Dear Friends,
We have had more opportunities to serve this year than ever before and it was already a bit overwhelming! In the context of much activity and this special Jubilee year, I have been reminded (nudged by the Holy Spirit, really) that to be an evangelizer, and more essentially to be a Christian, is to live in personal and profound union with the Lord Jesus. Not just in word but as with any important relationship, by making and guarding the time to be with Him! Not just living on the memory of past times - in personal prayer, time after receiving the Eucharist, or a past retreat, but today and this week being with the Lord (Jn.12: 26). "It is not possible," Pope John Paul II tells us, "to bear witness to Christ without reflecting his image, which is made alive in us by his grace and power." He goes on to say that what is needed for this type of activity (evangelization and missionary activity) is "intimate communion with Christ." Mission of the Redeemer, #88
We are already 9 months into the Jubilee Year celebrating the Incarnation of Jesus, the Son of God. There are great graces available for you and me, and graces to obtain for others during this Holy Year. Yet it is easy to be so busy and distracted that we miss this significant moment of grace that quietly comes to us. There are many voices clamoring for our attention, filling our minds with lots of information and often with much noise. During this Jubilee Year of God's grace and mercy, the voice of the Father speaks to us, "This is my beloved Son, listen to Him!"
For sometime now I have felt an invitation to draw closer to the Lord in prayer. This invitation requires practical decisions regarding my schedule as well as some good old self-denial. (See Luke 9:23) Maybe you too sense an invitation to come to Him. Perhaps you might also want to stop and think about practical ways to respond to Him. It can be as simple as setting aside 5 extra minutes as we begin or end the day to turn in prayer or Scripture reading, or maybe going to Mass more often, or taking a day retreat. Spending time sharing with other brothers and sisters who openly share their faith is another important means of drawing close to our Lord. Asking the Lord for guidance on how to draw closer to him is a good first step! It is in his love, that we are able to help others to know his love and love him!
Video Productions
During the next year, we, in partnership with the Catholic Alpha Office of the UK, plan to complete 4 new video productions. The first will be filmed this October 8-15. The topic of this series will be "Listening to God's Word through Scripture, Tradition, and the Magesterium." We want to introduce people to the reality that the Lord speaks to us in the Church. Monsignor Mark Coleridge, an Australian Bible scholar working in the Vatican Secretariat of State, will be the presenter. Fr. Mark has been working with the Holy Father on many of his writings including the latest encyclical, Faith and Reason. Would you please begin praying for this production? We believe that the Holy Spirit is opening a marvelous door of opportunity to serve the Church by producing these series. Repeatedly, very gifted and respected teachers of the Church have offered to present topics that will help us to serve the Church in developing a process of evangelization for dioceses, parishes, and small faith communities. In January we will produce a course for parents on raising their children followed by a series on Practical Evangelization for Catholics. Next July, Fr. Cantalamessa, OFM, Cap, will present a second series for us entitled, "Life in the Lordship of Christ." This series is based on his book of the same title, which is a study of the letter to the Romans. It introduces Christians and others to the good news of God's love and the personal calling of Christ to live in His Lordship.
To be most effective with these teachings, it is imperative that they be professionally done. We want to give the Lord the best in all we do. In addition, people are so accustomed to quality video; to give them less would detract from the message. We want to reach as many people as possible with the message of the Gospel and we don't want to have them miss the truth because the media bringing them the message turns them off. Needless to say, quality is expensive. Each series will cost from $25,000 - $30,000 but for this media that is still quite inexpensive. In your prayers please ask the Lord to continue to provide the money necessary to produce a library of resources! If you know individuals who might be willing to support this part of our mission financially, please let them know what we are doing!
Some highlights of Amsterdam 2000
Thank you for your interest in and prayers for the Amsterdam 2000 Conference. Because of his commitment to Christians working together for the sake of the Gospel, Billy Graham personally invited a number of Catholics and Orthodox actually engaged in evangelization to attend this meeting. I was humbled as one of a dozen Catholics to be part of this gathering of 10,200 Christian evangelists from 209 nations and 20 territories, 2/3 from the third world. I was very impressed with their passion and zeal for spreading the Gospel as witnessed through personal testimonies, videos, music and drama, seminars and from the main sessions. The simplicity and focus on helping people to know the Love of God in Christ Jesus is refreshing. This ability to communicate the basic proclamation of the Kerygma is essential for proper cathechesis to occur in our Church. This focus on communicating the basic good news is important for us to restore as normative among Catholics. It is "putting the horse before the cart." It is holding up the "pearl of great price", that profound living relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit so that people may understand and receive all the treasures of the Church. It is establishing the proper foundation on Jesus Christ as Lord, in order that people may grow as the Church, both for those within the Church, as well as those still outside. "For no other foundation can anyone lay that that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."(1Cor.3:11)
I was also very impressed with the professional and excellent manner with which all facets of the conference were handled. Each session communicated the message in a variety of ways. Along with basic teaching, there were top-notch video presentations, outstanding music performances, mime, drama, and an excellent praise/worship group. Also of note were the hundreds of volunteers who came from around the world at their own expense to serve with great love and joy.
One need I recognized through some personal interactions during the conference is for Catholics, Evangelicals, and Orthodox to grow in love, respect and understanding of one another. There still remain prejudices, hostilities and genuine disagreements among us. It is imperative for leaders to communicate the importance of loving and respecting one another, while acknowledging that differences do exist among us. Pope John Paul II has been a real witness to this, and Billy Graham is clearly committed to this witness as well. Where we are united in taking a stand, e.g., the Pro Life movement, relationships develop and an openness to learn from one another results. Let's join in praying with our Savior that as we enter this new millennium, we his people might be one (Jn.17:21)
Thank you again for your ongoing partnership in this ministry! Your generosity in prayer, funding, and volunteer service enables this apostolate to do all that it is doing. We regularly pray for you.
With sincere love in Christ,
Dave Nodar
Prayer Requests for our partners in prayer
1. For many evangelizers to be raised up in the Catholic Church and for a revolution of the Holy Spirit to transform us into a mission oriented people. Mt.9:37,38; 28:18-20
2. Guidance for the way forward in developing a process of evangelization for dioceses, parishes and small faith communities.
3. Wisdom for keeping focussed on the priorities of the apostolate.
4. For the Alpha courses that will begin in many parishes, youth groups and prison ministries this September across North America.
5. For the money needed to:
o Hire more full time workers to the apostolate.
o Fund the 4-video productions planned for the next 12 months
o Purchase equipment and software for the mission of the web site and conference presentations
Pray for the following events and join us if they are in your local area!
o September 14 & 15 - Philadelphia Alpha Conference with Nicky Gumble.We will present a seminar on Alpha for Catholics.
o September 29, Tampa Alpha Conference kick off Luncheon - gathering church leaders to join together to support the conference to be held January 8 & 9 contact Art Tavenor: (727) 823- 2205
o October 8 - 15 - Video Production of "Listening to God's Word" with Monsignor Mark Coleridge. In London, England contact the Catholic Alpha Office (44) 01727 822 837 - e-mail: info@catholicalphaoffice.org
o October 22, - 2000 Come and See Alpha Introduction Evening - Ellicott City, MD
o December 2, 2000 - Archdiocese of Baltimore Alpha Leaders' Forum , contact ChristLife's office number below
Areas of Need:
o We have a number of needs requiring computer software expertise:
o Power Point – We have numerous opportunities to present our vision of evangelization, Alpha, and other topics and we'd like to do it in a more professional way. We will provide the basic information but need someone who has the skill to create a Power Point presentation.
o Client/Server – We have a basic setup, but we need help to get it working well.
o Networking – Our network consists of both Macintosh computers and PCs. Things don't work very smoothly across platforms.
o Person with marketing experience
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