Annual Pastoral Congress focuses on New Evangelization

Intermountain Catholic

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About 600 people attended this year's Diocese of Salt Lake City Pastoral Congress. IC photo/Marie Mischel

DRAPER — More than 600 people gathered Sept. 28 at the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper for a day of faith, education and fellowship during the 2013 Diocesan Pastoral Congress.

"On this day of studying and living and celebrating, we give thanks to God for the joy that is ours, and we pray … that we will be able to live this faith and celebrate it in a way that is contagious, in a way that brings joy and hope to all those we reach in our daily lives," the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, said in his homily during the Mass that was celebrated just before lunch. "This is the New Evangelization – to live our faith in such a way that with the joy that comes out of us, people can’t help but be hopeful."

The day began with Morning Prayer, followed by keynote addresses in English and Spanish. Both keynote addresses focused on stewardship.

Michael Murphy, executive director of the International Stewardship Council, gave the keynote address, "Stewardship and the New Evangelization," in English. An attorney, he was Director of Development for the Archdiocese of Detroit and the archdiocese’s Endowment Foundation from 1994 to 2007.

As he opened his presentation, Murphy acknowledged that those in the auditorium could have been doing many other things that day, "but you have chosen to be good stewards of your time to come and talk about stuff – listen, learn, give and see our fellowship of Jesus Christ in our lives."

He focused on three aspects of how stewardship forms the New Evangelization: commitment, communion and conversion.

He uses the word communion rather than community, he said, because he sees community as similar to the block where he lives: He knows his neighbors two doors on either side and across the street; they share the same access to the road and the same utilities but not much else, he said. On the other hand, his parish has the "same values, same mission, same evangelizing impulse and the same hunger for the Lord," he said.

Among the images he used was Caravaggio’s "Supper at Emmaus," which shows the disciples at the moment they recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

"I suggest to you that the New Evangelization is nothing more than helping people – our family members, our friends, our neighbors – recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread," Murphy said.

The essence of stewardship, he added, is answering the question, "What return do I make, out of gratitude, to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?"

Catholics are called to go out into the world and proclaim the Gospel, and the New Evangelization requires reaching out to Catholics who are estranged from the faith, he said.

Prayer is needed to strengthen commitment to the New Evangelization and stewardship, he said, adding that a question that should be asked often is "What did you do during the week to cultivate your gift to bring to the table of the Lord?"

Although some people say they have nothing to give, "we know that our gifts are transformed in a way that we can’t imagine," he said.

Stewardship requires wise use of time, talent and treasure; one of the hard questions to answer deals with the monetary aspect, he said, pointing out that 60 percent of Jesus’ parables are about money and wealth. The way to respond, he said, is to ask, "What am I going to bring to the table of the Lord?"

After the keynote address, workshops were offered on a variety of topics, including adult faith formation, Catholic social teaching, liturgy and vocations.

Susan Northway, director of the Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Religious Education, who organized the congress, said she was impressed with people’s willingness to explore topics that might have been unfamiliar. "I’ve seen people coming out with great conversations afterwards, continuing to talk about the topics, and that says so much," she said.

Among those attending the congress was a group of catechists from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Magna, who said the workshops were very helpful to their ministry.

"It gave us tools to teach our kids," said Ryan Graveley.

"It reminded us to simplify when we’re teaching; apply our daily lives to what we’re going to put into action," added Cyndy Gleve.

In addition to the speakers, the congress was a chance to connect with fellow Catholics, said Denise Richards, a member of Christ the King Parish in Cedar City who also is a member of the Lay Ecclesial Ministry formation program. "This is our great event of the year," she said. "We nurture one another."