25 years of building the body of Christ through the New Evangelization

On Jan. 11, the Diocese of Corpus Christi will celebrate the Silver Jubilee of its annual ministry conference, this year entitled “The New Evangelization.” The conference marks 25 years of building the body of Christ through the New Evangelization.

The diocese’s first-ever ministry conference was held in February 1990, the same year that Blessed John Paul II gave the church “REDEMPTORIS MISSIO, On the permanent validity of the Church’s missionary mandate,” in which the Holy Father said, “I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization…”

The first ministries conference in the diocese was held under the banner, “Becoming a Body of Christ: Continuing the Journey.” It was a response to Bishop Rene H. Gracida’s Second Synod of the Diocese of Corpus Christi held in 1988.

In his letter opening Synod 88, Bishop Gracida said, “…it is an appropriate time for our diocese to gather to reflect on how we as the people of God can propose a vision of the Church for the future which brings about greater unity among the faithful and which strengthens the faith life of Catholics.”

In Redemptoris Missio, Pope John Paul II more fully explained the concept of the New Evangelization, a term he coined in a 1983 address to Latin American bishops gathered in Haiti. The pope said, “…entire groups of the baptized have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his Gospel. In this case what is needed is a ‘new evangelization’ or a ‘re-evangelization’.”

Both occurrences were aimed at reenergizing the faith and building the church—the Body of Christ.

Under Pope John Paul II’s New Evangelization, catechists among the faithful in a variety of ministries “have a place of honor.” The ministry conference, which will be held Jan. 11 at the American Bank Center, focuses on strengthening the various ministries in the diocese.

Peter Murphy, Ph.D. the executive director, of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis, will serve as the conference keynote speaker. He will give a talk on the theme “The New Evangelization.”

Murphy holds a bachelor’s in theology and master’s degrees in theology and counseling from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio as well as a doctorate from The Catholic University of America. As head of the Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis, Murphy is tasked with evangelizing and catechizing both Catholics and those who might be interested in joining the Catholic Church.

Other speakers include James Klassen, Ph.D. who serves as Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Tyler. He will give a talk titled “Vocation of the Catholic School Teacher.” Martha Fernandez-Sardina, Director of the Office for Evangelization in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, will lead the talk on Hispanic Ministry. Kathryn Goller, the Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Diocese of Buffalo, NY will give talks on “Are you Certifiable” and “Moving Beyond Business as Usual: Principles and Praxis.” Kelly Colangelo, who serves as a youth minister and specializes in evangelizing to the youth, and utilizes social media to connect with more young people, will also speak to the youth.

A number of chancery department heads will also make presentations on topics such as communications, family life, liturgical music, parish stewardship and vocations.

The ministry conference is open to anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic faith. It is especially beneficial to those who do ministry in the church, such as catechists, youth ministers, young adult leaders, liturgical and music ministers, Bible study leaders, Catholic schoolteachers, RCIA teams, adult education leaders, evangelization teams and youth.

The event features talks in Spanish and a Youth Track. Many topics will be covered, including Evangelization and Catechesis, Family Life, Vocations, Stewardship, Youth Ministry, Communications, Catholic Schools, Hispanic Ministry, Liturgical Music, Liturgical Worship, Young Adult Ministry and Life Justice and Human Dignity.

Registrations will be taken at the door at $40 a person and $15 for youth under 18. For more information visit the Ministry Conference Web page at diocesecc.org/MinistryConference.