The Diocese of Rochester will host its seventh annual Pastoral Planning Leaders Day on Saturday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Keuka College near Penn Yan, Yates County.
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Diocese of Albany will give the day’s keynote speech on “The Mission of the Contemporary Parish” and will address practical challenges facing parishes today in the areas of evangelization, parochialism, ecumenism and social justice, according to diocesan information.
According to Karen Rinefierd, a diocesan planning-group liaison, the event is an opportunity for parish leaders and planning groups to network with one another and Bishop Matthew H. Clark. Diocesan parishes are experiencing similar phenomena, from dealing with population changes and decreasing numbers of priests to initiating new evangelization efforts and having increasing numbers of lay people take on ministry and leadership positions, she said.
According to the diocese, the event also will feature a number of workshops on such topics as vocation awareness; identifying gifts for ministry; clustering or merging parishes; the perspective of extern priests; cultivating a spirituality of gratitude; and the planning, designing and structuring for merging several parishes into a single legal entity.
For information, call Karen Rinefierd at 800/388-7177, ext. 1255, or at 585/328-3228, ext. 1255, or e-mail her at krinefierd@dor.org.
