NEW YORK — Several years ago, friars requested that more programs be offered to address pastoral care concerns. The HNP Ongoing Formation Committee recommends a March 7 event that fills this request: the Mid-Atlantic Congress for Pastoral Leadership.
Specialists in a variety of pastoral topics will give more than 30 classes at the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Congress being held in Baltimore. The conference, known as MAC, is co-sponsored by the Association of Catholic Publishers and the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Department of Evangelization. Topics range from “Budgeting and Managing Cash Flow” to “Models of Christian Discipleship for Today’s World,” according to a news release.
Christopher Keenan, OFM, chair of the HNP Ongoing Formation Committee, said after a recent meeting, “This program is being recommended in response to the more than 200 friars completing the leadership development profile in 2010 that requested HNP provide workshops/programs to address friars’ pastoral care concerns.” The committee’s goal is to “recruit friars to existing pastoral ministry programs that HNP has no need to duplicate,” he said.
The committee is presenting MAC as an annual ongoing formation event, offering a wide range of programs capable of responding to any friars needs, said Christopher. The cost of master classes for single-day attendees on Thursday is $60, according to the MAC news release.
“Because of the location of the congress — central to most of the Province’s ministries — and the diversity of its offerings, we think it might interest many friars,” said Andrew Reitz, OFM, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New York City, a committee member.
The goal of the congress, according to the Mid-Atlantic Congress’s website, is “forming Catholic leaders in faith-filled service.”
Other committee initiatives include the La Verna Pilgrimage to Assisi and the two Provincial retreats being held in January and February in Florida and New Jersey.