ChristLife Newsletter
June 2001
Dear Brothers and Sisters,,
Increasingly I am struck with the number of people who have very little knowledge of the Christian message. Recently a person asked me what my job was. I said I worked for a Catholic organization that helps people to know about God's love in Jesus Christ. While many people would at least have some idea what I meant by that, she clearly did not.
But lack of understanding is not restricted to the unchurched. In the USA, only about one-third of Catholics attend Mass weekly. And among those, there are increasing numbers who do not know the good news of our faith: that God loves us and wants us to experience the power of Christ crucified and raised! Making matters worse is the growing gap between those who attend a Christian church and those that do not.
Because many of our parishes are either unconcerned with bringing the unchurched back into the family of God or because they lack the practical means to go out and welcome them, CHRISTLIFE is committed to helping equip parishes and small faith communities for the work of evangelization so that His love might be shared with all those for whom He died, helping them become disciples and members of the Church. Thanks so much for partnering with us in this important work!
Your brother,
Dave Nodar
Willow Creek Conference an Inspiration
Recently some of our leadership attended by invitation a
conference on vision for parish evangelism hosted by Willow Creek Community Church, an evangelical church in South Barrington, Illinois. We were deeply inspired by their commitment to "reach the irreligious and help them to become fully devoted followers of Christ," in the context of the local congregation. They believe, as we do, that members of the local parish should receive the support of events that can reach out to their unchurched or non-practicing friends. We look forward to more opportunities to be with them in the future.
Spread The Word!
There is still time to register for the Alpha for Catholics conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, July 11 and 12. If you would like to learn about Alpha and how to use it in your parish, ministry or small faith community, join us for this two-day training event. The conference not only teaches participants how to run an Alpha program, but it also stirs up a love for those who do not know the love of God. Ask the Lord if you should attend. Ask the Lord whom you should invite. And pray that the Lord will use this conference to help more parishes evangelize!
For information and registration contact FUS at: 1 800 437-8368, visit www.franciscan conferences.com, or e-mail conferences@franuniv.edu.
Philadelphia Alpha Conference For Catholics
Preparations are underway for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Alpha conference this November 2,3. There is still a lot to do, so please pray that all of those involved with planning respond to the Holy Spirit’s direction.
National Council of Catholic Evangelization Conference
Earlier this month, ChristLife spoke at this event to introduce our ministry and vision of evangelization to many of the participants. It was a great opportunity to meet and talk with people at the front lines of diocesan evangelization. We are pleased to say there was a lot of interest in Alpha, and we are anxious to build on the relationships and contacts we made.
Quote of the Month
"It is a very simple truth: The fruits of evangelization do not depend solely on our ability to do and to plan, but on the depth of our relationship with Christ, the way, the truth and the life. The world today no longer accepts this principle, because modern culture is oriented toward doing, more than toward being. It is often difficult, even for Christians, to understand that praying is not a waste of time but, rather, the only basis on which to build evangelization and bear witness. "
-Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
Calendar of Events
July 6-8 "Life in Christ" Retreat & Video Production - Fr. Cantalamessa, England
July 9,10 Twin Cities Alpha Conference. ChristLife will present an Alpha For Catholics Seminar
Franciscan University events:
July 11-12 Alpha Conference For Catholics
July 13 - Evangelization Leaders Forum
July 13-15 Charismatic Renewal Leaders Conference - CHRISTLIFE Seminar on Parish Evangelization
July 30-31 New England Alpha Conference at Boston.
ChristLife will present an Alpha For Catholics Seminar
Prayer Needs
• For the Holy Spirit to bring about in all Christians the same passion for the lost that our Savior has!
• For wisdom and direction for our work on an evangelization process.
• For an increase in praise and thanksgiving for the mercy of God.
• For funding to support the apostolate and to hire additional staff.
Who We Are
ChristLife is an apostolate of the Archdiocese of Baltimore that is responding to Jesus' call to, "Go and make disciples of all nations," and to the Church's call to a new evangelization
What We Do
ChristLife provides the training and materials needed for dioceses, parishes and ministries to perform the work of evangelization, discipleship and small group community building, including the Alpha course as a first step. We help connect these groups so that through association we are all better able to respond to the call to a new evangelization and mission to the nations.
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Copyright (c) 2001 ChristLife Catholic Evangelization Services
Permission is hereby granted to copy or reprint ChristLife newsletters for personal use, research files, internal circulation, and bulletin inserts. Please include "Copyright (c)2001 ChristLife" and our web address: www.christlife.org. Written permission is required if the article is to be included in a book, or in newspapers or magazines with paid subscriptions.
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