Bishop DiNardo asks for more Re-Membering

By Kenny Keane, Globe staff writer
Posted Oct. 24, 2002

A call has been sent to form a search party, whose mission will be to find those who have left the Catholic Church.

In a recent letter sent to the pastors of the Sioux City Diocese, Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo stated that "the inactive members of our parishes, those who have strayed from the faith or those who sense they have been alienated from its life need to be sought."

He then asked that over the next three years, beginning in Lent 2003 through Lent 2005, that each pastor present to their parish, through a team of people, a model of outreach called Re-Membering.

In order to be of assistance to parishes in this ministry, the bishop is offering, through Deacon Fred Karpuk of Blessed Sacrament parish and his associates, a Re-Membering Church workshop. This workshop will be offered twice, with the first one taking place from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, at St. Mary's Parish Hall in Sac City, and the second one being held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 10, at St. Mary's High School in Remsen. There is no charge for the workshop, but materials may be purchased at the workshop if desired.

Deacon Karpuk said the Re-Membering program began in Sioux City around 1991, and as for trying to promote it throughout the diocese, that's been done since about '94 or '95.

"What we're trying to do now though, is go after the parishes to organize a program for themselves," he said. "Whether they call it Re-Membering or not is up to them. The idea would be for as many parishes as possible to have a team organize so that, come Lent of 2003, the diocese could encourage everyone to invite people back. You could invite them to these programs at the parishes, and from there, they could take care of their needs."

In Sioux City, the program addresses the needs of these inactive Catholics through a seven-week course. According to Deacon Karpuk, the first week is called "storytelling," where the problem is discovered. After that comes the "cradle" program where he said they take the creed and break it apart into different aspects of what Catholics believe.

Then through that whole period, he said they try to work on the storytelling problem in the background. If there is a specific teaching of the church they don't understand, then it is addressed.

For now, however, he said they are not trying to reach out to these people, but rather are just trying to help the parishes get organized through the workshop. There are six components Deacon Karpuk has outlined for the workshop.

The first is "personality of the inactive," which deals with the many reasons why people choose to come back or at least attempt to return to active membership.

The second is "evangelization," which will cover many ways of getting the Word out or spreading the Good News, as well as when and how to reach the people the church wants to touch.

The third component is "staffing." The Re-Membering program especially needs a number of people to work with the returnees on a very personal level.

Fourth is the "pre-penitent period," which is described as probably the most important part. Team members need to gain their confidence, discern the problem early and begin to deal with it as soon as possible. This takes sensitivity and openness.

"Credo program" is the fifth component, which is the part of the Re-Membering program designed to answer in-depth questions or refresh the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Other questions beyond the scope of the creed are also answered.

The final component is "prayer/music." A very important part of Re-Membering is the invitation to pray for each other. Prayers seeking forgiveness, blessings, healing or re-membership, combined with music and singing bring them back more concretely.

The desire to help the pastor bring people back is the main source of motivation that Deacon Karpuk sees for parishes to send representatives to this workshop.

"People can come back to the church anytime they want without the program," he said. "It's just that sometimes there are people who need this type of program to make it easier to help them back in slowly. That in essence is what we do."

Bishop DiNardo noted that there are several important parables that lay the foundation for us as we make an effort to "find the lost."

"The parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the Prodigal Son proclaim to us the Heavenly Father's love and concern for his people," he wrote. "These parables are a witness to the great lengths that God will travel to show that love for us as members of the church. As shepherds, we must imitate that love."