CNE Newsletter - April 21

NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

I am excited to introduce our newest CNE team member Carlos Ramirez. Carlos has joined the Parish Support Team as the Associate Director for Youth Programming.

Carlos will spearhead our youth programming events such as our Exalt (XLT) Tour, NCYC, and most especially Totus Tuus. Carlos was a former Totus Tuus Missionary who served in Cincinnati, and was one of the best missionaries we ever had. We are blessed to have Carlos back in Cincinnati to coordinate Totus Tuus and all of our youth programming.

At the same time, this month we said goodbye to Wayne Topp, our Managing Director for Young Adult Evangelization. Wayne has taken a new position as a Development Officer in the Stewardship Department.

We are thankful for the ministry Wayne has given to the young adults in our Archdiocese. He brought to that ministry a focus on mission and vocation, he worked to establish a robust communication network with the launch of Queen City Catholic, and he laid the ground work for Regional Young Adult ministry.

We are very grateful for Wayne’s time with us and we are excited for his new opportunity within the Pastoral Center!

Sean Ater

Director, Center for the New Evangelization
sater@catholicaoc.org

Carlos Ramirez (cramirez@catholicaoc.org)
Associate Director of Youth Programs

We are excited to welcome Carlos Ramirez to our Parish Support Team! Carlos will be overseeing all CNE youth programming.

Carlos is a Texas native who has spent most of his career working in Catholic schools teaching religion, music, and health. He has also served as a young adult and youth director for a parish in Texas. All of his work has led him back to Cincinnati to work with a program that he is very passionate about, Totus Tuus.

Carlos is the fifth of eight children and loves spending time with his family. He enjoys watching sports, particularly the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Redwings, and loves playing his guitar and singing for people. Carlos and his brother have a country band called the Ricky Ram Band. His favorite saints include St. Dominic Savio, St. Matthew and St. Charles Borromeo, as well as many others! Welcome, Carlos!

We had a great turnout for our Called & Gifted workshops on April 17 and 18. Pastors and parish staff, thank you so much for your interest and participation. We hope this will be the beginning of a spirit-led process of discerning your unique spiritual giftedness and your “call within the call.”

Many of you have asked how to onboard staff who couldn’t attend or new hires onto this process of charism discernment. At this point, the best options are to:

1. Have them attend a live Called & Gifted workshop hosted by a parish or another diocese (see their “Calendar of Events”), or
2. Purchase access to the online version of the Called & Gifted workshop for these employees (see their Webstore).

You could have them read Fruitful Discipleship, Sherry Weddell’s book on the charisms, but they will still not have taken the Spiritual Gifts Inventory, which provides a first indication of what charisms they might have. The only way to take the Inventory is through the online version of Called & Gifted.

See the flyer below for next steps for those who have attended Called & Gifted. Once you have completed all three discernment steps and attended Team Training (for more info, see their “Team Training” page), then you can personally provide the 3-step charism discernment process to your parishioners. Email Nicholas Hardesty (nhardesty@catholicaoc.org) if you have any questions.

"Run Alpha", an interactive training experience that lets you explore what it's like to run Alpha in-person or online, will be held on May 10 from 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Parish Center in Lebanon, OH. The Alpha team will cover topics such as: “What is Alpha?”, the Alpha 7 best practices, the Alpha small group, and leading prayer ministry on the Alpha weekend away.

In addition, you will:

Learn from the Alpha USA team how to run Alpha in the Catholic context
Meet others running Alpha
Learn how to equip your entire team

"Run Alpha" is free, and lunch will be provided by the CNE. To register for this event, please go here.

The Chancellor’s Office and the Marriage and Family Evangelization team are pleased to offer a Marriage Preparation Documentation Training for clergy, parish staff, and lay leaders who serve in any aspect of marriage preparation.

The training will take place on May 4, 2023 at St. Susanna Catholic Church in Mason from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. with a live-streamed and a virtual option. This free training will include a light breakfast, recommendations for the marriage preparation timeline, an explanation of the dispensations/permissions needed for various situations, the forms needed for the nuptial file, and time for questions & answers.

St. Susanna offers daily Mass at 8:15 a.m. for any participants who wish to attend Mass before the training. Please register online no later than May 1 here.

Nazareth: Ordinary Life with Extraordinary Love is a new initiative sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for couples married up to 5 years. Come and spend time together with other newlyweds from the Greater Dayton area to strengthen and enrich the extraordinary love that every marriage has in Christ.

This event includes two sessions. Each one will have a different focus and discussion. Come to either session, or both (one price for one or both sessions).

Session I: Saturday, May 6 at St. Luke Catholic Church; 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., includes Mass at 8:30 a.m. followed by light breakfast. Babysitting is available from 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Session II: Tuesday, June 6 at Mary, Help of Christians Church in Fairborn; 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The cost is $20 a couple, and includes both sessions and cost of babysitting (under 5 years old). Space is limited and on a first-come-first-serve basis. Babies are always welcome with their moms. To register, please click here.

On March 23rd at Incarnation Parish in Centerville, the Office of Persons with Disabilities hosted the Sacrament of Reconciliation for families with special needs. Fr. Bryan Phelps and Fr. Ingnatius Madanu brought the sacrament to those who were nonverbal, verbal, and individuals with intellectual disabilities using Loyola Press Adaptive Catechesis.

Our office is thankful for this opportunity to offer this sacrament in a way that meets the needs of families and helps to bring all in communion with the Lord.

If you would like to learn more about adaptive Reconciliation, please contact Lisa Averion (laverion@catholicaoc.org) for more information.