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During this Year of Faith strengthen your faith and learn to share stories that proclaim God’s glory by making time to attend the WDREF conference. Dr. Joe Paprocki’s presentation is entitled, Proclaiming the Glory of the Story: Using the Language of Mystery and Dr. Carol Eipers’ presentations are Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After.

Mark your calendars for what's promised to be an inspirational experience! Check back for registration details.

Descriptions of the General Sessions:

Wed. Nov. 7 (Pre-Conference Session) – Joe Paprocki, D.Min.
The Catholic Storyteller: How We Share the Story of God’s Glory in a Uniquely Catholic Way
When Catholics share the story of God’s glory, we do so from a distinctive Catholic point of view. In this session, Joe Paprocki, D.Min., will identify and explore five key elements of this Catholic point of view that shape our telling of the story of God’s glory, which, in turn, shapes our lives.

Thurs. Nov. 8 (Session 1) – Joe Paprocki, D.Min.
Proclaiming the Story of God’s Glory: Using a Language of Mystery
Good storytelling involves more than simply speaking words written on a page. When Catholics share the story of God’s glory, we do so with a language that goes beyond words. In this session, Joe Paprocki, D.Min., will identify and explore the elements of what he calls a “language of mystery” – a form of Catholic storytelling that involves sign, symbol, gesture, movement, song, ritual, silence and metaphor.

Fri., Nov. 9 (Session 2) – Dr. Carole Eipers
Once upon a time…
Each of us has a story of faith. Telling those stories is crucial to the new evangelization. Listening to others’ stories and connecting all of our stories to the all-encompassing story of God-with-us makes catechesis relevant. How can we “story” more faithfully and effectively?

Fri., Nov. 9 (Session 3) – Dr. Carole Eipers
Happily ever after…
We proclaim God’s glory, but Saint Paul writes that we also share in that glory moving from “glory to glory” as we are transformed into the image of the Lord. How do we celebrate this glory and invite those we serve to glory? What do we need to better proclaim and more fully embrace the glory of God in this Year of Faith and beyond?

“Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude”
Thanks to all who attended the 2011 WDREF Retreat on Nov 3-4, 2011 at St. Anthony's Retreat Center! Jennifer Christ led WDREF members in “Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude”...it was a rejuvenating and inspiring time for all. Jennifer pointed out that gratefulness is a “Great Fullness” of heart, drawing from scripture the metaphor of a softened heart, a heart of flesh as vital to living a life of gratitude.

Another metaphor she shared was that of the plant, which leans toward the light. Even when we don’t feel gratitude – we can lean toward it as we lean toward the light of Christ. Along the way, Jennifer examined barriers to gratitude such as judgment, envy, regret, and an unwillingness to forgive. She provided the group with practical tips on how to get past
such barriers, and her easy smile made it easy to practice gratitude while on retreat.

The retreat included time for silent reflection in the beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces of the Spirituality Center’s holy ground. There was also time for camaraderie and fun in sharing our calling to ministry. Overall, our hearts were filled with peace, joy and gratitude.

We want to extend a special thanks to Dave Baudry for the Smilebox video review of the Retreat! He did a wonderful job of capturing the complete experience in a beautiful presentation to music. Check it out!: View Retreat Photos

You can also view the same photos from the retreat in our WDREF flickr account by clicking the Photos tab above.

An enthusiastic crowd celebrated 30 years of WDREF at our convention in November. The theme was “Soul of Leadership: Responding to the Call.” The ‘waters’ of the five dioceses were gathered for the blessing of all, and Mass was celebrated with Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison. A vintage-dress gala banquet and dance was held with a ‘style show’ for evening entertainment. To view pictures from the event, click on the Photos tab at the top.

In addition, we had wonderful speakers. Bishop John Barres, of the Diocese of Allentown, PA, offered a very inspiring vision of the current directions within the Church. He named six important areas where we, as parish catechetical leaders, can assist people in re-connecting with their faith and making it a more integral part of their lives. Dr. Jane Regan, Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College, focused on four key ways that we can help Catholics to moor themselves to their faith and their parish so that Gospel values become an intimate part of their everyday lives. 

Click here for a helpful summary of Bp. Barres' and Dr. Regan's presentations, courtesy of Joanie McKeown, a PCL and WDREF Board Rep. from the Diocese of Superior.

We are looking forward to our 2012 WDREF Conference at The Lodge at Crooked Lake in Siren, WI. Check back for more details coming soon.