Breakout Sessions

The Wisdom of Mission Partnership 

Sr. Larraine Lauter, OSU
Water With Blessings 

What are the benefits and challenges of partnering with nonprofits for mission groups and parishes to carry out mission activities and programs?  How can we assess and discern among nonprofit programs, particularly in the light of Catholic Social Thought?  This workshop will include a tool (standard Google Doc form) which participants may use freely for their own future discernment of mission partnerships.

Living Mission Spirituality

Celine, Don and Maura Woznica
Maryknoll Lay Missioners

What is Mission Spirituality? In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis wrote about the importance of our encounter with Christ as the foundation for our missionary discipleship. What are the benefits of Mission Spirituality for the everyday Catholic? This session will reflect on the role of mission spirituality in everyday life from the perspective of lay missioners.

Service Trip Done…What’s Next?

Emily LaHood-Olsen
DePaul University

We spend a lot of time preparing for service and immersion trips, but how do we reflect on our experience when we return home? Is there a way for us to keep the passion for service and mission alive when we come back from a service or immersion trip? This session will look into how we can allow these mission experiences to continue to impact our daily lives and studies.

The Missionary Parish

Archdiocese of Cincinnati Mission Office and Parishes

A parish community gathers for many reasons, but do parishes gather to be a community of missionary disciples? How can we transform our parishes from closed communities into communities that answer a call and are sent out in service and mission both locally and internationally? What are the ways we can help our parishes cross boundaries, share the good news of mercy and forgiveness, and be living witnesses of God’s love for all of creation? The Missionary Parish will give participants resources and tools to bring back the missionary spirit to their parish communities.

Reconciling Mission

Rev. Bill Nordenbrock, CPPS
Missionaries of the Precious Blood

The work of reconciliation is an essential aspect of mission. Fr. Bill, building on his presentation on Friday night, will lead the group in exploring the spirituality of reconciliation and how the praxis of reconciliation can be a part of missionary activity. Drawing on his own experience and the experience of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, he will share how his brothers are carrying out the work of reconciliation, where the opportunities for reconciliation exist, and some of the emerging challenges to this work. It will also provide an opportunity for participants to reflect on their own missionary activity through the lens of reconciliation.  Fr. Bill is the Moderator General for the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. 

New Witnesses and Coworkers

Margaret Naughton
Lasallian Volunteers

Some religious orders are reimagining their charisms and ministries and passing them on to a new generation of lay women and men. How can we continue the ministries of these religious orders? How can laypersons be renewed by the charisms of their religious founders? The Lasallian Volunteers will lead a workshop on how they have been impacted by the charism of the Christian Brothers and how it both continues the work of St. John Baptist de la Salle and enriches their own spiritual lives. 

Mission and Laudato Si’: Caring For All of Creation

Dan Misleh
Catholic Climate Covenant

How can we respond to God’s call to be missionary disciples in the shadow of our broken home? What steps can we take to live in solidarity with all of creation and to help restore our home? This workshop will help open up Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Si’, and how caring for our planet is an intrinsic part of our lives as missionary disciples.