Breakout Sessions

Student Ministry in the High School This presentation will describe the Student Ministry  Team at Brother Martin High School.  It will present the mission of the team, how it is selected, trained, and maintained throughout the school year. Thomas Baier, Campus Minister at Br. Martin High School for six years.  Religion Dept. Co-department Chair for […]

Faith Strong - Finding Hope: Bearing the Cross of Bereavement in the Catholic School In the timeframe of one calendar year, Opelousas Catholic School endured the death of five students and two staff members in unrelated events.  Despite the most difficult circumstances, Opelousas Catholic has managed to turn these tragedies into triumph.  With faith and […]

Teaching to Strengths: Serving All God's Children with Love and Hope We will explore creative ways to teach Catholic concepts for all children, but especially children with autism and special needs. In this formational workshop, a variety of models of inclusion, effective teaching methods, best practices, and strategies will be shared that benefit catechists and […]

A Practical and Hopeful Response to Pornography How can youth ministers, teachers, and campus ministers offer teens an attractive and compelling solution to address the issue of pornography? Adam will share information about ACT, is a teen-centered community built around formation and virtue training. This community seeks to bring healing to a hurting culture. Adam […]

Hope in Change Change rocks our world. While small changes create ripples that generate excitement or dread, large ones produce waves that plunge us into the throes of anxiety or anticipation. Is it any wonder that the symbol for hope is an anchor? Placing our hope in God through the minor and major changes in […]

The Gift of Cultural Hurricanes: How to Build Bridges that Empower Parents and Transform Catholic Families Effectively working with youth and families today poses previously unseen and epic ministry challenges. Dr. Hogan will propose effective strategies to reinvigorate ministry by creating new connections between youth, families and their parish. Dr. Tim Hogan is a psychologist […]

Hope in Suffering How do we find God in the midst of sufferings? What can we do to foster hope in times of trial? Using Psalm 42 as a guide, we will walk through a Biblical response to the sufferings of this world, emphasizing the critical elements: honesty in prayer, trust in God, and Christian […]

Hope for the World:  Catechesis that forms Missionary Disciples As Catholics, our Scripture and Tradition call us over and over again to bring hope to those who are living on the margins of society. The presentation will explore practical ways parish catechetical leaders can integrate care for the poor and vulnerable seamlessly into their formation […]

Leading Children to Pray:  Catechist as Pray-er and Model of Hope for the Journey It’s easy to teach children prayers…the words and phrases that we say.  But how do we pray with children?  Is it just a routine?  Is there a classroom environment that sends a message that prayer is important?  Are prayer experiences prayer-ful?  […]

Families of Hope: Building Partnerships between Catholic Schools and the Home As Pope St. John Paul II shares in Familiaris Consortio, the Church observes that the institution of the family acts as a sacramental “cradle” for the fostering the faith among generations. The need for reaching out to families, therefore, is crucial to the success […]

Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment We will assess the formative influences on young people today, the end to which the Church’s evangelization and formation efforts are ordered, and the possibilities for renewing the Church’s mission in forming young people for vocational discernment. We'll ask, how do we create cultures in which it's easier […]

Making Hope Real Hope is an invitation to see and appreciate the world, much like God does, and believe that things can improve. It is a call to action, rather than a chance to stick our heads in the sand like an ostrich and cross our fingers. In this workshop, Becky shows you how to […]

Moving from Service to Missionary Discipleship Catholic educators inspire young people not only to serve, but to do so as missionary disciples sent to share God’s love, particularly with the poor, marginalized, and ignored.  Using Pope Francis’s Evangelii Gaudium as a framework, this session will share practical methods to transform service experiences into opportunities for […]

An Eminent Place: Catechesis at the Heart of Liturgy Practical tips to implement faith-filled, vibrant liturgies for the whole community. Tom Kendzia is well known as a composer, arranger, producer, teacher, clinician, author and performer.  He has been a professional liturgical musician for more than 30 years.  He has 15 collections of liturgical and instrumental […]