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Gree�ngs!

We celebrate the feast days of many awesome saints this

month, and these two quotes from St. Peter Claver and St.

Andrew Kim Kaegon are powerful messages for us today. It’s

tough to always put God first in our lives! We thank our Lord for

courageous men and women who have come before us and show us the way!

As we look forward to the upcoming change of seasons, we in the Department of Catholic

Educa�on are seeing some exci�ng changes come our way now. First, we have welcomed the

Office of Hispanic Pastoral Ministry to join our departmental family. Second, we have some name/

mission changes for two of our offices. Our Office of Youth Ministry is now our Office of Youth and

Young Adult Ministry. And our Office of Religious Educa�on is now the Office for Evangeliza�on

and Family Life. We are looking forward to the larger scopes of our missions and to serving the

archdiocesan parishes, schools and families in new and exci�ng ways!

A couple of reminders:

1. If you are rela�vely new to parish leadership, or if you’d like a refresher, plan to join us for the

“New Cateche�cal Leader Orienta�on”. This is for everyone who works in the teaching ministry

of the church—whether in religious educa�on, youth ministry, Hispanic ministry, or any other

educa�onal arm of the church. Please RSVP by Sept 14. More info can be found on page 3.

2. Box of Joy—NOW is the �me to sign your parish or school up to par�cipate in Box of Joy! If this

is your first, second or third �me to par�cipate in Box of Joy, you need to sign your parish,

school or group up NOW! Project leaders can fill out the form found on the Cross Catholic

website (click “parish sign up” or “school/group sign up” on the leA hand side). The Archdiocese

was #1 in the country for the past two years—let’s bring joy

to even more liDle ones this year! Our own Rob Herbst,

editor of The Catholic Week, was invited to witness the

distribu�on of the boxes earlier this year. Read (or re-read)

his wonderful ar�cle here.

Finally, thanks to all those who aDended the One Faith One

Family Conference. It was truly beau�ful to see all of us

together—especially at Mass! Mark your calendars for the

Men’s Conference (February 21,2018 in Montgomery and

February 22, 2018 in Mobile) and the Women’s Conference

(October 6, 2018 in Mobile)!

.

eeee----EchoEchoEchoEcho e-Newsle�er of the

Department of Catholic Educa!on

Archdiocese of Mobile

September 2017

God bless you!

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From the Youth Ministry Office:

Storms are a part of our lives. When we face these storms at home, in our parishes, in the Gulf Coast region,

several things happen. Storms challenge us and change us. Storms prompt growth and redirect us to the most

important and most urgent priori�es. Storms build and prove character. Storms can test our faith, promp�ng us to

wake Jesus in the boat with a cry that we are perishing. Jesus reaches out to us, calms the storm, and provides the

peace we so desire. Let us pray for all those facing storms, whether natural disasters and those storms of emo�onal or

spiritual nature. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us!

In case you missed it, we have officially added “young adult” to our office �tle and mission – so we are now the

Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile. I’m looking forward to this added and growing

segment of young Catholics in our diocese. So much good is already happening with groups such as the Eastern Shore

Young Adults, Catholic Young Adults of Montgomery, and the Frassa� Society in Mobile. Let us pray for the young

adults of our parishes and diocese!

Don’t forget that now is the �me for retraining with the Child Protec�on Office! Please remind your core team

volunteers to complete the retraining now, so that they can be up-to-date when serving at parish and diocesan events.

The One Faith One Family Conference was such a blessing last month. It will be hard to wait two years for the

next one! We also had great conversa�ons about the Sacrament of Confirma�on, and I was also fortunate to spend

�me with our Catholic school teachers during orienta�on days. God is truly moving in our diocese.

This month, our office is hos�ng an event for the 5th

graders aDending the Blue Mass on September 11. We

have been working with Fr. Victor, the Office of Catholic Schools, and the Office for Evangeliza�on and Family Life to

provide an engaging and reflec�ve morning for these middle school students.

I’m also looking forward to our New Cateche�cal Leader Orienta�ons, officially welcoming all those new to our

youth ministry leadership and those who just want a refresher in effec�ve ministerial leadership. Please RSVP to our

office if you plan to aDend!

Search Retreat registra�on is open for both retreats at our website, www.ArchMobYouth.org/Search Please

promote this event to your young people, as this retreat has shown �me and �me again that this can be a powerful

encounter with Christ and his Church.

March for Life, ACYC, and ACYC JR. plans con�nue to move along. Keep an eye out for more informa�on on

those direct services!

As always, our office is here to serve you in whatever way you may need – consulta�on, training, forma�on,

quick ques�ons, complicated ques�ons, horror stories or glory stories! I am praying for you and your young people.

God bless y’all! -- Adam

Pure & Simple Sunday, September 24, Our Savior Parish, Mobile

begins with 11am Mass

Wednesday, September 27, Christ the King Parish, Daphne

begins with Mass at 5:30pm. This presentation is for

8th graders Please call the ORE or OYM if you wish to have

a P&S presenta�on at your parish!

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Have you marked these events on your

September calendar?

New Catechetical Leader Orientation September 18—St. Bede, Montgomery, 6:00-8:30

September 19—Little Flower, Mobile, 6:00-8:30

September 21—online, 6:00-8:30

If you are rela�vely new to the PCL posi�on at your parish, or if

you would just like a refresher, we would like to invite you to

aDend this year's "New Cateche�cal Leader Orienta�on" which

will be held on Sept 18 at St. Bede in Montgomery, Sept 19 at LiDle Flower in Mobile or Sept 21 in an on-line

format. This workshop is presented by Adam (OYM Director) and Janet (OEFL Assoc. Dir.). The

workshop covers both the prac�cal side (policy, budge�ng, marke�ng, calendaring, etc) and the spiritual

side of cateche�cal leadership. This workshop can answer ques�ons that you don’t even know you

have! So, if you are new or if you would like a refresher, please plan to come to one of the workshops. Each

workshop runs from 6-8:30pm we are asking that those who are interested RSVP by September 14th as we

need to make copies of resources and need at least 5 par�cipants in the "in person" workshops to hold the

workshop. (If either of the "in person" workshops do not have at least 5 par�cipants, we will ask those who

were interested to log-in to the online version on the 21st - The in-person workshops are definitely the

preferred way to par�cipate, but we want to offer the online version for those who can't

travel.) Please make plans with all of the cateche�cal leaders from your parish to come as a group!

Religion Chairperson Meeting Monday, September 25, 2:30pm, DCE Building, 352 Government Street

Mee�ng for grade school Religion Chairpersons of Mobile and Baldwin

coun�es

Catechist Workshop #1 of the St. John XXIII Catechist Certification Program September 21, 8:45-11:45am, St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lillian

Two methodology workshops are offered for catechists who do not have state educa�on cer�fica�on.

Teachers in schools who have state educa�on cer�fica�on are invited and encouraged to complete these

workshops, but are not required to do so to complete the program.

Workshop #1 covers: Role of the Catechist, Ministry and the Law and Planning Prayers and Liturgies

If you would like to arrange to have the catechist workshops offered at your parish, please call Janet!

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Upcoming Be Prepared Presentations:

Presentations in English:

Thursday, Sept. 14—St. Margaret, Foley—7pm—Session 2

Thursday, Sept. 21—St. Ignatius, Mobile—6:30pm—Session 2

Presentations in Spanish:

Sunday, Sept. 10—St. Bede, Montgomery—2pm—Session 3

Your parish should soon receive a copy of the DVD series. We

encourage that you schedule gatherings at your parish to view

these videos with a facilitator, such as your pastor or someone else

with the background necessary to answer questions which will arise from the videos.

Encourage your catechists to work towards Catechist Certification. Please contact Janet for

more information about the requirements of certification.

Looking ahead to October...

Parish Leadership Assembly Monday, October 16 at 10am and 7pm

It will soon be �me for another online mee�ng for Parish Cateche�cal Leaders, Youth Ministry Leaders,

Hispanic Ministry Leaders and others! You will receive log-in informa�on a few days before the event. This

month we welcome Roy Pe�Tils who will speak about Teen Mental Health.

Here is Roy’s bio from his website:

Roy Pe�Tils is a Licensed counselor at Pax Renewal Center in

LafayeDe, LA. Roy studied ministry and spirituality at The Pon�fical

University of St. Thomas Aquinas and holds a Masters in Mental

Health Counseling from University of Louisiana. Roy has worked

with youth and young adults for more than 20 years as minister, a

teacher, school administrator, school counselor and now as a

counselor in private prac�ce. He specializes in counseling teens and

young adults. Roy regularly consults with churches, publishers and

organiza�ons helping them more effec�vely reach and minister to

youth and young adults. He is an expert at raising and understanding teenagers.

Roy has published four books, including his most recent What Teens Want You to Know (But Don’t Tell You).

Roy’s blue collar roots, natural humor, contagious enthusiasm and diverse personal and professional

background have made him an interna�onally sought aAer presenter and trainer. Roy lives with his wife Mindi

of 13 years and their two sons Max and Benjamin in Youngsville, Louisiana.

Check out his recent webinar on bullying! It’s well worth your �me!

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PCL Reminders for September

ADMINISTRATION

Prepare administra�on report for pastor

registra�on

budget update

concerns

Prepare for and facilitate the ini�al Parent Mee�ng

Check fire drill regula�ons and verify routes are posted in each room

Put together first aid kits and have readily available

Purchase office and teaching supplies as needed

Discuss and plan with pastor Cateche�cal Sunday celebra�on

Update permanent records and make records for new students

Collect Bap�smal records for Reconcilia�on, First Communion and Confirma�on candidates

Prepare a fall newsleDer for families

Create a RE bulle�n board and place pictures of events, ar�cles, no�ces, etc

Review class rosters. Contact families who have missed a number of sessions.

CATECHIST SUPERVISION

Ask Catechists to contact those who haven't aDended first classes

Update and revise class lists

Obtain or check supplies for catechists

Recruit subs�tutes and catechist aides

Encourage all catechists to aDend this month’s “Be Prepared” session

PRAYER Set aside �me each day to pray—the Papal Inten�on for September is:

Parishes.

That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is

communicated and charity is seen.

New from Word on Fire:

Receive reflec�ons by Bishop Barron on the Gospel of the day.

Sign up here for reflec�ons in English or Español

Good read—pass this on to others—

5 Reasons Why Men Should Go to Mass

Reminder!!! CAPP retraining must be completed by

October 31st! Make sure that everyone

working with you has completed their

retraining! If you have ques!ons regarding

anyone’s status, please call the CAPP

office—they will be happy to help!

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Links you may want to share with parents...

Tips and Tricks to get kids to behave during Mass

Catholic Mommy Blogs

How to encourage children to love

saying the rosary

Catholic Mommy Blogs

4 Ways to Keep Your Kids Catholic

Ave Maria Press

5 Ways to Nurture Your Teen’s Faith

Ave Maria Press

5 Uses for Holy Water at Home

Recipes for September

From Catholic Cuisine

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Teens are constantly surrounded by entertainment. Whether

that is through social media, music, streaming TV shows, or

YouTube, there is no shortage to the amount of things vying

for their aDen�on. So how do we get through? How do we

reach through this world of entertainment and create pro-

gramming that leads teens into a true encounter with Jesus

Christ? How do we not only hand on the faith but also create a

community that becomes their founda�on? This webinar walks

through three simple steps to help all those who work with

middle school youth to realize the power of presence in programming and how to move their middle school youth

from entertainment to encounter. REGISTER NOW

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Department of Catholic Education 352 Government Street, Mobile, AL 36602

Gwen Byrd, Executive Director: gbyrd@mobarch.org

251-438-4611

OEFL, OYM & Hispanic Ministry Contact Information

Office of Evangelization and Family Life ore@mobarch.org

251-433-6991

Pat Arensberg, Director: parensberg@mobarch.org

Janet Masline, Associate Director: jmasline@mobarch.org

Deborah Robertson, Secretary/Assistant Librarian: drobertson@mobarch.org

Website: mobilefaithformation.org

Office of Youth Ministry 251-433-4138

Adam Ganucheau, Director: aganucheau@mobarch.org

Margie Lilly, Administrative Assistant: mlilly@mobarch.org

Website: archmobyouth.org

Hispanic Pastoral Ministry 251-690-6907

Olga Villar, Director: ovillar@mobarch.org

Reverend Jose Luis Mesa, Hispanic Minister: 352-316-1700