Making the Most of Catechetical Conferences, Workshops, and Seminars

I attended my first catechetical conference when I was in high school. I was most excited about it because I was to attend with a girl from the parish that I wanted to ask out on a date; luckily, she said yes, and we’ve been married since 1982! Aside from that little romantic angle, I recall also being excited about the conference itself and felt very affirmed that the parish wanted me to attend. Fast forward […]

Looking Forward to the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress 2019

Mark your calendars and make plans to attend the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, which takes place this March 21–24, 2019. I recently had the joy and privilege of getting together with a team of amazingly talented co-presenters as we planned and prepared for our “extravaganza” on Saturday, March 23, from 3:00–4:30 pm (session 6-22): How to Renew, Re-energize, and Transform Your Parish NOW! We will be drawing from my book, A Church on the Move: 52 […]

A Week on the East Coast

I enjoyed a wonderful week on the east coast last week, spending Monday and Tuesday in the Diocese of Wilmington, DE, and Wednesday through Friday on the Jersey Shore with the parish catechetical leaders of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia! Thanks to all for a wonderful time and for your great energy, creativity, and dedication to the catechetical ministry! Here are some pics:

Mid-Atlantic Congress for Pastoral Leadership

As I’m updating my speaking schedule for 2012, I thought I’d share some details with you about one conference in particular that is getting a lot of people excited.  The Mid-Atlantic Congress for Pastoral Leadership in Baltimore, Maryland will take place from March 8­–10, 2012 and will host clergy, pastoral life directors, principals of Catholic schools, DREs, faith formation personnel, and many other pastoral leaders. Join the conference and participate in workshops on adult catechesis, […]

An Extraordinary Day at NCCL

Today was a most extraordinary day at the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership in Atlanta! First, the NCCL is a phenomenal opportunity to meet and mingle with some of the most innovative and successful catechetical minds (and hearts) in the United States. It is also a tight-knit group (all 600-700 of us!) so each year’s conference is like a family reunion. It is so wonderful to see and chat with peoplethat I never get to […]

From Albany to Atlanta

A great big THANK YOU to all of the good folks in Albany, NY, who participated in my workshops at the Spring Enrichment conference! We had a great time exploring ways to grow as catechists and how to make our classes more “Catholic.” After a couple of days to catch my breath, it’s off to Atlanta for the NCCL Conference where I’ll be doing a couple of presentations on catechetical leadership…always an honor to speak […]

Practice Makes Catholic Podcast via NCCL

I was privileged to be interviewed for a Catechetical Leader (NCCL) podcast about my new book, Practice Makes Catholic recently. The interview was conducted by Jonathan Sullivan, the Directof of Catechetical Ministries for the Diocese of Springfield, IL. Jonathan is one of the “rising stars” in the catechetical ministry and if you haven’t checked out his blog or his technology webinars, you need to do so! NCCL provides timely and relevant information and support for catechists […]

Viva NCCL!

I had a marvelous time at the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL) in Las Vegas this week! Not because it was in Vegas (although that was fun) but because the NCCL is like a huge family reunion! I got to see so many good friends who are DREs, Diocesan directors and staff, publishers, and catechists and made MANY new friends, including a number of folks who visit my blog regularly…how nice to meet you […]

Doing a Parent-Child Bible Presentation

While at NCCL this week, I am doing a poster presentation about how to conduct a parent-child session on introducing Catholics to the Bible. The poster indicates that you can get a pdf of the outline for the session on my blog. That said, here ’tis! Joe P. NCCL Poster Presentation

Thank You, San Diego!

Many, many thanks to all the good folks who came out in San Diego over the past couple of days to talk about catechizing junior high kids! I had a great time and I hope you did too! Thanks to Mary Jo Waggoner and Enedina Saucedo for their hospitality and for arranging for this experience to take place. Thanks especially to mis amigos Miguel Arias and Luis Ramirez for all their hard work and for […]

1 2