Thursday, 01 July 2010 14:30

The annual Kansas Association of Religious Educators Catechetical Conference will be held July 23-25 at the Wichita Airport Hilton. 
Rhonda Lohkamp, director of Religious Education for the Diocese of Wichita, said not only are Kansas catechists welcome to attend, but anyone interested in Catholic education and ministry are invited.
“I’m looking forward to the presentations by the three prominent speakers who have decades of wisdom to share,” Lohkamp said. “Every time I attend a conference I learn something that helps me with my work in spreading the Gospel to youth and adults.” 

Lee Nagel
Nagel will talk Friday that “God is My Witness.” He said those attending will come to recognize the Love of God in the Creator, the Son and the Spirit and that they find their cues from God who is a constant witness to his covenant with us. On Sunday he will talk about “Go Forth and Give Witness.” At the end of every Mass, he says, we are told to ‘Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.’ In doing so we are giving witness to the person and message of Christ.
Lee Nagel served for 15 years as the director of Total Catholic Education for the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Currently he serves as the executive director of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership. He is an educator by profession, a catechist by vocation, a man of deep faith and a faith filled story teller that focuses on evangelization and transformation.
Larry Livingston
On Saturday Livingston will talk about “Whatsoever You Do: The Witness of Action” and “Connecting the Dots between Faith and Justice.” When Livingston refers to the “Whatsoever You Do,” he is asking Christ to call and send us to be his witnesses and his disciples in the healing of the world. In “Connecting the Dots between Faith and Justice,” he calls catechists to help students to learn more than just the Catholic faith. He challenges them to invite their students to embrace and live their faith in action.
Livingston was involved in professional lay ministry and Catholic education for more than 20 years. Most recently he served as director of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas where much of his efforts centered on helping people learn about the principles of Catholic social doctrine and how to apply them in their lives. Since 2005, Larry has served as the director of Church Relations for the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, a lay Catholic sponsorship ministry that serves people living in poverty in 24 countries throughout the developing world.
Frank Mercadante
Mercadante will focus Saturday on what it means as the world transitions from modern to postmodern. His topics include “From Evangelizing to Immanuelizing” and “Smart Evangelization.” In referring to his first topic, Mercadante says our evangelistic approaches need to be adapted to communicate the gospel for a new generation. In his second presentation, he mentions that “Smart Evangelization” will show Jesus’ interpersonal example of specific implications and applications that catechists can provide for the sharing of faith with their young people.
Mercadante served for 10 years as director of Youth Ministry at St. John Neumann in St. Charles, Ill., which was recognized as one of the most successful Catholic youth ministries nationwide. He has served as executive director of Cultivation Ministries since 1991. He has designed and written extensive youth ministry training and planning manuals to help equip leaders to provide formation for those they serve.

Want to go?
The registration fee is $100 before July 8, and $125 afterward. The fee includes registration and all meals. The fee for Saturday only is $70.00 before July 8, $80 afterward, and does not include the banquet. 
A form for registration and more details are in the conference pamphlet at cdowk.org. Click on Religious Education.