THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 39, NO. 11 | OCTOBER 20 , 2017
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JOE BOLLIG
Father Oswaldo Sandoval, coordinator for Johnson County Hispanic ministry, gives a presentation at the archdiocesan convocation Oct. 13 at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kansas. More than 300 archdiocesan leaders gathered at the biennial convocation, the theme of which was “Living as Missionary Disciples.”
INVITED TO THE CONVERSATION Biennial convocation calls for a culture of encounter
By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org
K
ANSAS CITY, Kan. — They didn’t start the fire, but they did carry it back from Orlando, Florida. Fired up by their experience at the national Convocation of Catholic Leaders July 1-4 in Orlando, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and other delegates resolved to carry home a spark to the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The vision of Orlando was shared at the Archdiocesan Convocation of Parish Ministries 2017: “Living as Missionary Disciples,” held Oct. 13 at the Archbishop James P. Keleher Center at the Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kansas. More than 300 archdiocesan leaders gathered at the biennial archdiocesan convocation for lively presentations and participant interaction in panel discussions during sessions. “[The Orlando convocation] was all a reflection on [Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation] ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ and how we form missionary disciples,” said Archbishop Naumann. “When we left Orlando, we were
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“WE HAVE TO SEE THESE CHALLENGES . . . AS OPPORTUNITIES THAT CALL US TO DISCERN THE NEW PATHS FOR THE CHURCH THAT POPE FRANCIS TALKS ABOUT IN HIS FIRST LINES OF ‘THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL.’”
tasked with being delegates back to our own communities,” said Emily Lopez, lead consultant for adult evangelization in the archdiocese. Even the format of the Orlando convocation was replicated at the archdiocesan convocation, both in look and in method. The usual speaker’s podium on stage was replaced by chairs and a couch, where the emcee and a panel sat as they each took turns speaking on
their session’s topic. A phone number was flashed on a large screen so people could text questions on their cellphones to the panelists during Q&A periods. “What we did was a direct reflection of what we experienced while we were in Orlando,” said Lopez, who was emcee for the archdiocesan convocation. “The three main topics and panels were the same, and even the layout of the room,” she continued. “We intentionally wanted to have an environment that fostered conversation — not just attention to a presentation — that really invited people into a conversation. “We wanted everyone to feel they were in a place where they were involved.”
Three big topics — plus two The three session topics carried over from Orlando were “Charting the Mission Field,” “Call to Missionary Discipleship” and “Going to the Peripheries.” Organizers of the archdiocesan convocation also added two more, “Practical Strategies” and “Equipped
for Excellence.” In “Charting the Missionary Field,” archdiocesan vicar general Father Gary Pennings gave an overview of the “landscape” or mission field of the United States. He presented data about the demographic, geographical and cultural shifts the Catholic Church and the nation are experiencing. He noted that over the past 50 years, Catholicism in America has experienced its largest cultural and demographic transformation since the large European migrations of the 19th and early 20th centuries. One transformation is that Hispanics account for 71 percent of the growth of Catholic population in the United States since 1960, and approximately 60 percent of the Catholics in the nation under the age of 18 are Hispanic. Father Pennings also noted four major cultural shifts. First, marriage and family life has been significantly reconfigured in terms of roles, expectations and practices. Second, communal life has been eroded. Third, society has become polarized to the point that respectful and >> See “CALLED” on page 10