Love is all...
What is in this month's folder:
I am opening this month's meeting blog with a quote from St. Pope JPII for a couple of reasons. One, his feast day is October 22. Two, one of our region's parishes has completed a monument and reflective garden in the heart of Utica. Holy Trinity parish erected the monument last fall.
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See more about Holy Trinity and the monument at http://www.holytrinityutica.com/wp/
It was so appropriate that the "Hearts on a Mission" event would have fallen on the feast of this most loved Pope. His writings include the apostolic exhortations "Catechesi Tradendae" (On Catechesis in our Time),"Familiaris Consortio" (On the rose of the Christian Family in the Modern World", the encylical "Evangelium Vitae" (The Gospel of Life), and many other beautiful writings (See https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en.html), many of which relate directly to our ministry.
Unfortunately, "Hearts on a Mission" had to be cancelled. But, our mission continues. Our hearts continue to beat in the dynamism of love that Jesus shares with us. We are loved by our God, and we take that love to others. It is a faith built on relationships with God and with each other, which is why I chose the quote at the beginning of this blog.
This month's prayer reflects on that love and the heart of the catechist, as each of us IS a catechist. So let us pray. See the prayer attached. The "Creed", is a a reflection of what a Catechist is, so when you get to that part, it is on the second document. Feel free to share this with your catechists.
"October Prayer" and "A Catechist is..."
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Faithful Citizenship

Part I Bulletin Insert (pdf for week 1)
Part II Bulletin Insert (pdf for week 2)
Order bulletin Inserts here. (order printed copies for your parish)
Easternecho.org Site Map


eastern_echo_promo.pdf |
Office of Faith Formation, Syracuse Facebook Page


office_of_faith_formation_facebook_page.pdf |
Young Hearts on a Mission: Life Outside Your Comfort Zone
We also extend a HUGE thank you to Sr. Anna Mae at Notre Dame Jr/Sr High for providing the gymnasium for free to our youth, including the janitorial services. This is extremely generous and greatly appreciated by all.
Coming up... Keep FEBRUARY 12, 2017 marked in your calendars for the next regional youth event. Details will come soon.
The Regional Youth Committee is headed by:
Dick Vetere- dvetere@syrdio.org
Rick Hensel- rhensel@syrdio.org
Anne Elacqua- aelacqua@syrdio.org
Cheryl Smith- csmith@syrdio.org
Attached here is the large flyer and the half sheet student invitations.
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Statistical Reports - Request for Excel Version

Don't forget the due date is November 1st. If you have questions about how to complete the form, please find the review in the Weekly Updates: Statistical Reports - How to complete it
Also, there has been requests to repost the excel version. So here it is. You will need to download & save it to your computer first. Then open it to complete. You can then email it to me as an attachment.Otherwise, use the pdf found in the files tab on this website or make a copy from your CL handbook.

stat_report_excel_template_dbversion.xlsx |
Wine and Wisdom at St. Mary of Mt.Carmel/Blessed Sacrament

will_the_real_mary_please_stand_up.pdf |
Ongoing Ministry Development

There are many ways to continue to enrich your knowledge through ministerial development workshops, courses and conferences. Here are just a few:
- Dayton's Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF). Many courses of various lengths and credit. Upcoming is the Autism in Faith Formation, a five week course beginning Jan 15. Peruse the course catalog and schedule to see all the learning opportunities coming up. Note that our diocese does have a membership for reduced cost. When registering, it will ask for your membership affiliation. Choose "Diocese of Syracuse."
- Mid Atlantic Congress (MAC) held in Baltimore, MD. Feb 16-18, 2017. This is an all-ministry conference for catechists and leaders, youth ministers, RCIA teams, pastors, pastoral council leaders, finance departments, sacrament preparation and more. Visit the website at midatlanticcongress.org Group rates are available. If you are interested, please complete this quick pre-registration form to be added to the group rate. There may be carpooling available. You can also apply for the $500 scholarship grant available for all catechetical leaders.
- National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL). A very ministry specific conference for parish catechetical leaders and diocesan leaders. It is also recommended that you become a member of the NCCL even if you aren't going to the conference. Membership provides you with a quarterly professional magazine, weekly updates, discounts on materials and resources as well as the discount for the conference. Membership is $75 and should be part of your professional development line in your parish budget. Click here to join NCCL. The upcoming conference will be located in Dallas, TX. May 22-25. Spend a few extra days to join the tours! Visit NCCL.org for more info. Again,$500 scholarships are available.
Discussion based on Families at the Center of Faith Formation


family_symposium_part_1.pdf |
Sophia's Solutions: Where the Wisdom of the group supports one another.
What I did was took a situation and "bleached" it of names, dates, type of leader, etc so that it became generic. Then, I shared it with the group. Attached here is the first issue of "Sophia's Solutions". You can share your wisdom for providing a solution in the comments area below.

sophias_solutions_.pdf |