HOW TO SAVE-THE-DATE FOR ATLANTA ARCHDIOCESE VIRTUAL CATECHIST CONFERENCE AUGUST 12 - 15, 2021! (2903 hits)
For Immediate Release From Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia!
Last year the Archdiocese of Atlanta had its first virtual Atlanta Catechist Conference. This year, we are back, with an expanded partnership with the dioceses of Charleston, Raleigh and Savannah. There will be more recorded sessions in three different languages and live chats to discuss topics of interest to you, the catechist.
Who is a catechist? EVERYONE! Each of the baptized, in different ways, is called to evangelize and hand on the faith—making, molding and missioning disciples. The Directory for Catechesis is also clear about the importance of parents as primary catechists and of those called to the distinct service and ministry of catechesis in their communities.
Pope Francis recently reaffirmed the importance of the ministry of catechesis, especially by lay people, in his apostolic letter Antiquum Ministerium.
He writes: "The role played by catechists is one specific form of service among others within the Christian community. Catechists are called first to be expert in the pastoral service of transmitting the faith as it develops through its different stages from the initial proclamation of the kerygma to the instruction that presents our new life in Christ and prepares for the sacraments of Christian initiation, and then to the ongoing formation that can allow each person to give an accounting of the hope within them (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). At the same time, every catechist must be a witness to the faith, a teacher and mystagogue, a companion and pedagogue, who teaches for the Church. Only through prayer, study and direct participation in the life of the community can they grow in this identity and the integrity and responsibility that it entails (cf. Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, Directory for Catechesis, 113)."
The church needs you! Join us again this year! Registration opens mid-June. More information will be shared in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please share this save-the-date with others and pray for us—we are praying for you. Thank you!
