75th Annual NCCL Conference and Exposition
May 22-26, 2011
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
265 Peach Tree St NE
Atlanta, GA
The Professional Development Conference
for Catechetical Leaders
Information will be posted as soon as it becomes available.
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Celebrating Our Past, Shaping the Future
Celebrando Nuestro Pasado, Formando la Futura
75 Years of Fidelity to the Word
For 74 years, members of NCCL have assembled for an annual conference and exposition. At this time we congregate to acknowledge and acclaim the women and men who have shaped the face of catechesis in this country.. At the same time, we step forward to claim our place as lay ecclesial ministers in shaping the future of evangelization and catechesis.
Committed to spreading the gospel, we recognize the landscape is changing. The maps used to guide our ministry are in need of modification. Having exercised 75 years of fidelity to the Gospel, we remain faithful to the “one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church,” while creatively seeing contemporary ways to share the message. Our current census reports a revolution in our demographics. Past studies call for an adjustment in delivery. We are pioneers in this new panorama. Relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit we devote ourselves to catechizing the intercultural face of those seeking a life in Christ.
We do not shrink from this challenge. The witness of those who walked before us sparkles like a diamond of service and love on the hands of those called to the esteemed role of catechist. We are not alone. Together we form the Way that the Truth will Light on this path of transformation. We are creating a course of integration and union that fully welcomes and invites the gifts that all cultures bring to the work of the Body of Christ. This is the passageway that will lead to a great celebration of evangelization and catechesis at our centennial in 2036. The importance of continuing to come together is evidenced in the four verbs of our mission statement: Promoting, Collaborating, Nurturing, and Gathering.
Promoting: We update ourselves in the areas of Scripture, Theology and Morality. We discover the place and position of technology in the new evangelization. We learn innovative methods of informing, forming and transforming disciples of Christ. We address the six tasks of catechesis in creative and inventive experiences.
Collaborating: We take to heart the message of our bishops to step out of our “water tight compartments” and work together. Our history contains continued changes in both our name and structure to include rather than exclude, to widen our doors of membership rather than close our ranks, and to provide opportunities for linking and networking rather than isolating catechesis from the other ministries of the Church.
Nurturing: We seek to be challenged in our spiritual practices and to prayerfully engage in a variety of liturgical expressions of faith while honoring the strength of our rituals. We strive to adapt the best professional standards to our ministry and to develop effective ways of passing on the faith. We adopt the best practices of adult faith formation for our one lives and for those with whom and to whom we minister.
Gathering: We celebrate the importance of physically gathering as a community of believers to pray and worship. We strive to strengthen our commitment to the person of Jesus and deepen our understanding of His message. We affirm the sacramental foundation of our faith as evidenced when we act as one body of Christ.
Let’s Celebrate 75 Years of Fidelity to the Word.
Devotion to the Word made flesh and faithfulness to the Word of God, constantly being revealed and proclaimed.
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