Catholic educators gather in Duluth for inspiration

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.