Old Friends and Ministries

Recently the Canadian Association of Ministry Programs met at St. Michael's Retreat in Lumsden. The Canadian Association of Ministry Programs brings together those involved in delivering diocesan ministry programs such as the Lay Ministry and RCIA (Right of Christian Initiation of Adults) programs. The Association was formed in 1980 in Montreal and has met every year since alternating meetings among locations in Eastern, Western and Central Canada.


I was able to join them for a dinner in Regina to give support to this important work in our Church. This was the first time that CAMP met in Regina.



Bonnie Thiele and Judy Zolc of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Staff did the hard work necessary to arrange to have this meeting here.


I was also pleased to see some familiar faces there. Among whom was Fr. Bedford Doucet who is in charge of lay ministry formation for the Diocese of Antigonish.

And it was a great pleasure to see, on the left, Ellen Bennett who was Director of Catechetics in the parish when I was Pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Riverview, NB and who now works in catechetics on the diocesan level in Moncton. And on the right is Phil Foreman from the Diocese of Saint John. Phil and I were classmates in university at St. Thomas in Chatham, NB. Phil is married to Mary Lou whom I have know now since we were children together in Moncton.

That's one of the wonderful things about the Church: you see good people doing good things. And that is a blessing for us all.

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