Bishop Wester encourages attendance at liturgical conference

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY — In a memo addressed liturgical ministers, catechists, teachers and all the lay faithful , the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City wrote:

I am proud to announce that the Diocese of Salt Lake City is hosting the 49th Annual Southwest Liturgical Conference Study Week, Feb. 2-5, 2011. As you may have heard, we are awaiting a new translation of the liturgical texts. This will be an important and potentially difficult change for many Catholics who love the liturgy and know its current texts by heart. Therefore, the topic for this study week is Ever Ancient, Ever New: Preparing for the Revised Roman Missal. I believe this study week will provide us with many great resources for making the transition gracefully, but we cannot make it a success without your support.

The SWLC Study Week is a long-standing national conference on the liturgy. It has been held annually since 1963, and was held in the diocese of Salt Lake City last in 1996. While it has a national reputation and brings in some of the best-known speakers from across the country each year, it is also very pastoral in tone, putting emphasis on the practical questions of parish life.

This conference will provide us with many resources for on-going liturgical formation, aimed at church professionals and at any interested Catholic. There will be break-out sessions aimed at a variety of persons within the Catholic community from priests to lectors, with a particular emphasis on concrete and down-to-earth ways to help the parish deal with the upcoming change. We are putting significant diocesan resources, time and effort into planning this conference, but it will not be helpful unless people like you take advantage of the opportunity. This study week is open to anyone in the diocese; please help us promote it.

Because of the importance of this opportunity, the Office of Religious Education has decided to incorporate the annual Diocesan Pastoral Congress for 2010 within the SWLC Study Week in February of 2011. We are encouraging parish staff and volunteers across the diocese to prioritize this conference in Salt Lake City above other national conferences, including the LA Congress for this coming year.

I invite and encourage each of you to attend the entire study week. It promises to be very helpful with the implementation of the Missal, and also a time for renewal and prayer. There will be many opportunities for volunteer service as well. If you would be interested in helping, please contact Karin Hurley, who is chair of the core committee, at karinhurley.swlc@gmail.com.

For more information, visit www.swlcslc.org or call the Office of Liturgy. As plans continue to be made and finalized, you will be informed. At this point, I just wanted to make sure it was on your "radar screen" and marked in your calendars. Please, do not schedule any significant events in your parishes during this time, as this conference is the primary priority for the diocese during the week of Feb. 2-5, 2011.