By Laureen McMahon
In 1965, Canadian author Pierre Berton released The Comfortable Pew, his controversial book about the failure of this nation’s church-goers to take the message heard each week from the pulpit into the greater community.
Twenty years ago, the disconnection between faith and works impelled Christopher Ruff, Director of the office of Ministries and Social Concerns for the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, to develop a Discipleship Series which teaches Christians how to translate Gospel teachings into works of justice and mercy.
At the invitation of the Vancouver Archdiocesan Office of Religious Education, Ruff will introduce his Discipleship Series to Vancouver Catholics on Sept. 11 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall, 2881 Main Street.
One of the 50 propositions which emerged in 2006 from the Vancouver Archdiocesan Synod called for developing an adult faith formation strategy for parishes to provide vision, methods, program resources and options.
“We are pleased,” said an ORE spokesperson, “to introduce Christopher Discipleship Series, which was highlighted in Our Sunday Visitor news weekly as a program which works well in Adult Faith Formation, and delighted to welcome him here to conduct a leadership training workshop entitled What Works in Adult Faith Formation.”
Ruff, who says he believes that sharing the love of Christ with fellow believers is incomplete without moving on to practicing works of service in the greater community, will explain how Christians can unite their inner life of inspiration and prayer to reach out to their neighbours in need.
“I had always focussed on the three classic components: prayer, reflection, and fellowship. That was a three-legged stool because it missed the vital fourth leg of service that takes the group beyond itself in love of neighbour,” Ruff noted.
The call to love of neighbour, he added, “is a call to all the faithful, not just those involved in charities and social justice. Each person is called to be the Good Samaritan in a very personal way.”
It can be tricky to get the right balance between faith and works, Ruff said.
“Sometimes people in the pious orthodoxy crowd could do a little more in terms of being aware of serving their neighbour. And people in the social activist crowd can be so tuned in to the social dimension that the spiritual dimension is lost as is the need for prayer in rooting their action.”
Ruff was also inspired by Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte, “in which he expressed our need to contemplate the face of Christ, return to prayer, and to love of neighbour. This is what I wanted this faith sharing endeavour to be about, the core of the Gospel, the face of Christ.”
His first book, As I Have Loved You (Novo Millennio Press, 2008), was tested in the Diocese of La Cross in 2007 when more than 1,000 people in 30 parishes met weekly for prayer, reflective study, and fellowship, and subsequently devoted additional time each month to community service. The results were tremendously encouraging with 95 per cent of participants indicating they wanted to continue, said Ruff. The Greatest of These is Love: Reflections from the Heart of St. Paul, is his second book. Since its release, his program has spread to many more dioceses and parishes.
Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Cross wrote, “I am seeing it form disciples in our diocese who are growing in love of God and love of neighbour ... we look forward to a harvest of apostolic works.”
The workshop at St. Patrick’s is $45 each and includes a copy of Who is My Neighbour. It will conclude with a break-out session for a condensed experience of a Discipleship Series session. The morning begins with the celebration of the Eucharist in the church at 8 a.m. To register online, or to print a registration form, go to www.rcav.org/ore and click on the Discipleship Series link or call the Office of Religious Education at 604-683-0281.
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