Christian musician Matt Maher performs at the archdiocese's annual One Conference in 2012. The conference took a break in 2016 but is back again in full force this year. (BCC file photo)
VANCOUVER—A massive Catholic conference is coming back to the Lower Mainland after a one-year hiatus.
Organizers say the annual ONE Conference, which took a break 2017, is now back in business.
“We’re back on and we’re excited about this one unifying event. That’s why we called it ONE, to have one huge conference for the diocese,” said the chair of planning committee Michele Smillie.
The ONE Conference, held annually from 2012-2016, regularly brought in high-level keynote speakers and 1,000 participants from across the Archdiocese of Vancouver. But after the fifth consecutive event, Smillie said the organizing team took a break to regroup.
“We wanted to frame the conference more about our mission statement,” which is: “to help people have a closer encounter with Jesus.”
The team also wanted to increase their emphasis on Archbishop J. Michael Miller’s Priorities and Goals and re-evaluate the venue and the cost of putting the conference together.
Now, Smillie said, they’re ready and excited for ONE Conference 2018.
“What we’re really trying to do is cultivate and inspire the leadership and potential leaders in the parishes and make our parishes more evangelizing. That’s our goal.”
The team plans to do that with Mass with Archbishop Miller, talks from internationally acclaimed speakers Josephine Lombardi and Father James Mallon, and breakout sessions with experts on parenting, prayer, and leadership skills.
“How do we give people the tools to be evangelizers? Part of doing that, we feel, is helping them be better Catholics themselves, more firm in their faith, and more able to share their faith. That’s done in so many ways.”
Organizers have changed the venue from the Vancouver Convention Centre in the city’s expensive downtown core to the Chandos Pattison Auditorium in Surrey. Lunch will be provided and there will be exhibits showcasing the work of 52 non-profit organizations from Chalice to Madonna House.
Smillie is hopeful the ONE Conference will build on the success of ongoing evangelization efforts in the archdiocese, such as Alpha and Discovery.
“More than ever, that I remember, we’re talking about what faith is and what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus and how that transforms individuals,” she said.
Those who attend ONE are “all parishioners and leaders and potential leaders, so if we can inspire them to go forward, then the sky’s the limit as to where we can go.”