Professional Development Webinar Recordings

With millions of displaced refugees and migrants in our world, and many at our doorstep, what is our faith response? Scripture reveals that the best way to encounter the living God is to engage with strangers. How can we as individuals and as the Church do that in a dangerous world?Sr. Marilyn Lacey, R.S.M., has spent her life working with displaced peoples. As the founder of Mercy Beyond Borders, she currently works with women in South Sudan and Haiti. In 2001 she was personally honored by the Dalai Lama as an "unsung hero of compassion." Her spiritual memoir, This Flowing Toward Me: A Story of God Arriving in Strangers, was published by Ave Maria Press in 2009.

One of the greatest gifts you can share with others is a sense of your own peace. But you can’t share what you don’t have. Dr. Robert J. Wicks, an expert on the prevention of secondary stress—the pressures you experience in reaching out to others—offers insight into how you can live in peace and extend your warmth to others without losing your inner fire.You will learn how to: offer a nonjudgmental presence; maintain a healthy perspective; avoid dangers that lead to unnecessary stress; develop a self-care protocol; Know the four “voices” we need in our circle of friends to have balance and courage in life; improve self-awareness; face inner darkness; and develop a richer sense of prayer. Practical, illustrative, lively, this rich presentation will provide essential information on resilience, compassion, spirituality, and personal/professional wellbeing.

In a parish environment, there is an increasing need for volunteers in various ministries and yet there is also an audience that needs ministry attention: mothers. It's a group that serves others in many invisible ways and yet is often ignored and overtapped. Sarah Reinhard, author of A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, will consider how we minister to mothers within our parish communities.How can we support the mothers in our parishes throughout their mothering journey? What tools can we use to minister, encourage, and relate with them and foster the growth of our parish communities? How do we tap into the social nature women naturally have with the overbooked and overworked nature of the life many of them actually have?This webinar will reflect on ways to approach the mothers of our parishes, and especially those who have to juggle children's schedules, working responsibilities, and the need for more spiritual support from their parish family.