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Catholic educators gather in Duluth for inspiration |
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By Kyle Eller - For The Catholic Spirit
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Thursday, 26 August 2010 |
ValLimar Jansen and Tom Kendzia’s unusual high-energy, two-person keynote address kicked off the Aug. 23-24 2010 Minnesota Catholic Education Association Convention at the DECC Auditorium in Duluth.
The mixture of song and storytelling, with full audience participation
that morning, had convention participants still talking about it into
the afternoon.
MCEA executive director Peter Noll, Duluth Bishop Paul Sirba and College
of St. Scholastica President Larry Goodwin all delivered welcoming
remarks.
“Our hope is that this is a time to make new friends as you interact
with one another and celebrate the statewide Catholic community that we
have here,” Noll said.
After the crowd was warmed up, Kendzia, a liturgical composer and
national speaker, introduced the storytelling, saying it was the way
Jesus taught. “Stories pull us in,” he said, noting that they create
“fertile soil” for the lessons being taught.
Jansen, with a big, Gospel-tinged voice, and Kendzia on the piano, began
a presentation that brought the audience to its feet, singing, moving
and clapping.
After the address, the crowd filtered throughout the DECC convention
center complex for breakout sessions, ranging from cyberbullying to
curriculum presentations to the popular “Successful Catholic Development
in Tough Economic Times,” in just the first of the day’s four sessions.
Classroom applications
Sue Walker, a teacher at St. Michael School in West St. Paul, hopes to
use some of the keynote insights to encourage students to be more
energetic at Mass and boost participation.
Debbie Bauer, who works in faith formation at St. Pius V in Cannon
Falls, was attending her first convention and was impressed with the
quality leaders and range of subjects. “There’s something for everyone
here,” she said.
Noll said the numbers — about 600 registered attendees, plus volunteers
and parents — was down from past years. Principals attributed that to a
couple of things: first, the national convention was held in Minnesota
earlier this year, drawing many Catholic educators, and second, the
economy.
Still, the exhibit hall was filled with more than 80 vendors.
The first day of events closed with Mass celebrated by Bishop Sirba, who
previously served as a priest in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and
Minneapolis, and other bishops from the state, followed by dinner and a
concert with Catholic honors choirs. The convention’s second and final
day included more breakout sessions and an afternoon capstone speaker.
Sue Schulzetenberg, a reporter with The Visitor in the Diocese of St. Cloud, contributed to this article.
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