Institute for Priests and Presbyterates

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World Priest Workshop

Caring for souls in a different culture,
including your own

The responsibilities of the priest are varied and demanding, especially in managing the temporal needs of the parish.  But the first responsibility of the priest is the care of souls, and in order to effectively care for the souls of others he must be attentive to caring for his own.  This session seeks to offer a bit of counsel on spiritual self-care for the newly arrived international priest.

  

 

Introduction to U.S. Speech Patterns

Mr. Kevin Spence, Director of the Mader Learning Center, works with participants to detect derivations between one's current speech patterns and those of target speakers, providing techniques for practice on the sound, word and sentence levels, then on the stress, rhythm and intonation levels, and finally focusing on phrasing, volume and speed. Targeted speech patterns are then applied to the important speech tasks for priests: proclamation, homiletics and conversational speech.

 

Cultural Patterns

In this session, participants will look at five different cultural dimensions which influence the beliefs, attitudes and behavior of members of any given culture, for example, the view of self, the view of time, the view of control, the view of certainty, and the view of authority. Participants will be able to identify where their home culture lands on the spectrum of these dimensions, and then be able to compare their cultural patterns with those of the prevailing U.S. American culture. The presentation gives specific examples of how these cultural patterns are expressed in U.S. American culture. 

  

 

Cross-Cultural Competence and Communication

In this session, the participants first learn about interpersonal interaction norms in the prevailing US American culture. They then learn about communication strategies used in US American organizational life. Finally, they look at skills, attitudes, and knowledge needed to navigate cross-cultural encounters, and how to successfully build bridges across the cultural gaps they may face while serving in the United States. 

  

 

Pastoral Practices in the United States

Fr. Crispine Adongo (African origin) facilitates discussions on common differences experienced in pastoral practices between the participants' home countries and cultures with those found in the United States. Topics include: ministering as a member of a pastoral team, ministry with youth and young adults, marriage preparation and marriage nullity cases, and working within a U.S. presbyterate, among others.

  

 

Working With Permanent Deacons

Deacon Kerry Blandford will share his views of what each – priest or deacon - expects (or needs) from the other. What makes for a good working relationship? What variables should be taken into account?  What can the international priest expect from a permanent deacon?

  
 

Schedule

Monday
  
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Registration and Check-in
4:30 p.m. Evening Prayer, Opening Reception and Orientation
5:15 p.m. Dinner
Tour (optional)
 
 
Tuesday
  
7:00 - 8:45 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Program Session - Intro to U.S. Speech Patterns
11:30 a.m. Mass
Noon Lunch
2:30 - 4:30 p.m. Program Session - U.S. Speech Patterns continued
5:00 p.m. Evening Prayer with Seminarians (optional)
5:15 p.m. Dinner
7:00 p.m. Gathering with International Seminarians
   
Wednesday
  
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Program Session – Cultural Patterns
11:30 a.m. Mass
Noon Lunch
2:30 - 4:30 p.m. Program Session - Caring for Souls in a Different Culture, including your own
5:00 p.m. Vespers with the Monastic Community
5:15 p.m. Dinner
   
Thursday
  
7:00 - 8:45 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Program Session - Pastoral Ministry in the U.S.
11:30 a.m. Mass
Noon Lunch
1:30 - 2:15 p.m. Program Session - Pastoral Ministry in the U.S. (continued)
2:45 - 4:30 p.m. Program Session – Working with Permanent Deacons
5:00 p.m. Evening Prayer with Seminarians (optional)
5:20 - 6:00 p.m. Dinner
   
Friday
  
7:30 a.m. Mass with Monastic Community
8:00 - 8:45 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Program Session - Cross-Cultural Competence and Communication
11:15 a.m. Program Evaluation
Noon Lunch (optional)
Departure