Conference '21 - English Event

638 North Calumet Road,Chesterton IN 46304

12 November, 2021

Description

IF ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS NOT PROCESSED THROUGH THIS PLATFORM.... WALK-INS ARE WELCOME, BUT THE COST WILL BE $50 The Body of Christ: Joyfully Gathered - Gratefully Serving!There is always much to be thankful for in our lives! This might seem a strange statement after a year and half of COVID-19 and numbing unrest. Many have experienced this illness first hand and many have also experienced the tragedy it has caused as we mourn the loss of loved ones. In addition, the unrest fueled by the sin of prejudice, which still haunts, has caused many to despair and anger. Yet, we are still called to be thankful because what ever has happened or will happen we know that in the end God has healed us from the most tragic sickness, death itself. Even in the less secure reality of the day we now find ourselves in, we still seek to offer thanks and praise to the God who has saved us from eternal death. The God who can heal us in ways the art of medicine cannot. Gathering this year for CONFERENCE ‘21 we come together in thanksgiving for the brave men and women who have cared for us in this difficult time. Nurses, doctors, EMTs, priests, deacons, medical researchers, community activists, public servants, teachers and the many family members and friends who help many of us to pass though the last 18 months. We begin our time together this year in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, the very fruit of our Sunday thanksgiving, the Eucharist. Singing His praise in Evening Prayer gathered around our Bishop. Our thanksgiving does not end there it flows out from the Presence of Christ to join us together at a table of praise and thanks for the love God shows us in calling us each to the ministry we practice in His Name. A wonder-filled, safe, evening of fellowship with food and drink, prayer and praise, song and Word awaits CONFERENCE ‘21 participants. Patterned after those early Christian gatherings that celebrated the body of Christ gathered as one people, participants will be fed both with food for the body and the spirit. Saturday morning, we celebrate the new day with Morning Prayer and a chance to reflect upon the fantastic experience from the night before. Dr. Steven Janco will lead us is a joint reflection, a mystagogy, unpacking our experience from the previous evening. The day will continue with the anticipated renewal sessions for various lay liturgical ministries, deacons and priests. In addition, for those new to a particular lay liturgical ministry, Saturday morning and afternoon will be filled with training sessions. In all of this the underlying theme is thankfulness even as we still experience the tribulation of disease and unrest. Thankful for God’s mercy and for his continued grace to live and serve Him in our brothers and sisters gathered around His Table, His Altar of praise. You won't want to miss Friday Evening Prayer with Bishop McClory, the Liturgical Procession, and the full prayerful Agape Meal! This food for soul and body will frame our reflections Saturday morning before the liturgical minister training and renewal sessions. _______________________________________________________________________ Full Friday Agape Meal, Saturday Continental Breakfast and Box Lunch are included in the registration fee.Masks must be worn by those not fully vaccinated and social distancing should be observed._______________________________________________________________________ Saturday Keynote and Mystagogy: Dr. Steven R. Janco, M.C.M., D.Min. Steven Janco is Liturgy Resources Specialist at GIA/World Library Publications (Chicago). He served as Director of Liturgy and Music at St. Alphonsus Liguori Church in Prospect Heights, IL, from 1995 to 2005. In addition to his full-time work, Janco also serves as Director of the Program of Church Music and Liturgy at Alverno College. Janco also has been an institute faculty member for the North American Forum on the Catechumenate since 1998 and serves on the music staff of the Chicago Office for Divine Worship. He is a clinician at conferences and workshops around the country. Janco is a well-known composer of liturgical music. including Mass of the Angels and Saints, Mass of Redemption, and many other compositions sung widely in the United States and beyond. He has had articles and reviews published in Pastoral Music, AIM, Modern Liturgy, New Theology Review, and GIA Quarterly. Janco earned master's degrees in theology and church music and recently completed the doctor of ministry degree at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He lives in Forest Park, Illinois. His insightful and engaging presentation style provides a powerful experience of reflection and challenge.