Wednesday, February 28, 2007

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

Monday, February 26, 2007

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

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

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

Monday, February 05, 2007

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.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

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.