The Diocese of Rochester’s Department of Evangelization and Catechesis recently received an award from the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL).
Conference representatives presented the New Wineskins Diocesan Award to staff representatives of the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis during the NCCL’s 77th-annual conference, which was held May 19-23 in Cleveland, Ohio. The award is designed to highlight and celebrate a diocese’s extraordinary achievement in the ministries of evangelization and catechesis. The award also is intended to share successful initiatives that may benefit other dioceses, encourage continued creative innovation in parish and diocesan catechetical and evangelization efforts, and reflect the spirit of the new evangelization promulgated by Pope John Paul II.
The Department of Evangelization and Catechesis earned the award for its multifaceted Technology for Mission and Ministry initiative, which includes an online learning center and virtual office, online marriage preparation, online seminars for professional and ministerial development, and online training for Creating a Safe Environment, which seeks to prevent abuse by training parish and diocesan volunteers. The initiative also includes the Alive in Christ catechist-formation initiative, the Spiritual Pilgrim evangelization website, the Homelinks family faith-formation website and Forgiven, which is a website promoting the sacrament of penance.
In a letter to the staff of the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis, the NCCL praised the Technology for Mission and Ministry initiative’s potential to reach far beyond diocesan borders and to inspire others.
"Your team, even more so than your initiative, is a source of inspiration. You have reminded us that the challenges facing catechesis today requires a commitment of time, a readiness to learn new things and a willingness to change accepted and familiar ways of doing things," NCCL officials wrote.
