that gift exchange be spontaneous, uninterested and pure. "She gave this to me from the heart and that is why I cherish it so much!"
How can those of us who care about young people reconnect our youth with original gift giving?
Well first of all, we need to be reminded that the original gift can be found exclusively in the Trinity and not in Macy's. The mutual, self-donating love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit pours out the gift of grace to all those who proclaim a faith in Christ and His Church. The same way Trinitarian love exists between our one God in the three persons, so too are we called to love as the Trinity loves in relationships.
Before we explain this beautiful theology to young people, I suggest that we start with a conversation about gift exchange. This can be done before or after the Christmas season. What follows are some starter questions that can lead the youth minister back to Trinitarian Theology:
 In your opinion, is it better to give or receive? Why?
What is the most precious gift you have ever given or received?
What happens to people your age who believe they are entitled to receive gifts?
Look at the gifts of the Holy Spirit and compare them with the material gifts you received over the holidays. Can you name how you are growing in wisdom, knowledge or understanding and who is helping you along this path of spiritual maturity?
Singing, Shouting and Stomping God's Praises!
 By Tiffany Swann-Covington - Vicariate VI Youth Ministry Coordinator
Don't miss the next Young Leaders of Chicago-SOUTH. February 6th at St. Ailbe Church. The first one, held in December was amazing.
Saturday, December 12th swarmed over Vicariate VI with a rousing Christmas celebration at St. Columbanus School. The youth of the Vicariate came together to inaugurate the Young Leaders of Chicago Program for the South Side of Chicago. 150 youth and adults attended the premiere of one of the best youth initiatives that the Archdiocese of Chicago has seen in a while.
 Young Leaders of Chicago-SOUTH began after two years of growing success in Vicariate IV. It began at St. Bernardine's parish on the West Side. The program developed from collaboration with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Center for Chicago (CCRCC) and Sal Solo of ACTS Evangelization and Worship. A need for this kind of youth program sparked what has become a Archdiocesan initiative adopted and accepted by the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry.
The Young Leaders of Chicago program serves as an enhancement for an already established youth ministry program or springboard for the development of one. It is not designed to replace youth ministry. Teens selected by their pastors comprise a council that help plan, develop and execute a youth rally that is held every other month in the Vicariate. The topic stems from conversations, concerns, triumphs and needs that the teens have and share in their lives as young people in the world today. The location varies to make the program accessible to all youth and to showcase the varied neighborhoods and rich cultures that make Vicariate VI so special.
 An adult council consisting of youth ministry leaders, professionals and coordinators serve as the assistants, mentors and guidance counselors to help execute the rally through whatever logistical and financial needs that the planning requires. By far, the rallies are driven and promoted by the youth.
The South Side premiere featured such youth groups as Expressions of You (formerly of St. Dorothy), St. Ailbe Children's Choir, the St. Benedict the African-West male and female dance troupes, Christian rappers Lil' Chris, Justus and MashetiMoses. Marc Nimo (DRE St. Columbanus) and Devin Jones (YM St. John de la Salle) served as emcees for the evening's festivities. Sal Solo served the event in several capacities and Paul Bauer provided audio-visual enhancements for the program. Several staff members from the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry were also on hand to assist in the execution. Free food was served to all who attended and a collection was requested to benefit the St. Columbanus Food Pantry, the largest of its kind on the South Side of Chicago.
It is truly a joy and blessing to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child in the midst of young people showcasing their God given talents. The festive occasion highlights the need and effects of dedicated youth ministry for teens. Our young people want to celebrate and learn more about their faith. We need more adults willing to share their gifts with these teens for the benefit of the life of the Catholic Church.
For more information do not hesitate to contact: Tiffany Swann-Covington at 312-534-8035 or tswann@archchicago.org.
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 There is so much division these days in our world and in our communities. Let us use this month dedicated to Christian Unity - all of us - to become Instruments of Peace.
If we saw Peace as an action verb rather than a noun, we would then know what we can and must do. Let's try to see what works in our fractured world!
Sincerely,
the Staff of the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago
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:: Resources :: Current Issue of the Sower :: Sower January, 2010
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Contact __________
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 Frank Koob
Coordinator of Marketing and Publications | Catechetical Ministry Coordinator for Vicariate IV
312-534-8051
fkoob@archchicago.org
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Sower Archive
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