Here are a few comments from our facilitators for your consideration.
"I enjoy being a facilitator for ARISE. The lessons are presented in a format which makes discussions flow freely and easily.
All I need to do is open & close with prayer and present the questions. An engaged, enthusiastic group makes the facilitators job easy."
Charlie Anderson, facilitator Sunday night mens group
"Being an ARISE Facilitator is a rewarding experience. You get to meet with a segment of your parish community and learn about where they are on their faith journey. Everyone is respectful and supportive of one another as we all attempt to grow in faith while we develop a deeper sense of community." Bill Mansfield, facilitator mixed group Sunday night Parish House
"As a facilitator I try to be a member of the faith sharing group. I share like everyone else. The only difference is that I get the meeting started and during the meeting I move the group along as necessary. The only other thing I've done is encourage others to add anything to the group that may make it easier or better. An example is, one of our group e-mails each of us a copy of the scripture reading so we'll all have the same wording. My experience is that it saves time and is easier for all of the group to follow since the wording is the same. When following from different bibles it can be difficult. I've been part of faith sharing before. I enjoy it and find it rewarding spiritually. I hope that it's the same for others in our group. Lastly, I am able to know more people in the parish.
Steve Leary, facilitator, Monday night mixed group
"All of our members feel very blessed to be gathering together each week to share our faith journey with one another and to encounter Christ in the Gospels. I prayed that God would form our ARISE community and as always I sat back and watched the Lord do His wonderful work. We all feel so comfortable with one another and feel so free to share honestly and openly from our hearts. God is forming us into a circle of love and support for one another. We are committed to praying for one another during the week. The Presence of Jesus and Mary being with us is a healing gift. One woman said, "I feel such peace here when I am with this group." Praise God for the abundance of His graces. Our loving Mother is always drawing us closer to her Son and to one another."
Fran Armstrong, facilitator Friday morning group.
"We first starting meeting at the Parish House. Challenged by space and competing groups we were invited to the home of a member. What a difference it made and how generous our hostess. I never thought that I would be singing hymns in a small prayer group, but it happened. Funny thing though, the singing is welcome and brings a deeper sense of peace to the meeting. Perhaps the old saying, "they that sing, pray twice" is true. Our group is mixed with four men and four women. We stay on the text but do not discuss the particulars of the instruction on historical setting of the Gospel. We just don't have the time in the 90 minutes we have for the meeting. There are two of us in the group who were trained as facilitators so if more parishioners want to join ARISE I am confident we will be able to accommodate them."
Bill Wise, facilitator Wednesday night group
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Dear ARISE Committee Members:
Your work in bringing ARISE to the parishoners of Saint Paul supports the instruction of our Holy Father given in his homily at Yankee Stadium on April 20th.
Benedict XVI informed us "the power of the word of God, authoritatively proclaimed by the Apostles and received in faith, to create a unity which transcends the divisions arising from human limitations and weakness. Here we are reminded of a fundamental truth: that the Church's unity has no other basis than the Word of God, made flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord. All external signs of identity, all structures, associations and programmes, valuable or even essential as they may be, ultimately exist only to support and foster the deeper unity which, in Christ, is God's indefectible gift to His Church. .... The Church's unity is 'apostolic'. It is a visible unity, grounded in the Apostles, ... and it is born of what the Scriptures call 'the obedience of faith."
The ARISE program is Christ centered, and thus focused on the Word of God proclaimed in the Gospel. We are His instruments to bring this unifying and faith filled program to our fellow parishoners.
It is a blessing to work with you.
Bill Wise
Your work in bringing ARISE to the parishoners of Saint Paul supports the instruction of our Holy Father given in his homily at Yankee Stadium on April 20th.
Benedict XVI informed us "the power of the word of God, authoritatively proclaimed by the Apostles and received in faith, to create a unity which transcends the divisions arising from human limitations and weakness. Here we are reminded of a fundamental truth: that the Church's unity has no other basis than the Word of God, made flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord. All external signs of identity, all structures, associations and programmes, valuable or even essential as they may be, ultimately exist only to support and foster the deeper unity which, in Christ, is God's indefectible gift to His Church. .... The Church's unity is 'apostolic'. It is a visible unity, grounded in the Apostles, ... and it is born of what the Scriptures call 'the obedience of faith."
The ARISE program is Christ centered, and thus focused on the Word of God proclaimed in the Gospel. We are His instruments to bring this unifying and faith filled program to our fellow parishoners.
It is a blessing to work with you.
Bill Wise
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Dear Friends in Christ,
We were surely blest to have participated in the first committee meeting for Arise in Christ. It was very up-lifting. Our risen Lord was certainly there in our midst. May we continue to pray that all hearts and minds will be open to the Will of God. May each one of us take advantage of the Word of God every day, even if it is for only 15 minutes.
May we reflect each day upon the workings of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives recognizing His guidance, His protection, His teaching, His Divine Providence, His Love. May we see Christ in others and may others see Christ in us. And may we always give Him thanks and praise.
God Bless.
Lynn
We were surely blest to have participated in the first committee meeting for Arise in Christ. It was very up-lifting. Our risen Lord was certainly there in our midst. May we continue to pray that all hearts and minds will be open to the Will of God. May each one of us take advantage of the Word of God every day, even if it is for only 15 minutes.
May we reflect each day upon the workings of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives recognizing His guidance, His protection, His teaching, His Divine Providence, His Love. May we see Christ in others and may others see Christ in us. And may we always give Him thanks and praise.
God Bless.
Lynn
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Many thanks to all for participating in the ARISE Together in Christ Parish Team meeting last evening. I am humbled to collaborate w/ you on this very exciting opportunity for spiritual renewal for our parish & for each of us as individuals. I look forward to learning more about the RENEW experience @ St. Paul's & to praying with you for the success of this spiritual renewal.
May this Easter Season be a season of joyful prayer & discernment for our parish.
Patricia
May this Easter Season be a season of joyful prayer & discernment for our parish.
Patricia
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Qualities Needed in Members of the Arise Parish Team
From Bill Wise:
We came together in prayer tonight as members of the St. Paul "Arise Together in Christ" team. The Holy Spirit guided us in our deliberations and sharing Christ with others. You can't ask for a better Chair of any meeting! This is a blog communication to demonstrate the facility. I hope it works. You will get a separate email from me asking for you to choose a partner to pair with as we go forward. I will leave it up to each of you to reach out and select a partner. If one is not available to you because of selection by someone else on the team please let me know. Heck, we'll recruit a partner for you in the coming weeks!
Here are the qualities needed in members of an Arise Parish Team (from the instructional materials). From what we shared tonight - we are well on our way!
1. People of faith who seek spiritual growth
2. Committed to the spiritual growth of others
3. Prepared to work to energize others for involvment
4. Able to honor calendars, and time commitments
5. People who can bring a job to completion
6. Effective communicators
7. Able to work well with others.
Finally, here is an opportunity for you to respond with a Blog message of your own. Any comments about tonight's meeting, suggestions going forward, and any questions are welcome. For questions we'll get the right person to respond, either from the Archdiocese or from the national office of ARISE.
Bernadette Ippolito
bippolito4043@aol.com
Mary Dever
Katie Benjamin
Bill Mansfield
wtgmirish@aol.com
Bill Mezzetti
billmezzetti@yahoo.com
Cheryl Smith
cgrammie@gmail.com
Donna French
dfrench250@comcast.net
Fr. Chris Palladino
fr.chris.palladino@gmail.com
James Rafferty
jfrafferty@yahoo.com
Jay Ippolito
OCTLINC@aol.com
Kevin Connelly
kcc1104@yahoo.com
Karen Smith
ksmithlane@comcast.net
Lynn Zofchak
lynnazof@yahoo.com
Mary Isley
misley79@aol.com
Patricia Mikus
patricia.mikus@gmail.com
Steve Leary
murnandsteve@verizon.net
Kati Osterman
kosterman@tlcwm.com
William Wise
williamwise@gmail.com
We came together in prayer tonight as members of the St. Paul "Arise Together in Christ" team. The Holy Spirit guided us in our deliberations and sharing Christ with others. You can't ask for a better Chair of any meeting! This is a blog communication to demonstrate the facility. I hope it works. You will get a separate email from me asking for you to choose a partner to pair with as we go forward. I will leave it up to each of you to reach out and select a partner. If one is not available to you because of selection by someone else on the team please let me know. Heck, we'll recruit a partner for you in the coming weeks!
Here are the qualities needed in members of an Arise Parish Team (from the instructional materials). From what we shared tonight - we are well on our way!
1. People of faith who seek spiritual growth
2. Committed to the spiritual growth of others
3. Prepared to work to energize others for involvment
4. Able to honor calendars, and time commitments
5. People who can bring a job to completion
6. Effective communicators
7. Able to work well with others.
Finally, here is an opportunity for you to respond with a Blog message of your own. Any comments about tonight's meeting, suggestions going forward, and any questions are welcome. For questions we'll get the right person to respond, either from the Archdiocese or from the national office of ARISE.
Bernadette Ippolito
bippolito4043@aol.com
Mary Dever
Katie Benjamin
Bill Mansfield
wtgmirish@aol.com
Bill Mezzetti
billmezzetti@yahoo.com
Cheryl Smith
cgrammie@gmail.com
Donna French
dfrench250@comcast.net
Fr. Chris Palladino
fr.chris.palladino@gmail.com
James Rafferty
jfrafferty@yahoo.com
Jay Ippolito
OCTLINC@aol.com
Kevin Connelly
kcc1104@yahoo.com
Karen Smith
ksmithlane@comcast.net
Lynn Zofchak
lynnazof@yahoo.com
Mary Isley
misley79@aol.com
Patricia Mikus
patricia.mikus@gmail.com
Steve Leary
murnandsteve@verizon.net
Kati Osterman
kosterman@tlcwm.com
William Wise
williamwise@gmail.com
Saturday, March 22, 2008
First Posting to Blog
Hello Friends in Christ:
I created this Blog for our use and the use by our fellow parishoners at Saint Paul Parish. What and how we use it will be up to us to decide. I am thinking of using it as a means of communication and comment for all. Since this is the first time venturing into the blog-sphere any suggestions will be welcome.
This link is to ARISE. You will find several informational items and the Pilot story about the Archdiocese of Boston launching the ARISE renew program.
http://www.renewintl.org/
We are meeting Wednesday at the Parish House, 7:00 p.m. Here once again is the list of our committee minus two who do not have email (Eddie and Mary).
Bill Mansfield
wtgmirish@aol.com
Bill Mezzetti
billmezzetti@yahoo.com
Donna French
dfrench250@comcast.net
Fr. James Rafferty
jfrafferty@yahoo.com
Jay Ippolito
OCTLINC@aol.com
Lynn Zofchak
lynnazof@yahoo.com
Patricia Mikus
patricia.mikus@gmail.com
William Wise
williamwise@gmail.com
Fr. Chris Palladino
fr.chris.palladino@gmail.com
I created this Blog for our use and the use by our fellow parishoners at Saint Paul Parish. What and how we use it will be up to us to decide. I am thinking of using it as a means of communication and comment for all. Since this is the first time venturing into the blog-sphere any suggestions will be welcome.
This link is to ARISE. You will find several informational items and the Pilot story about the Archdiocese of Boston launching the ARISE renew program.
http://www.renewintl.org/
We are meeting Wednesday at the Parish House, 7:00 p.m. Here once again is the list of our committee minus two who do not have email (Eddie and Mary).
Bill Mansfield
wtgmirish@aol.com
Bill Mezzetti
billmezzetti@yahoo.com
Donna French
dfrench250@comcast.net
Fr. James Rafferty
jfrafferty@yahoo.com
Jay Ippolito
OCTLINC@aol.com
Lynn Zofchak
lynnazof@yahoo.com
Patricia Mikus
patricia.mikus@gmail.com
William Wise
williamwise@gmail.com
Fr. Chris Palladino
fr.chris.palladino@gmail.com
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