          |
|
 |
||||
|
|
NEWS & VIEWS
I have now completed a full year’s cycle of our programs and I look forward to supporting my ten teammates in being attentive to the signs of the times as we continue to move ahead. Since our last issue, many things continue to happen at the NPLC. CHURCH Magazine won an award for excellence from the Catholic Press Association. The center section takes on a new look with key pastoral issues in mind. Pastoral Services has several regional conferences with national speakers already scheduled with more in the works. Our next Beginning a New Pastorate Conference is all set for next June. And we are in dialogue with parish life coordinators to see how we might better meet their needs. The Roundtable had a very successful Social Action Summer Institute with over 200 in attendance. New members were welcomed to their board at the last meeting. The Catholic Common Ground Initiative recently held its annual Philip Murnion Lecture at Catholic University with over 225 participants. The Initiative committee also welcomed five new committee members including Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Bishop Patrick McGrath of San Jose and Bishop Michael Warfel of Billings-Great Falls along with Monsignor John Strynkowski of Brooklyn and Sheila McLaughlin of the Bernardin Center in Chicago. The Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development continues to grow in membership. Final plans are in place for the upcoming certification program and regional conferences. Both the CPPCD board and I are pleased with this collaborative relationship we have since January 2008. More information on all of our project areas can now be found our NEW Web site, www.nplc.org. The first phase of our new Web site was launched at the June NPLC Board of Directors meeting. See video streaming of Brian Williams at the annual Murnion Lecture and hear Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas’s inspiring words accepting the 2008 Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Award. The Web site can now be used for online registration, ordering publications, and making donations. National directors of Catholic organizations are encouraged to send us information for the national calendar which is on our home page. And you have a chance to sign up for electronic communications on a variety of programs. With all of the above going on, the NPLC is making plans to celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary on March 26, 2009. A colloquium on St. Paul Speaks to Pastoral Leaders Today is planned, featuring Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez and Father Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S. A Mass of Thanksgiving is planned with Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore preaching the homily. Let’s continue to pray during this Year of Saint Paul that we may be attentive to the signs of the times and have his courage to continue to be messengers of hope. Reverend John E. Hurley, CSP |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This September marks one year since I arrived at Bleecker and Elizabeth. I am doubly blessed with a great board of directors and teammates who ensure that the legacy of Promoting Excellence in Pastoral Leadership continues beyond our upcoming twenty-fifth celebration.
