The world “is a great field waiting to be cultivated,” Archbishop J. Michael Miller told more than 400 Catholic ministry leaders at this year’s Upper Room Conference hosted by Proclaim.
In his homily, Archbishop Miller said our world desperately needs “the powerful truth, mercy and love of Jesus Christ,” which God has entrusted us to bring to people.
“If we do not give witness, if we do not proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we – our parishioners, parishes, and local Church – will be sterile,” he said. “They’d be like dead people who think they are alive; like dried up trees that produce no fruit; like empty wells that offer no water; like soil that produces no harvest!”
Baptism is the sacrament that “consecrates each of the faithful, and not just a select few, to share in the prophetic ministry of speaking and bearing witness to the truth of Jesus Christ and his Gospel,” Archbishop Miller said.
At baptism, we receive “the Great Commission from Jesus” to make disciples of the nations, said the Archbishop. “This is what Proclaim is doing in our local Church. It is lighting in us that fire of the first Pentecost when the doors of the Upper Room were thrust wide open to the world by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”
The event featured two keynote speakers.
Pete Burak, Vice President of Renewal Ministries, gave a talk on spirit-filled leadership, which emphasized the importance of silence and solitude in a good spiritual life.
Proclaim Director Eric Chow shared the history of Proclaim ministries since its inception in 2019 and encouraged attendees to transform their homes, parishes, and communities into outposts where missionaries are formed and sent forth.
This year’s conference focused on connecting participants with other local ministry leaders, and each nametag was colour-coded for one of the archdiocese’s nine deaneries to make it easier for participants to connect with others in their local area.
Deanery Happy Hour becomes hub
for networking ministry leaders
By Arleen D Souza
The Deanery Happy Hour at Upper Room wasn’t just a new event on the 2023 calendar; it quickly became the social hotspot of the year for ministry leaders across the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Representatives of the Archdiocese’s nine deaneries gathered in various halls, with mocktails and scrumptious hors d’oeuvres setting the tone for a relaxed evening of conversation and socializing. The nine deaneries represented were Vancouver West, Vancouver East, Vancouver Centre, New Westminster, Richmond, the Tri-Cities and Maple Ridge, Surrey, Fraser Valley East, and the North Shore.
Guided by their hosts, the leaders tossed around ideas, hopes, and dreams for their parishes. The conversation groups fell into five categories: Parish Leadership Teams, RCIA, Adult Faith Formation/ Proclaim, PREP/ LWC, and Youth and Young Adult ministry.”
True to tradition, clinking glasses, the happy hour attendees mingled with each other, engaging in intentional conversations. Through her interactions, Sister Marie Fe, a new Salesian sister at Our Lady of Good Counsel parish from the Surrey deanery, was inspired to lead the liturgy of the Word at her parish as she recognized her call to serve children.
Andrew Heakes, a parishioner at St. Paul’s in Vancouver, said chatting with participants from the Vancouver East deanery had encouraged him to start an Alpha group at his church. Meanwhile, newlyweds Vanessa and Taylor Dyck, in search of resources to strengthen their new marriage, now want to start a marriage support group at St. Ann’s in Abbotsford as part of the Fraser Valley deanery.
An unlikely duo coming from separate parishes in the Tri-cities deanery, Jonathan Kerssens and Erwin Goingo found they had much in common, particularly a passion for music in ministry. The happy hour served as the perfect backdrop for them to swap contact information, and they’re now eager to team up for some cross-parish musical projects.
Teaya Cabael, a parishioner of St. Patrick’s in Vancouver in the Vancouver Centre deanery, said the happy hour “provided intentional time to connect with other ministers, something a quick lunch break doesn’t allow.” Alexander Jaquet from the same parish added, “People are hungry to meet people.”
Finally, Sister Minerva Boado from Holy Trinity in North Vancouver and Leonor Pacheco from Our Lady of Fatima in Vancouver were thankful they had the opportunity to exchange strategies about their religious education programs, motivating both to implement new approaches to their ministry work.
While it wasn’t your typical happy hour, the event did what happy hours are best at: bringing people together, sparking meaningful conversations, and, in this case, sending forth leaders eager to bring renewed approaches to their ministries.
Upper Room photo gallery
Photos by Nicholas Elbers
