St. Meinrad Institute for Priests and Presbyterates
The Associate Pastor Workshop
Designed for the recently ordained priest, the Associate Pastor Workshop offers a chance to reflect on the first months of priestly life and ministry. Participants engage in continuing formation with the goal of beginning to integrate priestly formation and spirituality into their sacramental configuration to Christ the High Priest.
The sessions offer opportunities for formation, reflection, and individual and communal prayer in the beautiful setting of Saint Meinrad Archabbey and its Seminary and School of Theology.
The Newly Appointed Pastor
This four-day workshop addresses the duties of pastors: teaching, sanctifying and governing. Effective pastoring requires skills in leading and managing, planning and communicating, organizing and stewarding.
Understanding and implementing the practices necessary for working well with fellow clergy, staff and volunteers, both within his own parish and larger circles of the Church, are key to pastoring successfully.
The World Priest Workshop
The World Priest workshop assists international priests in managing a successful transition into effective ministry in the United States.
Presentations address the cultural orientation needs of international mission priests as outlined in Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the United States, 3rd edition (USCCB, 2014) and Bridging the Gap: International Priests Ministering in the United States (Our Sunday Visitor, 2014).
International Priest Workshops
CHALLENGES FOR INTERNATIONAL PRIESTS
International priests serving in the United States bring many gifts and talents to their ministry, but also face distinct challenges. Among the most pervasive challenges are their parishioners' ability to understand their accents,and understanding the complexities inherent in intercultural communication and ministry.
ACCENT & CULTURE WORKSHOP
This workshop aims to give priests the skills needed to:
- produce spoken English in a way that is easy for Americans to follow
- proclaim the Gospel and other liturgical texts in a listener-friendly manner for North American audiences
- learn more about their cultural values and assumptions, and those of their parishioners, and
- develop strategies for effective interpersonal communication in the United States.
INTENSIVE ACCENT ONLY WORKSHOP
This workshop aims to give priests the skills needed to:
- produce spoken English in a way that is easy for Americans to follow
- proclaim the Gospel and other liturgical texts in a listener-friendly manner for North American audiences.
ACCENT ASSESSMENTS
Individual workshop participants have the option of receiving a personalized accent assessment to help them identify the particular sound environments in which they need the most practice. Workshop participants provide a recorded speaking sample for our accent trainer to assess and receive a personalized report identifying those sounds upon which the speaker is consistently erring.
Personalized accent assessment reports correspond directly to the Speaking Pastoral English in America Course (S.P.E.A.C.) workbook, guiding the speaker to the specific pages where he should focus his practice time. The speaker will not have to wonder whether he has mastered a particular sound environment. The personalized assessment tangibly shows his pronunciation results.
ENCORE PRIESTS
A workshop designed for priests in their 60s or approaching retirement, Encore Priests prepares priests for this transition. Of course, priests never fully retire. By the nature of the sacrament of Holy Orders, priests always have some form of priestly ministry. But how can a mature priest transition into a retirement that is meaningful and vital?
If you're a priest nearing retirement age, this workshop is designed to help you:
- plan for the transition into retirement
- make your retirement meaningful and purposeful
- discover your strengths and your likely challenges, and how to best engage both
- discover the 15 spiritual growth factors that can transform retirement into an energizing time of personal and spiritual development
- learn the steps to make the most of your retirement
At the workshop, each participant will review his personalized 23-page report to help him create a personal and successful transition into retirement.
Mentor Training
The Institute for Priests and Presbyterates' Mentor Training Program trains seasoned pastors who have been chosen by their diocese to help recently ordained priests, newly appointed pastors and newly arrived international priests transition successfully into their new ministry assignments.
A well-trained mentor introduces the mentee to his new role and helps him avoid unnecessary obstacles and pitfalls. Training provides the mentor with advanced communication techniques and listening skills to help his "mentee" develop his "best self" for ministry. The fraternal bond that develops between the members of a mentoring relationship helps to build more unified presbyterates.
More details on these programs are available by contacting Dan Krodel at dkrodel@archindy.org or 317-236-1562.