Thursday, January 27, 2005

But ...will the world ever learn?

I was touched by the remarks Nobel Laureate and Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel made to the United Nations General Assembly before the 60th anniversary of the Allied liberation of the Nazi death camps. In concluding his remarks he said,

The Jewish witness speaks of his people's suffering as a warning. He sounds the alarm so as to prevent these things being done. He knows that for the dead it is too late; for them, abandoned by God and betrayed by humanity, victory came much too late.

But it is not too late for today's children, ours and yours. It is for their sake alone that we bear witness. It is for their sake that we are duty-bound to denounce anti-Semitism, racism, and religious or ethnic hatred. Those who today preach and practice the cult of death, those who use suicide terrorism, the scourge of this new century, must be tried and condemned for crimes against humanity. Suffering confers no privileges; it is what one does with suffering that matters. Yes, the past is in the present, but the future is still in our hands.

Those who survived Auschwitz advocate hope, not despair; generosity, not rancor or bitterness; gratitude, not violence. We must be engaged, we must reject indifference as an option. Indifference always helps the aggressor, never his victims. And what is memory if not a noble and necessary response to and against indifference?

But ...will the world ever learn?”


Here is a link for a transcript of Wiesel’s complete speech.

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/160/story_16004_1.html

Don

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Communicating in the Forum

Yesterday (1/18/05) during the Directors Forum Subcommittee’s conference call one member suggested that we establish a listserv for Diocesan Directors. Here is a description of a listserv and here is a description of a Blog. A key difference between a listserv and a blog is this. Listserv messages are sent to your E-mail’s inbox. Once you subscribe to a listserv messages are automatically sent to your inbox. To access the messages on a blog you must use your web browser to access the blog. In short with a listserv messages come to you and with a blog you go to the messages. However, it is possible to subscribe to a blog through “Really Simple Syndication” (RSS). Committee members heard a number of Diocesan Directors say they did not want additional email in the inbox and so we stayed away from using a listserv. At the same time, a number of Diocesan Directors identify a need for greater and more frequent communication within the Diocesan Director’s Forum. The questions seem to be which tool will most effectively facilitate further communication among DDREs?

The future of the DDRE Forum is a related question. The future of the Diocesan Director’s Forum is in our hands. We have two choices. The Forum can be the 2 to 4 hours we spend together at the Annual Meeting or it can serve the needs of the Diocesan Directors on an annual basis; facilitating communication and discussion, providing educational opportunities and lobbying for the needs and vision of Diocesan Directors and our role in Catechetical Ministry. I hope we chose the more active role for the Forum. It seems to me that the first step in moving the Forum is to find a method of communication that we will and do use.

Add your comments by clicking on the “comments link” at the end of this post.

Don Kurre

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

The Ministry of Catechesis

I'd like to close the year 2004 by sharing with you a passage in Michael Warren's book
At This Time, In This Place (1999, Trinity Press).

On page 131 Warren writes

"Catechesis has discrete activities for fostering an ever-maturing living faith. Some . . . have to do with preparing persons for 'next steps' . . . . Other activities encourage reflection on communal dilemmas facing discipleship . . . . While catechesis has standards of excellence, those standards measure not catechesis but the excellence of discipleship.

Discipleship is a practice . . . . found only partially in written texts about it but most fully in the flourishing practice of present-day practitioners . . . . The community of this practice celebrates all levels of this proficiency, with special recognition given the achievements of virtuoso practitioners . . .

Catechesis is not primarily activity toward mastering the theoretical concepts involved in its own catechetical activities; it is primarily about the practice of discipleship. The work of catechesis is reminding the community of the standards of excellence they have adopted and the kind of responsiveness those standards demand from those who are, or who are trying to become, practitioners. Catechesis provides reminders about conditions under which practice is diminished or enhanced or cautious. The eye of catechesis is on the community's practice; not its catechetical practice, but on the discipling practice to which catechesis points. Catechesis fosters the efforts of the community to maintain its standard of discipling practice. Catechesis is the coaching of practice. [Emphasis mine]

In recent centuries, catechesis has tended to lose its way, becoming a practice unto itself instead of pointing to the practice of discipleship. It has become an activity about ideas, giving the impression that correct understanding represents adequate practice, whereas in fact that understanding directs and redirects the actual practice. Consequently, communities engaged in 'churchly practices' have been able to remove themselves from preoccupation with discipleship itself."

I make Mike Warren's challenging words (the book is packed with them) my Christmas gift to you. Chew them with care, nibble by nibble, as if you were eating the precious elf bread from the Lord of the Rings. I hope you will find it filling.

JIM KEMNA

Monday, January 03, 2005

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all Diocesan Directors! I pray that God continues to hold us in the palm of His hand.
Don