SALT LAKE CITY — An educational and networking opportunity for all who are involved in parish social ministry will be offered in May. The Parish Social Ministry Regional Conference, in Boise, Idaho, will feature national and regional speakers addressing topics of interest to those who are in service to the poor and vulnerable. "This regional conference is for anybody who’s doing ministry work in the social mission of the church," said Christine Smith, director of parish social ministry at Catholic Charities of Idaho, which is organizing the event. "The social mission is part of the role of the church in the world.... A definite part of our faith and our Catholic identity is living out that work, whether we want to work strictly speaking in the corporal works of mercy or other things." The conference, one of four regional events sponsored annually by Catholic Charities USA, offers keynote speakers and four workshop tracks: direct service, leadership development, legislative advocacy and immigration. The national speakers are Jack Jezreel of JustFaith Ministries; Sheila Gilbert, national president for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul; Rachel Lustig and Lucreda Cobbs of Catholic Charities USA; and Kathy Saile of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Each speaker will focus on a different aspect, Smith said. For example, the JustFaith programs "yield some spectacular results in the development of our faith," while the work of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is similar to that of Catholic Charities USA, and "we want to show that both the direct service and the public policy go hand in hand, and they both need to be done," Smith said. For those who are new to parish social ministry, the conference will offer the "nuts and bolts of leadership development, Advocacy 101, and best practices," said Tina Baldera, training manager of parish social ministry for Catholic Charities USA. For them and others, the networking opportunities also will be valuable, she added. "We hope that people will continue to follow up with each other, the contacts they’ve made, the experiences that they’ve shared; they might even find themselves working in collaboration with each other." Among the workshop presenters will be Jean Hill, government liaison for the Diocese of Salt Lake City, who will talk about working with the Utah legislature, the Utah federal delegation, and Utah agencies "which is different from doing the same work in the other states," she said. "There are some similarities but there are also a lot of different ways to present things." The conference, Hill said, will "be a wonderful weekend of camaraderie with your fellow Catholics from around the region, and an opportunity to not only meet Catholics from other areas but also to talk about our faith and talk about how we can engage our entire parish in living the faith."
What: Parish Social Ministry Regional Conference
When: May 17-18
Where: Saint Mark’s Catholic Community, 7960 Northview Street, Boise, Idaho
The $50 registration fee includes speaker fees, materials, Friday evening reception and Saturday continental breakfast and lunch. The event will be in English, with translation available in Spanish and Swahili. For information, contact Christine Smith, 208-350-7486 or csmith@ccidaho.org, or Tina Baldera, 703-236-6233 or tbaldera@catholiccharitiesusa.org. To register, visit catholiccharitiesusa.org/PSMtraining. Registration deadline is May 3.
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