Diocesan Ministries Conference educates, inspires hundreds

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
October 13, 2005

LE MARS/POCAHONTAS - More than 750 people from the Diocese of Sioux City attended one of three sessions of the Diocesan Ministries Conference held Oct. 9 and 10.

Organized and sponsored by the various ministries of the diocese, the Diocesan Ministries Conference is held every two years.

According to Linda Anderson, diocesan director of catechesis, about 100 people attended the Sunday afternoon session that was held at Pocahontas Catholic School, 600-plus attended the Monday day session held at Gehlen Catholic School in Le Mars and about 50 went to the evening session in Le Mars. Diocesan Catholic schoolteachers, staff and administrators attended the day session on Monday.

"People really appeared to like this format. The comments that I've read or heard so far have been positive," noted Anderson. "I think it was a great turnout."

In previous years the conference consisted of two all-day sessions at the same location, but sometimes that meant a good turnout for one day and poor attendance for the other. Two years ago, in fact, the second was cancelled due to low registrations. With that in mind, the conference was presented in three sessions at two locations to try to better accommodate people's schedules.Kevin Vickery, diocesan superintendent of Catholic schools, called it a success.

"It was a time that we came together to celebrate, to learn, to all be in the same place and realize that our mission is so collaborative," he said.

The organizers of the event expressed gratitude to Pocahontas Catholic School and Resurrection Parish in Pocahontas as well as Gehlen Catholic School and the Le Mars area parishes.

The same keynote speaker addressed the conference-goers in a large group setting for all three sessions. Kate Ristow is consultant for RCL (Resources for Christian Living) and a contributing editor and writer for Catechist magazine. She also was involved in religious education in both the parish and school settings for about 30 years.

"Our whole task in life is to try to make sense of things," said Ristow. "From the minute we are born, we try to see how things fit. For those of us in ministry, for those of us who are believers in the Lord, what makes sense to us is our commitment to Christ. That is the basis of our operation."

She explained that often students and even catechumens may not get that concept, so it is up to catechists to help them see that perspective.

Her message centered on four qualities of Jesus that people can imitate in their work as catechists, youth ministers, catechetical leaders, Catholic school teachers, RCIA leaders, clergy and parents to help others learn about their faith. She referred to it as the A, B, C and Ds of ministry.

The first quality and the A stands for acceptance.

"We need to accept ourselves as catechists because whatever else you do, you are a catechist," said Ristow, who used human and personal stories throughout her presentation. "Every ministry that we named is a catechetical ministry. You are catechist because God called you to be a catechist. You are not a catechist because you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and someone caught you off guard."

She stressed the fact that the students they teach would never be this group of students again because life experiences, both good and bad would impact them. With this in mind, they were destined and called to serve this group.

"We have to accept kids, teens and adults where they are at," she said.

The second quality that ministers of all sorts need to possess - the B - is the ability to build community.

"It's probably one of the most important things we need to do," said Ristow. "It's what our Lord did. He called 12 men and began that call by approaching a couple of fishermen and saying, 'Come follow me.' And they did. Scripture tells us that he preached in a large crowd and then afterward, he would give extra instruction to explain the meaning to the small group of disciples."

Jesus listened to his disciples and answered their questions.

She suggested some ways for people to build community - get to know the people you work with, greet the students at the door, greet the students by name and encourage them to get to know one another.

The third quality - the C - is to communicate a joy-filled story.

She referred to Jesus' third resurrection appearance, which was in the upper room with the apostles.

"In one of the Gospel accounts Jesus says, 'Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven.' In other words, he gave us the sacrament of reconciliation. The Lord knew we would need forgiveness again, again and again," said Ristow. "Not only that, but we've been given a church - the Holy Spirit formed us into a church. Throughout the centuries, the church has been a consistent force, a joy-filled story."

She told them that God wants people to live forever and do it happily.

"Teach with joy in whatever you do," she said.

With the fourth quality - the D - Ristow stressed the importance of daring to be creative - dare to dream.

The master catechist told them if they teach their students the same way week after week, it will bore the students to tears. She encouraged them to try new teaching techniques.

"Dare to dream that we can help these children see that Christ does make a difference in our life and that one day there will be a kingdom of perfect peace, perfect love and perfect justice," said Ristow.

Organizers of the conference mentioned that they heard nothing but positive comments about the keynote.

Diane Brown, DRE (director of religious education) at Immaculate Conception in Graettinger, has attended several of the Diocesan Ministries Conferences. She went to the Pocahontas session.

"Every time I go, I learn something and take back something to the parish," she said. "Each time I increase my knowledge. My favorite part was Kate Ristow."

Brown also found the workshops to be helpful.

At the Sunday session and Monday evening session participants had the chance to attend two workshops on a variety of topics. Those who went to the Monday session could go to three workshops. Some of the workshop topics were intergenerational ministry, collaboration in ministry, creativity in sacramental prep, Hispanic presence in the Anglo community and everyday spirituality.

Organizers heard feedback that the workshops were worthwhile and relevant topics.

Kathy Cunningham of Spencer said the conference offered a great opportunity to be reaffirmed and energized for their work in ministry.

Kris McDermott, also of Spencer, said she was grateful to the diocese for offering the Diocesan Ministries Conference.

"Having events like this at the diocesan level is good learning and a chance for people from around the area to come together," she said.

Gene Meister, president of Bishop Garrigan High School in Algona, attended the Monday day session.

"I thought the keynote was very good. She did an excellent job with her presentation - humor with a good message," said Meister, who added that he liked the workshop presented by Sister Joan Stoffel on the Year of the Eucharist.

He said it feels good to bring this many people together who are working for the same cause - the Catholic faith and education of the young people.

Jen Lennon, a member of the business staff for the administration office of the Catholic Schools of Sioux City, was impressed with the conference. She attended the Monday day session in Le Mars.

"I thought the keynote was marvelous. I really enjoyed her and she kept my attention," she said. "I learned a lot. The keynote speaker was also the presenter at my first workshop. Even though I am not a teacher, it was about being creative and how you do your religion classes so the students will pay attention, learn and have fun. I do have two kids, so some of the ideas I will try at home because I think they were marvelous."

Mary Jo Vainreb of Rolfe attended the Pocahontas session. As a member of the Diocesan Peace and Justice Commission, she said she wanted to attend the conference to connect with others in the diocese and get a feel for what is happening at the diocesan level.

Organizers of the event said they would review the feedback forms and this would give them a sense if changes were necessary for the conference in two years.

"Overall, we had so many positive comments and things went very smoothly. I just can't say enough good things about the people at Pocahontas and Gehlen - both sites," said Anderson.