Diocesan Gathering of the Ministerium: A Flourishing Church, Anchored in Hope

Clergy, teachers, school administrators, parish staff, volunteers and diocesan ministers of all kinds are invited to join together for a day of worship and workshops that will enhance your ministry skills and advance the work of evangelization in an apostolic age!

Keynote Speaker: Meg Hunter-Kilmer

Eucharistic Liturgy with Bishop Michael Woost, auxiliary bishop of Cleveland

Registration is located below the breakout sessions.

Breakout Sessions

1. Accompaniment and Mental Health Ministry
We are called to walk together in love with individuals and families with mental illness. This session will connect the dots between Pope Francis’s invitation to encounter and accompany our brothers and sisters in need with practical strategies and resources to provide help and create hope for individuals and families with mental illness. This session will also include encountering the landscape of children’s mental health.
Presenters: Dr. Joanne Holbert, founder of Family Connections of Wadsworth and her colleague, Dr. Molly McDowell Burns, both are licensed Marriage and Family therapists as well as clinical therapists. Joanne is a licensed school psychologist, and Molly is a licensed play therapist.

2. Best Practices for Teaching Religion in the Elementary Classroom
Learn from some of our most engaging religion teachers some methods that will help make our Catholic Faith come alive for your students! The first part of this session will focus on Socratic pedagogy, and the second part will introduce participants to educational games and in-class activities.
Presenters: Vincent De Luca, Emily Sinclair, and Julie Onacila from the Frassati Preparatory Academy at St. Brendan School; and Max Sherry from St. Hilary School

3. Celebrating Liturgies for PreK-8 Students
Planning and celebrating meaningful liturgies for children in grades PreK-8 requires assessing resources, collaborating with the pastor and faculty, knowing the demographics of your school population, creating vibrant youth liturgical ministries, ongoing formation, and rehearsal. Come and hear what we’ve come up with through more than 30 years of experience and explore what might work in your own setting.
Presenters: Fr. Joe Fortuna, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Parish and Melissa Gali-Bird, music director for Our Lake of the Lake Parish

4. Challenging Questions, Faithful Answers
Have you ever struggled to answer difficult questions about the Catholic faith? Join faculty from Borromeo Seminary for clear, thoughtful, and faithful responses to common questions and objections, empowering you to share and explain our faith effectively. Presenters: Fr. Jeff Barnish and Dr. Matthew Carey Jordan

5. Educating for Eternity: Making Every Class Catholic
In this talk we will discuss some of the ideas and themes in Brett Salkeld's book, Educating for Eternity. What are some tools and strategies for approaching math, science, art, reading, health, and music through the lens of our Catholic faith? Participants can expect to come away with some great ideas and have the opportunity to discuss ways to incorporate faith into every subject at every grade level more explicitly. Presenter: Drew Courter, M.A., Director for Catholic Identity, Catholic Diocese of Cleveland

6. Engaging Today’s Family in the Life of the Catholic School and Parish
An opportunity to reflect on and discuss the challenge of keeping Catholic school families engaged in the life of the parish. In this session we will look at some practical ways to grow engagement in your parish’s sacramental and communal life.
Presenter: Rev. John D. Betters, Pastor, Saint Joan of Arc Parish

7. Ministering to Our Non-Catholic Students
Worldwide, Catholic schools have a long history of teaching non-Catholic students. In our own diocese, 40% of students in Catholic schools are non-Catholic. This indicates a shift for many schools. This session will focus on effective strategies for ministering to non-Catholic students, including addressing the following:
• How can we preserve the Catholic identity of our school while ministering to and welcoming an increasing number of non-Catholic students and their families?
• What are some challenges that should be anticipated when ministering to non-Catholics?
Presenter: Scott Embacher, President of SS. Robert & William Catholic School.

8. Not a Dull, Saccharine God: Coming to Know the Real Jesus in the Gospels
Perhaps it's the fault of vapid sacred art that depicts Jesus as vague and placid, but many of us imagine Jesus as distant, dull, and disinterested. The Jesus of the Gospels is altogether different. Would the Jesus you know make a man like Zacchaeus run? A man like Peter leave his nets behind? A woman like Mary Magdalene weep at the tomb? Come learn how the Jesus depicted in Scripture is far more than you may have imagined. Bring your Bibles!
Presenter: Meg Hunter-Kilmer

9. Rooted in Relationships: The Catholic Classroom and Restorative Practices
In Catholic education, relationships are at the heart of everything we do. This session explores how restorative practices align with Gospel values to foster a classroom culture rooted in dignity, accountability, and healing. Participants will learn practical strategies for building community, responding to conflict, and supporting students through a lens of faith, compassion, and justice.
Presenter: McKenna Corrigan, Assistant Superintendent, Catholic Diocese of Cleveland

10. Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati: Climbing “To the Heights” of Friendship, Devotion, and Discipleship
Canonized by Pope Leo XIV on September 7, Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) lived the joy of the Gospel. A young man who loved his faith, family, and friends, Pier Giorgio embraced a passion for mountain climbing, practical jokes, political debates, sailing, and music. He also served the poor, was deeply devoted to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and encouraged others to grow in their Catholic faith. The Woost brothers will talk about Pier Giorgio’s life, how his example can help us to live the Gospel of Christ, his intercession during Fr. Dave’s 2016 diagnosis with small cell lymphocytic lymphoma, and their participation in his canonization in Rome.
Presenters: Most Reverend Michael G. Woost, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland; Father David G. Woost, Pastor of Divine Word Parish, Kirtland; Father Thomas G. Woost, Pastor of Saint Brendan Parish, North Olmsted, and Administrator of Saint Richard Parish, North Olmsted

11. Sent on Mission to Serve: Our Call to Justice and Peace
Participants will be invited to reflect on their individual call to, in Bishop Malesic’s words, "identify his or her mission of service in the world." By reflecting on practical examples of service and education for justice grounded in the Works of Mercy and Catholic Social Teaching, participants will be empowered to read the signs of the times and discern in faith how to live Christ's mission and Gospel in our communities and our world today.
Presenter: Augie Pacetti, Director of Mission, St. Ignatius High School