(84) Press Release 2: Urgently Needed: A Few Good Men to Promote the 2015 Men's Conference

AMDG

This article was originally submitted to the Diocese of Steubenville Catholic Register

            If the Men of the diocese are in good spiritual shape, the family is renewed.  If the family is renewed, the parish is renewed and so is the diocese.  The men must be spiritual leaders in their families.  The men must step up and be the pillars of the parish.......not only the women.  The men must put Christ into the marketplace and in their jobs. 

A successful and well attended Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal on Saturday March 7 at St. Bernard’s Church in Beverly on Route 339 (9:00 am to 4 pm) would be a big step in that direction.  An excellent program is in place.

This year’s program includes the popular speaker Dr. Allen Hunt, who will challenge the participants to be truly dynamic Catholics and thus more effective servant leaders in the home, the parish, the community, and on the job. 

Allen Hunt was the pastor of a mega-church, serving 15,000 people per week in Alpharetta, Georgia outside of Atlanta.  He discovered the truth in 1992, but it took him 15 years of struggle to make the final decision to leave his mega-church and make a complete change of life and convert to Catholicism.  This act of courage and integrity meant being ostracized by colleagues and friends and losing his prestigious position.  In many ways, this transition was effected by the prayers of a group of Dominican sisters at Monastery of Our Lady of Grace in North Guilford, Connecticut, who have been praying for Allen since he shared lectures with them during the season of Lent in 1992.

   

Thus Allen Hunt is in a unique position to speak on the theme of the Steubenville Diocese Men’s Conference:  “This Old House: Ever Dynamic, Ever New”.  This theme promises to give all participants, especially cradle Catholics, a renewed appreciation of the beauty and splendor of the faith, motivating the men to deepen their knowledge and become more committed.  Today with the zeal of a St. Paul, this new Catholic evangelist works night and day to share his discovery of the faith and to spread it.  He does this through talks all over the country, writing, and partnering with Matthew Kelly at the Dynamic Catholic Institute.  See www.dynamiccatholic.com.  He will talk in the morning on “The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic”…… prayer, study, generosity, and evangelization in the morning session.  His afternoon talk will focus on his journey to the true faith and how God revolutionizes our lives with His real presence in the Eucharist and its remarkable power for each of us.

Marketing is crucial to the success of this Conference.  The Steering Committee for the Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal has sent posters, brochures, and registration forms to every parish in the diocese and is asking each one to promote the Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal.......announcements in the bulletin and from the pulpit, a bulletin insert, etc.  Parish organizations such as the Knights of Columbus can also be a big help.  But the most important of all is a leader and a few good men in each parish to assure that the overall promotion is adequate and to mobilize the other men of the parish to attend.......one on one selling of the Conference and to organize the men to go as a group in the parish van, a van pool, or hiring a bus.  

          That would be great fellowship and would solidify the parish as the men get to know each other better, especially if the pastor accompanies them.  If the distance is great, there would be a pilgrimage flavor, especially if there's prayer and discussion of the day's events.  Pastors, already overworked, can't do it all, especially the grunt work of promotion.  They urgently need the help of the laity.  Even the women could encourage their men to attend. Promotional materials and detailed information may be obtained from paulrsebastian@yahoo.com or from http://diosteubmen.blogspot.com. 

         Thus the Steering Committee asks for at least one or two representatives from each parish.   The pastor could appoint a representative or a leader could inform his pastor and volunteer.  In any event each parish representative is asked to make his availability and contact information known to the Chair of the Steering Committee, Chuck Schneider - Chair Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal” 740-338-9091, 740-782-1877, or cjschn1964@yahoo.com.  The parish representative may collect the registration forms and send them to Roger Huck; Men’s Day of Renewal; P.O. Box 54; Beverly, OH 45715.    This may also be done individually. Make the $25 check payable to the Diocese of Steubenville and write “Men's Day of Renewal” on the memo line.  One may register at the door, but advance registration makes planning much easier.  Mr. Huck also is accepting ads for the Conference Program booklet.