 | Pope Francis said, in a message during Mass in the Chapel of the Casa Santa Marta (2013-04-24), that the Church is a love story that began when the Father sent His son, "“The Church begins there,” he said, “in the heart of the Father, who had this idea . . . of love. So this love story began, a story that has gone on for so long, and is not yet ended. We, the women and men of the Church, we are in the middle of a love story: each of us is a link in this chain of love. And if we do not understand this, we have understood nothing of what the Church is." What a beautiful statement of what Church is. This year, as we reflect on this year's catechetical theme, "Safeguarding the Dignity of Every Human Person", we need to |
| remember that love is the mission of the Church and is to be put into action as disciples. Reaching out to all of our brothers and sisters with love and respect, to safeguard each person's dignity, gets to the heart of the Church and her mission in the world. Our diocese has put together a project based on reaching to various groups of people that might be on the margins or struggling in one way or another. These various groups within our human family need the Church's support and love, without judgement, without bitterness or jealousy - just love and respect as one of God's children, loved into existence and sharing in our human family. To the side of this post, you will find the themes for each month. There is also two links, one for September's MySyrDio: E-resource and one for Octobers, and the link to the pdf I created with more information about the diocesan themes and how to subscribe to the monthly e-resource. The important thing about the e-resource is that it is meant to be shared! Share it with your parishioners on facebook or forward to your parents and catechists.  | Diocesan Themes  |
The Rest of the Meeting...
Opening Prayer - Love is the Mission
Eastern Region Mini Conference - Hearts on a Mission (flyer)
Level One Schedule - PDF / Registration Website /or share this url
<http://bit.ly/catechistonline>
Level Two Eastern Region - PDF of Schedule for the year. No flyers yet.
University of Dayton -
DAN SCHUTTE IN CONCERT! September 27 at St. Paul's in Rome. Free will offering.
Eastern Region Mini Conference - Hearts on a Mission (flyer)
- October 24th from 9am - 2:45pm with Dr. Saundra Kennedy and Kevin Dowd
- This conference is for you! Your input is important. We have had a Google Doc open for every CL to view and comment throughout our planning. The planning committee (Anne Elecqua, Terri Panuccio, Cheryl Smith, Sr. Martha, Lynn Springer, Shannon Jones, and Annette Gape) has worked hard to pull this together. You can still see our notes and where we are with planning. The registration and webpage is completed and most of the brochure is done.
- Meeting Notes ClickHere
- Website for registration ClickHere
Level One Schedule - PDF / Registration Website /or share this url
<http://bit.ly/catechistonline>
Level Two Eastern Region - PDF of Schedule for the year. No flyers yet.
University of Dayton -
- The Diocese of Syracuse now has a membership for discounted prices for the University of Dayton Virtual Learning Community. See the article and information located on the diocesan site.
- Here is the next cycle of courses open for registration. PDF
- There are some excellent course titles including "Autism in Faith Formation", "Communication and Community" and more.
DAN SCHUTTE IN CONCERT! September 27 at St. Paul's in Rome. Free will offering.
 | And from Cathy Cornue... Did you see this? Office of Faith Formation - Newsletter
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Circles of Care - It's not an option! It is a mandate from the United States Bishops and our diocesan policy. Circles of Care reports must be submitted by February 15. Please use the handbooks with lesson plans and the forms for class attendance.
Statistical Reports - These reports must be turned in. Every diocese must keep records of attendance for statistics in the Kennedy Directory. Reports are used to note trends in population, sacraments, etc.
- Tip given - Kathy Sledziona sometimes uses the video clips from "My Kid would never do that" (a series from NBC Dateline) for parent sessions. Here is the one on Bullying.
Statistical Reports - These reports must be turned in. Every diocese must keep records of attendance for statistics in the Kennedy Directory. Reports are used to note trends in population, sacraments, etc.
 | And from Fr. Mark Kaminski...Fr. Mark expressed his full support of the ministry of catechesis and opens his doors to any concerns and questions that Catechetical Leaders may have. HIs presence at our meeting was truly appreciated by all. One of the topics of concern brought to Fr. Mark's attention by Catechetical leaders was the difficulty to collaborate. Though there have |
have been attempts among CLs to collaborate, there have been some stumbling blocks that are making the continuation of collaboration difficult. And, there is still a "this is my parishes" mentality rather than "let's work together" that have inhibited any collaboration. Money at times is the root of the problem, who is paying, is everyone collaborating financially the same, etc, etc. These things sometimes hinder the mission.
Fr. Mark addressed this concern and emphasized the need to keep it positive. He also is working to help parishes collaborate. The future has to be one of collaboration, not just of resources, but sharing ministry leaders as well.
The facts are, there will come a time where there may be only one pastor for an entire pastoral care area. This might not be an immediate concern, but one that does need careful attention. Parishes do need to find positive ways to work together. Keep it positive!
Here is a snapshot of some statistics we need to understand and be planning for as we head into the future:
Fr. Mark addressed this concern and emphasized the need to keep it positive. He also is working to help parishes collaborate. The future has to be one of collaboration, not just of resources, but sharing ministry leaders as well.
The facts are, there will come a time where there may be only one pastor for an entire pastoral care area. This might not be an immediate concern, but one that does need careful attention. Parishes do need to find positive ways to work together. Keep it positive!
Here is a snapshot of some statistics we need to understand and be planning for as we head into the future:
Click image to go to the Diocese of Syracuse Pastoral Planning site.
Questions were asked about McDevitt Evangelization Grants and Heritage Grants for Young Adult Ministry. Fr. Mark gave helpful information regarding how these grants work. It should be noted that McDevitt Evangelization grants are not given year after year for the same project. The stipulation is that the grant is one time to help get a project started so that it will be self -sufficient in years to follow. Projects also should be able to be replicated in other parishes.
During the conversation with Fr. Mark, it was suggested that there be a regional calendar where young people can see what events are happening. Not facebook though. If anyone wants to explore this possibility and work with me to find the right media tool and a way to get parish support to use the tool, contact me. I'm thinking of perhaps an app.
During the conversation with Fr. Mark, it was suggested that there be a regional calendar where young people can see what events are happening. Not facebook though. If anyone wants to explore this possibility and work with me to find the right media tool and a way to get parish support to use the tool, contact me. I'm thinking of perhaps an app.
 Click Folder to have all documents from the meeting in one place. Download what you need, print and share what you need. | Click the folder for all the handouts in one place. If you have a Google Account (syrdio.org), this folder can be placed in your Google Drive for your convenience. If you would like a Google syrdio.org account, please click here. |
