The Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock
PARAGOULD -- Father Mike Sinkler, pastor of St. Mary Parish, is taking the Year of Faith as an opportunity to help his parish get to know Jesus on a personal level.
"It's a teachable moment for all of us, and I want to help our parishioners get to know Jesus, not just to know about him. To know who he is and have a personal encounter with him," he said.
To celebrate and promote the new evangelization the parish has created new classes, retreats and seminars to implement the formation of faith. The program is an umbrella for religious education, RCIA, the elementary school religion classes and adult faith formation. The parish is taking advantage of every possibility to unify the parish through faith.
Director of religious education Sharon Goodson said, "Father Sinkler is a teacher. He loves to teach, and this year it is perfect for him to bring the parish to a higher state of faith. By learning and focusing on the importance of faith in all aspects of life."
The calendar of events includes a nine-session class "Is That You God?" promoting Ignatian discernment. It's focus is finding God in all things, leaders said.
"This spring in his homily for the Chrism Mass Bishop Taylor challenged the priests to strengthen their relationship with Jesus in anticipation of the upcoming Year of Faith," the pastor said. "Each year it is my privilege to do this in an eight-day silent retreat. With the Year of Faith in mind, I found this year's retreat especially grace-filled. As a pastor I want to share that relationship with parishioners; therefore, I find this year a great opportunity to provide special formats to parishioners to deepen their connection to Jesus."
Pope Benedict XVI encourages parishes to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, which was the inspiration for the "Biblical Walk Through Mass" retreat. Starting in November there will be several weekend retreats including a silent retreat called "Come to the Water." It's a three-day structured retreat at the parish where each day will draw participants deeper into the Scriptures, using the "Lectio Divina" method of praying.
Other retreats focus on The Creed, Praying with the Bible, The Vision of Vatican II for Today, The Sacraments, Faith in Our Difficult Days, Evangelization and Evangelization in the Midst of a Culture of Death. Father Dennis Meyer of St. Louis will join the parish with presentations Oct. 13-14 using the roots of the Vatican Council II as the foundation.
Goodson said, "It takes a lot of faith to get through our everyday lives, it is our mission to help our parish rediscover their faith. To find what they know they have and turn it into something they use, they live and share with others."
The parish is taking extra measures to promote the knowledge and training of the catechists in the parish with webinars, catechist training and monthly updates.
"It is our duty to teach our faith and share with others how having faith doesn't mean that things will always go as planned, having faith is realizing that even in sadness, tragedy and hard times, God is there," Father Sinkler said. "Even though we are a small parish, the Year of Faith is a grand opportunity to bring the importance of faith into the eyes of not only our parishioners, but also their families, friends and communities. We want to share our faith with others, to rediscover it and be faith-filled witnesses."
For more Year of Faith resources, visit these pages on the Diocese of Little Rock website:
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