Background for the Continuation Committee
Christ Renews His Parish is a copyrighted parish renewal process that has existed since 1969 and been recommended by the renewal office of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. It has been used as the primary instrument of personal and parish renewal in over 1235 parishes in 36 states in the United States and in five other countries. Parishes using Christ Renews agree to use the process only within their own parish, only for their own parishioners, with the exception that observers may be accommodated.
Christ Renews is structured so that it becomes part of normal parish life without becoming another parish organization. Christ Renews supports other parish organizations and ministries and by sending renewed parishioners into these groups. The whole process is much more than just a weekend retreat.
Christ Renews has four parts:
Experience a Christ Renews weekend: take the next step in your spiritual journey
Be the next team: team formation, preparation for the next weekend, personal adult catechesis. You are invited to be a team member after the weekend, not obligated.
Minister/Host the next Christ Renews weekend: authentic experience of accepted lay ministry in the parish.
Search for the Lord's call to what is next for each person. Helps send people into ministries in the parish, community and diocese. A person does not do Christ Renews forever.
When people complete Christ Renews, they are called parishioners. Most Christ Renews participants go on to be a greater part of parish life. A few participants go on to coordinate the parish Christ Renews ministry under the authority of the pastor, thus lessening any addition to the task list of an already hard working pastor.
Christ Renews is designed for Catholic parishes. Other sacramental/liturgical churches have used Christ Renews . It is not associated with any particular school of spirituality or mode of prayer. Christ Renews is based on Word and Sacrament and utilizes much prayer, Scripture, liturgy, and fellowship. It operates in a parish under the authority of the pastor.
Handbooks are owned by the parish, are passed from team to team, thus eliminating the need to purchase more handbooks for each new team. Each team member must have a handbook to read and be a part of the adult faith formation/catechesis during team formation. Everything takes place in the parish, reducing other direct costs. Please do not write in your handbooks.
The team formation process is designed to have three organizational meetings - Evening of Discipleship, History Giving and Faith Sharing, and Discernment of Team Ministries. At the end of the three organizational team meetings, the team has reviewed their own experiences of the weekend, committed to be team, formally introduced themselves to each other and discerned in which ministry they will serve. These initial team meetings will be led by people from outside of the team.
Then, the formal team formation involves twelve meetings, each with subjects, reading assignments, and agenda. These meetings are the adult faith formation dimension and continuing relationship development parts of the process also - not just preparing for the weekend.
Frank Wardega, former national facilitator for Christ Renews His Parish, provides some thoughts for Continuation Committees to keep in mind.
The Christ Renews His Parish process
Be sensitive to operate within the sacramental and liturgical guidelines of the Catholic Church, your diocese and your parish. Especially, be sensitive to the reception of the Eucharist by people who are not permitted to receive Eucharist – do not violate the Church policies. Christ Renews is not open season for everyone to receive communion. Do what the pastor says. That is his decision.
Christ Renews is occasionally criticized because it does not include social justice, Marian spirituality, anti-abortion, meditation, church/state issues, charismatic prayer, women’s issues, the Church persecuted, etc. These are all good and important parts of the Church, but not at the center of Catholic spirituality – i.e. our relationship with Father, Son and Spirit and how we live that out in His Church – those other important issues grow out of that prime relationship. Some may try to have their own agendas or personal spirituality included in the parish Christ Renews process. We suggest that be avoided. The weekend is already overloaded.
Be sensitive to any church/diocesan limitations of ministry on married people whose marriages are not blessed in the church. We have no objection to such people making the weekend and serving on teams, but many dioceses and parishes have limited what they can do. Seek direction from your pastor ahead of time.
There are some struggles around the country – priests for individual confession are sometimes hard to get, or some priests want to have the Christ Renews people on the weekend attend the scheduled Sunday Mass in the church with the rest of the parish. Individual personal confession and small, intimate liturgy are an integral part of the weekend and worth accommodating.
Having teams continue to meet, pray and share regularly for years is not helpful if in any way it draws educated, renewed Catholics away from total parish life. Some teams choose to continue meeting. Support for continued education and opportunities for service are explored during Evening of Pentecost. Some follow up reading is recommended:
· Rediscover Catholicism, by Matthew Kelly
· The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic, by Matthew Kelly
· Forming Intentional Disciples, by Sherry Weddell
· Rebuilt and Tools for Rebuilding, by Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran.
· The Future Church, by John Allen.
The Weekend
In its design, the weekend is low key, naturally minimally or mildly emotional – emotions are a part of us – but we suggest that emotions not be stifled, not be manipulated, not be planned and not be the focus of the weekend.
The retreat weekend is put on by amateurs (avoid using professional repeat team members). The team’s main resources are the continuation committee, which has more experience, the parish clergy and staff, and the handbook. Amateurs do not have the permission to change the process.
Christ Renews is not intended to keep you awake all night so that you will say yes to anything the next day.
Many parishes have struggled with and damaged their Christ Renews processes by overemphasis on the food, the music, the party, the tragic witness stories and the booze. Simple meals, only little socials, accurate and focused witnesses, and no alcohol keep the focus on what the Lord is doing in the hearts and minds of His people.
Nothing on the weekend is secret. A participant (no such thing as a candidate on a Christ Renews weekend) can tell friends and families everything that happened on the weekend. The only confidential parts are details of someone's life that were shared in witnessing or in one-on-one sharing. Secrecy can be detrimental when inviting people to the next weekend.
Team members should focus on the participants, not on ministering to other team members. The weekend is not about or for the witness or the other team members – it is about and for the participants. Frequent bad practice: after a witness finishes, the table leaders all jump up and affirm the witness. Better to focus on the participants’ discussion at the table.
The table leader is one of the most important ministries. The instructions as found in Part 4, page 10-11, are some of the most Spirit-inspired directions in the handbook. Some people have had their renewal experiences ruined by team members who somehow assumed that they were spiritual counselors/psychologists with the right to speak direction into any person's life. Even if you are a clinical psychologist, a renewal weekend is generally not the place to employ your counseling skills. One of the first rules of ministry is DO NO HARM!
Usually, only witness room team members are regularly allowed in the witness room during Christ Renews sessions. Those helping in the kitchen, praying in the chapel, and the team members whose work is outside the witness room do not have a regular, full time seat in the witness room during Christ Renews sessions. The purpose of that prohibition is to protect and maintain confidentiality of personal details, to minimize distractions and to avoid Christ Renews becoming a spectator sport or religious theater.
Witnessing
Witnesses who speak for a lot longer than listed in the handbook do a disservice to the other people on the weekend and limit other Words of the Lord, which God might want shared. Lay director is authorized and directed to end any witness which is excessively long.
Witnessing is not a “can you top this” hard story experience. Witnesses are not the full story of a person's whole life and every detail, but they are focused on specific parts of that life connecting to a theme. Witnesses do not have to be professional speakers. Talks can be given by most people – they are not classes, nor teachings.
Please note that there is logical flow from witness to witness – each witness fits into a bigger plan of God, they are part of a team effort, organized by God to best serve the coming participants. We believe that God knows who will come and will arrange the team to best serve those who are coming.
Liturgical Celebrations
A number of factors have sometimes sparked discussion on liturgical services that occur on a Christ Renews His Parish Weekend. Such factors include but are not limited to:
Directives in the New Roman Missal
Shortage of priests
Limitations on how many Masses a priest may say daily
Facilities issues
Christ Renews supports and complies with a Roman Catholic understanding of proper liturgical practices, sacramental guidelines, fitting into parish life, and good ministry.
Different dioceses and parishes offer their own specific directives. Christ Renews is an obedient part of the Catholic Church. That which was acceptable years ago sometimes is not acceptable today.
Small, intimate liturgical services are desired on a Christ Renews weekend, as on any retreat. Christ Renews Liturgies on the weekend are not designed to be attended by past Christ Renews attendees or to be a part of general open parish Mass.
If the parish uses both scheduled liturgies on the Christ Renews weekend, the Eucharist Witness could be used as in the normal schedule, and the Saturday night liturgy could be a votive Mass of "The Most Holy Eucharist". The readings could be as follows:
First Reading Gen 14:18-20
Responsorial Psalm Ps 110:1,2,3,4
Second Reading 1 Cor 11:23-26
Gospel Lk 9:11b-17
Some parishes celebrate the Sunday Vigil mass on Saturday evening so the Sunday obligation is met. On Sunday, they celebrate a Votive Mass of the Holy Eucharist with the readings taken from Holy Thursday. Thus it is NOT a celebration of the Liturgy of Holy Thursday.
Occasionally, local conditions permit only one liturgy to be celebrated on a Christ Renews weekend. While the two liturgies are preferred, Christ Renews weekends today sometimes include only one liturgy. If only one Mass is scheduled, the readings of the appropriate Sunday are most appropriate for use at that liturgy whether it is a vigil Mass or a Sunday Mass.
Parishes that schedule only one Mass on the Christ Renews weekend often utilize a formal prayer service in the weekend Chapel or even Benediction in lieu of a second liturgy. As permitted and as appropriate for the service, clergy (both priest and deacon), and vowed religious, and lay people have led such services around the country, as permitted by diocesan practices.
There is no substitute for the Individual Reconciliation of a Penitent, scheduled for late Saturday evening. That time was picked because it fit into the flow of the weekend retreat and it was a time that many priests would be available for the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Christ Renews supports and recommends the sacramental policies and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
As always, the directives of the Catholic Church, the local ordinary, and the pastor are the last words on this issue.
After the Weekend
The weekend leads naturally to the Evening of Discipleship. The Evening of Discipleship leads naturally into the History Giving and Faith Sharing. History Giving and Faith Sharing leads naturally into Discernment of Team Ministries. Discernment of Team Ministries leads naturally into the series of Team Formation meetings.
NOTE: History Giving was designed to be a person’s introduction to the other team members, not a whole life narration. Sharing of further details is built into the following team formation meetings. Taking five to nine sessions to complete history giving unnecessarily extends the length of team formation and may contribute to the reluctance of future participants to serve as team members – Christ Renews gets a reputation of having too many team meetings!
An integral part of team formation is the adult faith formation contained in the team meetings. The adult faith formation is based on assigned readings, and the theme reflections by the spiritual director and the lay director. That is the basis for the requirement that every team member have a handbook.
Almost every parish goes through a bump in the road when the weekend participants change from those who are always involved in parish life to those who are minimally or not involved in parish life. Some parishes quit Christ Renews at this time. There is need is to expand your information and invitation processes and practices to reach those who do not come to Mass on Sunday.
An occasional problem is the perception of Christ Renews His Parish as a clique. It happens gradually with good intentions. It may start with T-shirts and continue with special greeting. It can include special activities open only to those who have made the retreat, special pins or Bible covers. All this together can build an impression that there are regular parishioners and first class Christ Renews parishioners in the parish.
Another weakness of Christ Renews processes around the country is the failure to fully implement the Evening of Pentecost. Thus, renewed parishioners are not fed into the life of the parish. Christ Renews becomes a weekend retreat – no more.
Please remember that when someone completes Christ Renews, their only titles are disciple and parishioner. We have observed that most people who complete the Christ Renews process move on to ministry and spiritual growth in the parish and diocese and do not become immersed in Christ Renews.
Additional notes from Frank Wardega, former national facilitator for Christ Renews His Parish:
Retreat weekend schedule. The time schedule for the normal parish weekend has remained basically the same since 1969. It has stood the test of time.
Co-ed weekends. Co-ed weekends is bad ministry. Coed complicates overnight stay. Over time, Christ Renews becomes predominantly female, kills healthy male participation, complicates sharing of personal life. Also violates the copyright. If you choose to host coed weekend, change the name.
Location. Great value in hosting the weekend at the parish. Don’t have to go away to a shrine or retreat house to experience the best of church. Also, weekend Mass attendees see something special going on – witness value.
Copyright, changes. Many parishes make minor adjustments based on their history, ethos, worship practices, and facilities. Such changes can be authorized by the pastor and/or continuation committee. Individual teams do not have the authority to change the process. Major adjustments as listed in the handbook in part five violate the copyright and may be made only after changing the name of the process.
Stay overnight. The normal practice is to stay overnight – builds relationship among the team and participants, temporarily frees the participants from some distractions, and contributes to making the church into even more holy ground. Occasionally, there may be a pastoral personal need to make an exception. Do not make the exception into the new policy. Do not advertise such exceptions.
How often. How often Christ Renews weekends should be scheduled is a function of the time frame needed for team formation and the amount of people in the parish. Most parishes schedule two men weekends and two women weekends a year. Smaller parishes schedule one of each per year.
Repeat weekends. Allowing a participant to make a second weekend is a parish ministerial decision. There seems ample reason to allow such a second weekend in some special cases, i.e. made the first weekend in a different parish, several years have passed since the first weekend, significant life events have occurred since the first weekend. Avoid welcoming those who are eager for repeated weekend “high” experiences.
Repeat team members/small teams. It is important to note that the Christ Renews Continuation Committee decides the minimum and maximum size of Christ Renews teams. The decision to augment a Christ Renews team belongs to the Pastor/ Christ Renews Continuation Committee, not to the current Christ Renews team. Long term use of repeat team members is one of the “killers” of Christ Renews in a parish.
What to do when the decision is made to augment the size of a Christ Renews team:
First: Suggest that the participants from the previous weekend be given priority to discern and serve as lay director and witnesses and table leaders. These new team members are new to the process and know other new people who may not yet have been invited to attend a Christ Renews weekend. They are the primary leaders of the current team.
Second: Christ Renews participants from past renewal teams who were unable to serve on a team in the past, may and should be invited to serve on the current team without limiting their ministries. It helps if a list of such eligible people is maintained by the Christ Renews Continuation Committee. Such additions to the current team should participate in Evening of Discipleship if possible, and especially History Giving and Faith Sharing, and Discernment of Team Ministries with the rest of the team.
Third: Past team members, if absolutely needed, may be invited to serve in service and organizational ministries. It is suggested that such additions serve and attend team meetings as normal team members. However, that does not authorize such additions (repeat team members) in service ministries general access to the witness room during witnessing or presentations. Witnessing is not a spectator sport. Automatically using old team members brings people onto the team who have already invited all whom they know.
Shirts, pins, coffee mugs, etc. Be sensitive not to foster the establishment of an elite sub-group with the parish. Suggest not hosting special spiritual activities only for those who have made Christ Renews. Please work so that Christ Renews does not become divisive in the parish.
Alcohol use. Be sensitive on the use of alcohol (beer, wine, etc.) during the Christ Renews weekend. Do not let your Christ Renews process become known as a heavy drinking time in the parish.
Food, menu. Suggest simple, nutritious, healthy, and non-gaseous food. There is value in soliciting donations from parishioners. Assure that menu does not become a “can you top this” experience from weekend to weekend. Most parishes have different menus for men and for ladies.
Music. Suggest that the music of the parish be used and not develop a special “renewal music.” Respect copyrights.
Invitations. Essentially, everyone invites others. Participants must be out of high school. People from other faith expressions are welcome if they live within parish boundaries but there is no blanket permission to violate sacramental guidelines. Catholics outside the parish should not be invited. They could come as observers in order to report back to their own parish but they do not serve on your parish team.
Invitations must be driven by one-on-one interaction. The effort should be strategic, and it should be a continuous and sustained effort. Invitations is bigger than the invitation coordinator and the current team. Everyone must support invitations.
How many participants and how many team members. Experience suggested that the number of participants be based on how many committed team members there are. Normal parish table on a weekend contains up to six participants and two team members (witness and table leader). Goal is not to work with large numbers but with a size group that fosters building relationships and employing good ministerial practices.
Prayer Support. Notice the difference between general prayer support and personal prayer support. Make special appeals to children and senior citizens for prayer support. Ask your bishop to pray and send a HELP letter.
Last comment: May your Christ Renews process become more known for what God is doing with His people than it is for the food, the music and the “party.”