Harry Dudley Leaves the Board

According to an email from NCCL President Mary Ann Ronan Harry Dudley has resigned from NCCL's Board of Directors. Harry indicated the needs of his new diocesan staff and parish catechetical leaders are showing him that he needs to focus his time and energy with them. NCCL will miss Harry's wisdom, insights, and commitment. I want to thank Harry for all he has given to NCCL and to the ministry. I've enjoyed working with Harry over the years. In honor of Harry, I must say, "This particular blog post represents the opinion of its author and only its author." Thanks Harry.

Mary Ann announced that Jim Tucker will complete Harry's term on the Board. Jim brings a wealth of NCCL experience and many gifts to the board. I'm convinced Jim will do a good job at this critical time in the life of NCCL. We appreciate Jim's willingness to share his time and talent with the membership.

Don

Carl J. Pfeifer

Sunday, July 15, 2007
Carl J. Pfeifer

Pfeifer, Carl J. 78, of 1045 Rockdale Rd. Dubuque, formerly of 1620 N. Quebec Street, Arlington, Virginia, died of Alzheimers at 1:05 am, Thursday July 12 2007, at Stonehill Care Center. His body was donated to the Deeded Body Program at the University of Iowa College of Medicine.Services: A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. Martin's Catholic Church in Cascade, Iowa at 10:00 A.M. on July 28, 2007 with Rev. Neil J. Manternach officiating. Concelebrating is Rev. Douglas Loecke, Rev. Msgr. Albert Manternach & Rev. Carl J. Manternach. Eulogy will be given by Angela Barbieri. Relatives and friends may call after 9:00A.M. at the church. The Reiff Funeral Home in Cascade is in charge of arrangements.

He was born on June 22, 1929, in St. Louis, MO., son of Carl and Emma (Heine) Pfeifer. He was a member of the Society of Jesus, Missouri Province, for twenty-nine years. On November 20, 1976 he married Janaan Manternach, a former Dubuque Franciscan at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, DC. Carl was a prolific writer of religion textbooks, and single title books on catechetics, theology, prayer, meditation, and the saints. He also wrote numerous articles for journals, newspapers, and newsletters. He co-authored with his wife the trend setting religion series, LIFE, LOVE, JOY. It dramatically changed how Catholic children are taught religion.

He was widely known as a lecturer on catechetics and religious education throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Guam, and Central America. He taught summer sessions at both The Catholic University of America, and St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont. He also taught courses at Theological College in Washington, D.C. and St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Carl and his wife, Janaan, were presented the prestigious annual award from the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership recognizing their long and illustrious contribution to catechetical ministry. They were the first married couple to receive this award. They were also honored by the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors with the Emmaus Award for Excellence In Catechesis. This award was given to them because of their international reputation and contribution to the field of Catholic catechesis through writing, publishing and teaching. He was an avid photographer. For several years he wrote a weekly photo-meditation which appeared in many Diocesan newspapers. They also became a book titled "Photomeditations" His photos were exhibited in galleries in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. He was a pioneer in introducing photos of everyday life experience into religion textbooks.

Carl is survived by his wife, Janaan, his brother, Richard (Rosemary) Pfeifer, three brothers-in-law, Thomas (Helen) Manternach, Donald (Anita) Manternach, Richard Ripple; two sisters-in-law, Grace Miller and Janice Manternach; four godchildren, Angela Barbieri, Miguel Barbieri, Edward Jeep and Emily Jeep Klingaman; two honorary, grandchildren, Jake and Hannah Verrips; numerous nieces and nephews including a special nephew, Carl Gerard (Jerry) Pfeifer and his wife, Charlene, who loved their Uncle Carl in many simple and cherishing ways.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his father and mother-in-law, Jacob and Anita Takes Manternach; three sisters-in-laws, Janet Manternach Ripple, Luann Vaske Manternach and Cecilia Lucas Manternach; two brothers-in-law, Orland (Bub) Manternach, and Donald Jacob Manternach (in infancy); a niece, Amy Manternach Kurt and a niece-in-law, Cathy Kimm Manternach.

Memorials may be given in his name to Stonehill Care Center, the Missouri Province Jesuits (St. Louis), the Sisters of St. Francis (Dubuque, Iowa), Hospice of Dubuque or to a charity of your choice. His family would like to thank Dr. Osamah Khatib, the aides, nurses, and others who lovingly cared for him at Stonehill and for the staff of Hospice of Dubuque who ably helped him in his final act of living. Online condolences may be left for the family at www. reiffuneralhomeinc.com.

Published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from 7/15/2007 - 7/16/2007.

Presidents

During the Sadlier Dinner at the 2007 NCCL Conference nine past presidents of NCCL were gathered to help WH Sadlier honor Neil Parent. Following the dinner "The Nine" were photographed with Mary Ann the current President of NCCL. What a group we are.

Don

Neil Parent Executive Director NCCL Retires.

Neil Parent, Executive Director of NCCL
1990 -- 2007
Neil retires from his position as Executive Director, a position he held for 17 years.

A Final Thought

James O’Toole says in Leading Change.

In complex, democratic settings, effective leadership will entail the factors and dimensions of vision, trust, listening, authenticity, integrity, hope, and, especially, addressing the true needs of followers. Without these factors, the likelihood of overcoming the ever‑present resistance to change is all but nil. If this is correct, what is required to guide effective change is not contingency theory but, rather, a new philosophy of leadership that is always and at all times focused on enlisting the hearts and minds of followers through inclusion and participation. Such a philosophy must be rooted in the most fundamental of moral principles: respect for people.

Don

The Dialogue

I received the following notice in an email from NCCL President Mary Ann Ronan.
Mary Ann said,

After sharing respective organizational values and identifying other important issues, the boards moved to establish a planning committee of two persons from each organization, assisted by up to two outside helper/facilitators. The boards stipulated that the planning committee would be in place by the end of April and would submit a design recommendation to their respective executive committees by September. If the design is acceptable to the executive committees, it would then go to the full boards at their fall meetings for consideration and possible further action.

A Statement on the Meeting of NCEA and NCCL Boards of Directors

On March 19, 2007, the boards of directors of NCEA and NCCL met together at the offices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC, at the invitation of Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl in his capacity as Chair of the USCCB Committee on Catechesis. Archbishop Wuerl envisioned the event as a catalyst in the organizations? ongoing dialogue process to resolve issues of overlapping missions, membership and services.

Archbishop Wuerl identified two major outcomes for the meeting. First, each board would identify and share values that it deemed constitutive to any new entity that might emerge out of the dialogue process. Second, the boards would establish a joint planning committee to try and conceptualize a new organization that could serve both parish-based and school-based catechetical leaders more effectively than the current two-organization arrangement.

After sharing respective organizational values and identifying other important issues, the boards moved to establish a planning committee of two persons from each organization, assisted by up to two outside helper/facilitators. The boards stipulated that the planning committee would be in place by the end of April and would submit a design recommendation to their respective executive committees by September. If the design is acceptable to the executive committees, it would then go to the full boards at their fall meetings for consideration and possible further action.

Karen Ristau Neil Parent
President, NCEA Executive Director, NCCL

March 30, 2007

Posted by Don

The beauty of Spring in Nebraska

I know Nebraska is not the only place receiving snow on the 5th of April but I couldn't resist posting this picture. This flower, from our flower bed in North Platte, speaks of the hope we celebrate during the Triduum and the Easter season. Here is the flower on April 3rd. I wish all catechetical leaders a blessed Easter.
Peace,
Don

NCCL/NCEA Dialogue

From NCCL's "E-News"

NCCL/NCEA Dialogue

The boards of directors of NCCL and NCEA (National Catholic Educational Association) met at the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) offices March 19, at the request of Committee on Catechesis Chair, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington. The purpose of the meeting was to engage the two boards more directly in the dialogue process, which has been underway for more than two years. NCCL and NCEA have been discussing how best to serve catechetical leaders given their sometimes overlapping missions, members and services. The NCCL board will use the occasion of the forthcoming annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, to apprise NCCL members of the results of that meeting.

Udpade on Diocesan Directors' Forum

The Diocesan Directors' Forum invites all diocesan directors to its annual gathering, which this year has two parts:

Part one addresses the Forum's structure and projects, specifically:
1) An information-gathering process on membership, the role and terms of the Animating Team, mission of the Forum, etc.
2) Reports on current projects
3) Identification of future projects.

Part two allows a choice of 4 discussion opportunities:
1) National Standards
2) Creating a Safe Environment
3) Catechist Formation
4) Open Discussion

Looking forward to seeing you in Columbus

Don

NCCL's New Website

NCCL's new website is on line here.
The NCCL website has many new features including:

Easy member registration
Conference Registration
Online directory so you can search for other members
A bulletin board to check for NCCL news
Online polling features
New Career Center
Access to the NCCL Bookstore

Visit the new web site and leave a messiage on the new bulletin board.

Is Your Computer Ready for Daylight Savings Time?

Is your computer ready for daylight-savings time? For information on making sure your Windows computer is ready for daylight-savings time (which starts on Sunday, March 11, 2007) read this article from the Microsoft Knowledge base here. For more information on updating your computer, including Macs read this article from Scot's Newsletter. If you use the automatic update on your Windows XP machine you computer should already have the appropriate update installed.

As Scot said, "The bad news is that Microsoft is not offering help for users of Windows 98, Windows ME, and all Microsoft operating systems prior to Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4." If you are using one of those operating systems you can manually change the time for daylight-savings time. Check with the creator of any application you may be using that depend on the correct time and date.

If your computer is part of a network, please consult your system's administrator before making any changes.
--Update 3/9/07-- Office Watch has some good information on managing the time change with your computers. A word of caution, between March 11, 2007 and early April double check the time of any appointments you recorded in your computer. I liked the advice given by Office Watch, put the date of appointments into the text of an appointment. For example a phone conference can have in the location field '3:15pm US West Coast time.' The next few weeks will be a time to pay close attention to your appointments especially if you track them on your computer or PDA.

Annual Conference Study

I received an email from Michael Westenberg , Chair of the Annual Conference Study Committee, today. Michael said in part:

Periodically the Conference asks its members about the timing of our annual meeting. We want to ensure that our scheduling allows as many people as possible to attend our major gathering of the year.

A few weeks ago I was asked by Conference President, MaryAnn Ronan, to chair a small committee charged with responsibility of creating a survey for our membership that would provide input to the Board regarding the scheduling of future annual meetings.

Recipients are asked to complete a survey and return it to Michael by March 15, 2007. The Committee will compile the responses and make a report to the Board during its April meeting.

The Committee wants to know:

• How often do you come to NCCL?
• How long have you been a member of NCCL?
• What is the best time of year for you to attend? Please indicate your first, second and third choices.
• Which time of week would you prefer? Please indicate your first, second and third choices.
• How is the length of the Conference?
• What other Conferences do you attend?
• Additional Comments

Responses to the survey are being collected by fax, or email. Send your email responses to nccl at nccl dot org.

Don

Workshops designed especially for Diocesan Directors

Sponsored by the Directors’ Forum*

Tuesday, April 24 9:00-10:15 a.m.

Who me? In charge? Of people?
(Oh, and, by the way, accomplish more with fewer people and less money.)

Being an effective Diocesan Director means working with all kinds of people, helping them identify and achieve reasonable goals, affirming them and offering support and assistance when they flounder. Come explore effective qualities of supervision.

-Mary Bauer

Wednesday, April 25 10:15-11:30 a.m.

Effective Evaluation: Helping people grow in their work

In the course of every year, Diocesan Directors are faced with the need to evaluate staff. Finding
ways to conduct staff evaluations so that mission is honored and the staff person has identified areas of strength and areas for growth is key to an effective catechetical office.

-Mary Bauer

Mary Bauer is director of Human Resources for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. She has served as a human resources specialist for over 25 years in banking, business and finally in Church. She is a member of NACPA and the Society of Human Resources Management. She is on the advisory committee of the New York State Department of Labor Job Service Employer Council and she is on the Board of the Rochester Area Career Education Collaboration.

These workshops will be conducted during the Annual Conference and Exposition in Columbus, Ohio.
• *These workshop topics were identified from a list surfaced by Directors at last year’s Forum and from the President’s survey of Diocesan Directors.
• Registration for these workshops is through the Forum: Please notify Maribeth Mancini at mancini at dor dot org if you plan to attend. If we do not have 15 or more registrations, these workshops will be cancelled.

Don

Discuss Adult Faith Formation

NACARE has developed a discussion board for use by Diocesan Adult Formation contacts. The "Network for Adult Faith Formation" (NAFF) website at wwwCNAFF.org which hosts the forum says, “Join your regional discussion, see what is happening with the NACARE committee, or submit ideas for your Best Practices.” I hope those involved in Adult Faith Formation take advantage of this discussion board. The board will provide us with an opportunity to share information and move the practice of Adult Faith Formation forward. Participation on the discussion board requires registration. Registration is simple and account activation follows quickly. I would encourage you to join the discussion.

According to the website:

“The Network for Adult Faith Formation (NAFF) was created by the Emerging Technologies Committee, a standing committee of the National Advisory Committee on Adult Religious Education (NACARE) that, in turn, is a consultative committee of the Committee on Catechesis of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops on matters pertaining to adult religious education.”

Don

From Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

Rose Pacatte, FSP asked for prayers for two sisters from her community who were in an accident In Sister Rose’s own words:

Last weekend, the 30th-31st, two of our sisters were in Arizona for a religious ed conference in Tucson, then they had a book display at a parish for Sunday (of the materials we produce). On Monday they visited friends at the Redemptorist Retreat Center then on Tuesday, on the way home, they were forced off the road by a huge 18 wheeler. The Sisters were in a big Chevy van... and it turned over three times at least. Both sisters lost consciousness. Both had their seat belts on! Thank God! Anyway, the driver, Sr. Christine, got a concussion, cuts, etc. but Sr Bernardine, the passenger, is still in ICU with multiple fractures, spinal compression, etc. Two of our Sisters from here went to Phoenix (to St Joseph Hospital where the Sisters were taken by helicopter) to be with Sr. Christine and Bernardine. Sr. Christine was released on Friday and they decided to bring her home by car so I volunteered to fly to Phoenix and be with Sr Bernardine until our superior could return there.

Sr. Bernardine is making amazing progress. The trucking company (caught by GPS and witnesses) has taken full responsibility. Actually, the driver may have stopped but the sisters recall nothing for parts of this and it takes up to 2 miles for a big rig to stop.) Right now they think she may be able to be flown to LA on Thursday to begin acute rehab.... with the goal of being home in 2 weeks. As soon as she can get in and out of bed by herself.

Please keep the Sisters in your prayers.

Email Sister Rose at rpacatte at paulinemedia dot com

Jack McBride Obituary and Funeral Details

--Information we received from NCCL's National Office.

"Believe and lean into the mysteries of life" - Jack McBride

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 602 Everglade Drive, Madison, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007. Visitation will be held at Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Road, Madison, on Friday, Feb. 9, 2007, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. with an Evening Prayer at 8 p.m. There will also be a visitation on Saturday from 10 a.m. until the time of the service at the church. Gunderson West Funeral and Cremation Centers 7435 University Ave. (608) 831-6761 www.gundersonfh.com

An obituary prepared by Jack’s family follows. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. We at NCCL deeply mourn his loss. He was a wonderful colleague and friend to so many of us.

MADISON - Jack J. McBride died on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, at age 53. Jack was born on April 22, 1953, in Cleveland, Ohio, to John and Marie McBride. He married Mary Hesse on June 11, 1977. They were blessed with three lovely children, Andrew, Megan and Sarah. Jack graduated from St. Joseph High School in Cleveland in 1971 and Marquette University in 1975. He went on to receive a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1980. Jack was a former faculty member of St. Edward High School in Cleveland and Edgewood High School in Madison. He served as a director of religious education at both Sacred Hearts Parish in Sun Prairie and St. Joseph Parish in Madison. From 1986 to the present he served the Diocese of Madison as the associate director for the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. In June 2006, Jack was presented the Distinguished Service Award by the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), in recognition of his dedicated and selfless service to the catechetical mission of the church. Jack had served as the chair of the NCCL's Adult Formation Task Force. In addition, he served as a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' National Advisory Committee on Adult Religious Education, a group he also chaired. Jack has served on the Wisconsin Committee on Central America and was a human rights observer in El Salvador. He was also a developer and editor for National Issues Forums in the Catholic Community. He spoke at and participated in the International Conference on Adult Religious Education in Dublin, Ireland. Jack is survived by his wife and children, as well as his sister, Mary Beth McBride Doyle (Thomas). He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Jimmy. Jack will be remembered as a devoted husband and loving and caring father. He found great strength in his relationship with God. He was passionate about education within the catholic faith and dedicated to service within the church. He had a great smile and an infectious laugh. His practical jokes and what Mary referred to as "that McBride humor," will always be the heart of many great stories. Jack loved to spend a quiet night on the porch staring at the sky with pipe or cigar in hand. He always had time to listen and had a unique way of getting to the essence of a problem and finding a solution. Jack was a charismatic man who touched the hearts of all the people around him. Our family would like to express how grateful Jack was for all the support, prayers, cards and letters we received. They provided all of us great joy and comfort. We would also like to thank the doctors and nurses of the UW Oncology department for all their care and kindness, especially Mattie, Ellen and Dr. Holen. In the spirit of practicality and giving that Jack lived his life by, the family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to University of Wisconsin Cancer Center-G.I. Research Fund.

Long-time NCCL member Jack McBride Passed Away

Long-time NCCL member Jack McBride passed away at 7:38 this morning after a long illness. He was chair of NCCL's Adult Faith Formation Task Force and co-author of NCCL's recently published Best Practices in Adult Faith Formation.

Please continue to keep Jack and his family in your prayers and pass this along to all those who know and love Jack.

Scholarship Fund

Dear Diocesan Director:

This brief note is to inform you that a temporary scholarship fund has been established to assist diocesan directors of religious education to attend the NCCL Annual Conference. As you well know, natural disasters, settlements of lawsuits, and diocesan downsizing have placed budgetary restrictions on many diocesan religious education offices. This has resulted in the inability of some diocesan directors to attend the annual conference. If, for these or other reasons, you need financial help in order to attend the 2007 annual conference, please consider this opportunity to apply for financial assistance.

It is important for NCCL to have your presence and your voice as we continue to advocate for and develop the ministry of catechesis. Your insight and experience, and the needs of the catechetical community of your (arch)diocese will be missing if you do not attend the annual conference in Columbus.

We hope all is going well in your ministry.

Blessings and Christ's peace.

NCCL Scholarship Committee :

Anne Roat, Diocese of Lafayette, chairperson
Sr. Margaret Kuntz, Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee
Daniel Luby, Diocese of Fort Worth
Jim Kemna, Diocese of Jefferson City
Pete Ries, Diocese of Lansing

Jean Marie Webber takes position at Cardinal Stritch University

JEAN MARIE WEBER JOINS THE FACULTY AT CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, AS PART OF THE NEW SAINT CLARE CENTER FOR MINISTRY FORMATION

Dear Colleagues:

This announcement comes to you within the context of gratitude to all of you, my co-workers in the vineyard of our God with whom I have labored for these past four years as Director of Certification for the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Commission on Certification and Accreditation (USCCB/CCA). I have been recruited and have accepted a position on the faculty of Cardinal Stritch University, effective, January 16, 2007. I look forward to being part of launching a newly formed Saint Clare Center for Ministry Formation which will be fully operative by August, 2007.

The main focus of this new Saint Clare Center for Ministry Formation is the education and formation of lay and ordained ministers of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and other Christian churches of Southeast Wisconsin. The Center is shaped by the Franciscan tradition, serves a diverse ecumenical community and assists the Religious Studies Department in helping students discern their individual callings and prepares them for a wide variety of ministries. Cardinal Stritch University is opening this new Center in response to the closing of Saint Francis Seminary here in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The University is located in Milwaukee at 6801 North Yates Road, Milwaukee, WI 53217-3985, (414) 410-4000, (800) 347- 8822, weberjm@sbcglobal.net

I am grateful for the opportunities that the USCCB/CCA afforded me since October 2, 2002. It has been an honor and privilege to have served in this role with you and for you. My position of Director of Certification at USCCB/CCA has not been cut, but we have been informed of the forthcoming budget reductions and potential restructuring plans for the USCCB/CCA effective 2007. I leave the USCCB/CCA with regret, since I have both loved and enjoyed this important, national leadership work, but know that this new employment offer is the next step in God’s plan for me. You are part of my praying and learning community and in that Spirit we remain connected. Please pray for God’s blessings on this new and challenging ministry.

Thank you,
Jean Marie Weber

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the LORD. . . .

(Jeremiah 29:11-14)

Joyce Crider's Brother Passed Away

Kathy Kandefer, BVM sent the following email.
I would like to share some sad news with you.

Joyce Crider, associate director for NCCL, brother, Alton Ray Crider, passed away on New Years Day. Ray is being buried today in Georgia. He is survived by his wife Edith, children and grandchildren.

Please keep Joyce and Ray’s family in your prayers.