Archdiocesan Educators ‘Leading the New Evangelisation’
The Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn recently hosted the new ACU La Salle Academy Gradiuate Certificate – Leading the New Evangelisation.
The course centers on the expression of the Catholic Church’s deepest identity and mission – the ‘New Evangelisation’.
With over 65 participants from the Archdiocese as well as seven other Dioceses around Australia, the teachers and leaders explored the nature and importance of the Catholic Church’s teaching on evangelisation, explored how they best create dynamic centres of the New Evangelisation in Catholic schools and ecclesial youth ministries, and experienced a faith formation retreat called ‘Porta Fidei’.
The first unit called ‘Faith Formation and the New Evangelisation,’ conducted in an intensive formation experience had a profound impact on all who attended. Some key reflections by participants at the course include:
“This could be a ‘game changer’ for the development of leadership.”
“LNE will have a pivotal role as there isn’t anything else like it.”
“If every teacher did this course we would inspire people back to the Catholic church.”
“This is a vital course in ensuring that our schools become a place where the message of the Gospel pervades all areas of the curriculum and school life…”
“It was genuine. It was deep and it had a lot of meaning. It was a safe space.”
“I hadn’t been to reconciliation for 30 years. It was confronting but I walked away renewed.”
“I see a bright future and an excellent opportunity for our teachers to learn and grow.”
“As the unit touched on both our hearts and heads and gave us new insights into how to use our hands, I feel my faith grew holistically.”
The Leading the New Evangelisation course will prove to be instrumental in supporting and forming our leaders and educators across the Archdiocese as we seek to form our young people.
The next unit for these students will be a unit on ‘Creating Centers of the New Evangelisation: Catholic Schools and Ecclesial Youth Ministries’ to be implemented in early 2018.