Eastern Region Office Hours this week
- Monday, March 21: Not Available - Staff Meeting
- Tuesday, March 22: Open 9- 11:30; 2 - 5pm (Can be available after 5 for scheduled appointments)
- Wednesday, Mar 23 : Not available (Staff Meeting)
- Thursday, Mar 24: Open 9-12 (Holy Thursday)
- Friday, Mar 25: CLOSED (Good Friday)
- Monday, Mar 28: Open 8:30 am - noon
- Tuesday, Mar 29: Open -noon - 7pm (later hours)
- Wednesday, Mar 30: Not Available (Staff Retreat)
- Thursday Mar 31: Open 9am -4pm
- Friday, April 1 CLOSED .... Just kidding! April Fool's!! Open 9am - 2PM
| Revised Sacramental Guidelines to be Rolled Out April 14 at the Good News Center (10 am with lunch after) or (6 pm with dinner included) This will be used as the CL April Meeting Catherine Cornue will present each parish with a copy of the newly revised Diocesan Guidelines for Sacramental Preparation. A letter was recently mailed to all parishes inviting Pastors, Catechetical Leaders, Sacramental Preparation teams and other ministries involved in Sacramental Preparations and Celebrations. Please make every effort to be at this presentation. Cathy will walk through the sections, note where changes have been made and answer any questions. I will be also mailing an invitation from my office for registration to this event. Please be as prompt as possible for registering as a count needs to be submitted to Good News for their ability to prepare for lunch and dinner. You can email me at aslaven@syrdio.org, call 797-4030 or use the attached form that is included with the invitation. Click for PDF of Invitation. |  |
| The Most Important Question:”Who do you say I am? April 21 at St. Peter’s, Rome NY (6:30 - 8:30 pm) Paul Hanley will present a workshop to explore some of the many responses to the question which Jesus asked Peter. -- How did the first disciples answer this questions? -- How does the Church (the Christian Community) answer this question? -- How do you answer this question? -- How does our answer have an impact on our daily lives? Register by emailing aslaven@syrdio.org or call 797-4030. Click here for FLYER |  |
| Art & Stories with Bro. Mickey McGrath April 15 & 16 at the Bishop Harrison Center Friday 6:30 - 9PM; Saturday 10am - 2pm Just another reminder to register for the Bro. Mickey McGrath presentation. Listen to his stories as he uses is art work to illustrate the beauty of our faith. Two different presentations - come to one or come to both! Register online at faithformationevents.weebly.com or call 797-4030. FLYER Go the Bro. Mickey Event in style! Ride the Eastern Region Fun Bus! |  This image is NOT to be copied. |
| FREE! Refreshments will be served. Picks up at St. Paul's, Whitesboro at 5:30PM; Thruway Exit 34 Canastota/Oneida at 6PM See flyer for more info. Click Here for FLYER |  |
| Annual Eastern Region Celebration Dinner May 16 at Twin Ponds 5:30 Cash Bar; 6:30 Dinner will begin. Start spreading the news with your catechists, RCIA teams, Sacramental teams and Youth ministers. The annual celebration is May 16. We had 120 folks last year and had a ball! Don’t miss out. Save the date now and join the celebration! Invitations will be sent right after Easter, so keep an eye out for them. SAVE THE DATE! |  |
| Annual Pathways to Ministry Dinner June 8 at Holiday Inn, East Liverpool Time TBA, but generally around 6. Please note that this year’s Pathways to Ministry is being held on a WEDNESDAY this year due to scheduling issues. This is a wonderful celebration to acknowledge the “Lifelong and Ongoing” faith formation of those in the catechetical ministry. Please support and celebrate with them as they receive their awards. Join us for an evening of prayer, dinner and celebration. Mark your calendars now and invite all! More information will be coming soon. SAVE THE DATE |  |
Other Interesting Days Coming Up!
The Catholic Church dedicates the month of April to the Blessed Sacrament.
Many of you are preparing you students to receive Eucharist for the very first time during April and May. The month of April can be an invitation for the entire parish to focus on the Blessed Sacrament, especially as we celebrate the Year of Mercy. Spend time in prayer focusing on the Eucharist or take part in Adoration. Give thanks to Jesus for the grace given through the Eucharist. Ask yourself how you are being eucharistic in the world. Pray for the students and families preparing for Eucharist for the first time.
Year of Mercy~April is “The Dignity of Creation“
• April 12 is “Big Wind Day”. This caught my eye because it reminded me of “Ruah” in the story of creation and also when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. Wind power is also another resource encouraged for clean air. There are many aspect of our faith that can be tied into this secular day, but a reminder of how our faith can work in the world.
• April 14 is “Look up at the Sky” Day. This reminded me of the separation of the Heavens and the Earth. The beauty of the clouds and the sun is heavenly. The immensity of creation always amazes me when I look at the stars at night.
• April 25 is “World Penguin Day”, as we look to care for all animals on earth, this is the animal celebrated this month.
• April 29 is “Arbor Day”. Trees keep a natural balance in the quality of our air and is an important part of many eco-systems. Take this time to plant a tree…maybe on your parish grounds with a special prayer service???
Third week of April is "Week 3 Organize Your Files Week" This is great reminder to begin wrapping up this year’s files:
Check your certification records and file any courses you took this year.
Begin recruiting catechists for next year and check their VIRTUS status. It may be easier for some to do complete training during the summer.
Do a self-evaluation or an evaluation of your program. Did you accomplish what you hoped to do? What were your strengths? What were the weaknesses? Do you feel the students learned and retained information from the year? Were families involved in the child's faith formation? Was the parish aware of what students were learning? Those are just a few questions I came up with. This might be very valuable to list some questions for yourself and reflect on the answers.
NCCL conference is in Jacksonville, Florida. (May 21 - 26). It’s not too late to register!
Please note that I will not be in the office that week, and will not be back until after Memorial Day.
Can’t make it to Florida? The Albany Spring Enrichment Conference (May 18-20) which is open to ALL ministries is with keynote speakers, Joe Paprocki & Julianne Stanz. Visit the website at http://bit.ly/albanyspring
Many of you are preparing you students to receive Eucharist for the very first time during April and May. The month of April can be an invitation for the entire parish to focus on the Blessed Sacrament, especially as we celebrate the Year of Mercy. Spend time in prayer focusing on the Eucharist or take part in Adoration. Give thanks to Jesus for the grace given through the Eucharist. Ask yourself how you are being eucharistic in the world. Pray for the students and families preparing for Eucharist for the first time.
Year of Mercy~April is “The Dignity of Creation“
• April 12 is “Big Wind Day”. This caught my eye because it reminded me of “Ruah” in the story of creation and also when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. Wind power is also another resource encouraged for clean air. There are many aspect of our faith that can be tied into this secular day, but a reminder of how our faith can work in the world.
• April 14 is “Look up at the Sky” Day. This reminded me of the separation of the Heavens and the Earth. The beauty of the clouds and the sun is heavenly. The immensity of creation always amazes me when I look at the stars at night.
• April 25 is “World Penguin Day”, as we look to care for all animals on earth, this is the animal celebrated this month.
• April 29 is “Arbor Day”. Trees keep a natural balance in the quality of our air and is an important part of many eco-systems. Take this time to plant a tree…maybe on your parish grounds with a special prayer service???
Third week of April is "Week 3 Organize Your Files Week" This is great reminder to begin wrapping up this year’s files:
Check your certification records and file any courses you took this year.
Begin recruiting catechists for next year and check their VIRTUS status. It may be easier for some to do complete training during the summer.
Do a self-evaluation or an evaluation of your program. Did you accomplish what you hoped to do? What were your strengths? What were the weaknesses? Do you feel the students learned and retained information from the year? Were families involved in the child's faith formation? Was the parish aware of what students were learning? Those are just a few questions I came up with. This might be very valuable to list some questions for yourself and reflect on the answers.
NCCL conference is in Jacksonville, Florida. (May 21 - 26). It’s not too late to register!
Please note that I will not be in the office that week, and will not be back until after Memorial Day.
Can’t make it to Florida? The Albany Spring Enrichment Conference (May 18-20) which is open to ALL ministries is with keynote speakers, Joe Paprocki & Julianne Stanz. Visit the website at http://bit.ly/albanyspring
CLICK HERE FOR PDF VERSION OF THE WEEKLY UPDATE (Includes all flyers)
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