Previous Annual Gatherings
January 19 — 22, 1995 at Bishop Mason Retreat ad Conference Center, Dallas, Texas.
August 1 — 4, 1996 at Visitation Retreat and Cultural Center, Federal Way, Washington.
July 31 — August 3, 1997 at Denver, Colorado. “Welcoming the Stranger — Transforming the Community.”
July 30 —August 2, 1998 at Espousal Retreat House and Conference Center at Waltham, Massachusetts. “Mystagogy” with Rev. Rob Hofstad and Rev. John Hill.
July 20 — 23, 2000 at Queen of Apostles Renewal Centre, Mississauga, Ontario. “What Would the Church Look Like If Baptism Is Truly the Source of Who and What We are?” with Rev. Ruth Myers.
July 26 — 29, 2001 at Plaza Resolana, Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Getting Out on the Sidewalk and the Front Porch: Accessing the Climate for Evangelism in the Post-Modern World” with Karen M. Ward and Daniel T. Benedict.
July 25 – 28, 2002 at Motherhouse of the Congregation of Notre Dame, Montreal, Quebec. “Gathered and Sent: Catechumenal Formation and Mission” with Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald, the Episcopal Bishop of Alaska.
July 24 – 27, 2003 at Assisi Community Center, Rochester, Minnesota. “The Catechumenate – Making God’s Time Our Time” with Jim Schellman, Executive Director of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate.
July 22 – 25, 2004 at Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. “Making Disciples the Way Jesus Did: Renee Girard and the Future of Catechesis” by Rev. John Hill, priest at St. Augustine’s of Canterbury Anglican Church in Toronto.
July 21 – 24, 2005 at the Cenacle Centre in Chicago, Illinois. “Confessions of a Catechumenate Junkie: Reflections on the Adoption of the Catechumenate” by Dr. Lester Ruth, Assistant Professor of Worship and Liturgy at Asbury Theological Seminary in Lexington, KY.
July 20 – 23, 2006 at the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. “The Rites of Formation: Forming Seekers and Congregation into a Community of Faith” by Dr. Maxwell Johnson, professor of liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN.
July 24 – 27, 2008 at the Dumas Bay Center in Federal Way, Washington, US. “Listening to the Spirit in a Post-Christian World” by Dr. Samuel Torvend, chair of he Department of Religion at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA.
August 3 – 6, 2009 at Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. “Ancient Rites for a New Generation of Disciples” by Dr. Craig A. Satterlee, associate professor of homiletics at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and author of Ambrose of Milan’s Method of Mystagogical Preaching and coauthor of Creative Preaching on the Sacraments.
July 29 – August 1, 2010 at the Duncan Conference Center at Delray Beach, Florida. The theme was “When Heaven Touches Earth: Reclaiming the Mysteries of Faith for Baptismal Living Today.” Speakers were Gail Ramshaw, Gordon Lathrop, and Mark Mummert.
August 1 – August 3, 2011 at the Mercy Center near San Francisco. The theme was “Christian Initiation and the Prayer of the Faithful: Unleashing Spiritual Power for Baptismal Living.” Speakers were Dr. Mark Stamm, Dr. Jessicah Duckworth, and Owen Myers as conference musician.
June 27 – 29, 2013 at Techny Towers near Chicago and was a jointly sponsored event with the Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission (APLM). The teme was “Stirring the Waters: Reclaiming the Missional and Subversive Nature of Baptism.” Speakers were Jeff Lee, Ruth Meyers, and Ben Stewart.
August 5 – 8, 2014 at the Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia. The theme was “Reclaiming Our Baptismal Calling: Discipleship in a Post-Christian Culture” with keynote speaker, Will Willimon of the Duke Univerity Divinity School, bishop, theologian, and coauthor of Resident Aliens.
June 27-29, 2017 at the Mercy Center, Burlingame, California
in the San Francisco Bay Area. Team RCIA’s Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal mined the riches of the rites and mystagogical approaches of The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Presbyterian, Paul Galbreath, explored how a broad appropriation of the sequences of the catechumenate engage hearts in turning toward God in action and behavior. Episcopal priest, Donald Schell, co-founder of St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco explored the power of ritual in forming community.
in the San Francisco Bay Area. Team RCIA’s Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal mined the riches of the rites and mystagogical approaches of The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Presbyterian, Paul Galbreath, explored how a broad appropriation of the sequences of the catechumenate engage hearts in turning toward God in action and behavior. Episcopal priest, Donald Schell, co-founder of St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco explored the power of ritual in forming community.