8:45 am – 9:45 am
Grand ABCDE

In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis teaches about the “art of accompaniment.” What does that mean for us today in a world where people feel alone and are searching for meaning and how do we see each other as children of God and “remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf. Ex 3:5. (Evangelii Gaudium, 169).

KEYNOTE: Dr. Ansel Augustine

Dr. Ansel Augustine is originally from the Archdiocese of New Orleans and served as the Director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries and as the Associate Director/Coordinator of Black Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese after rebuilding his home parish, St. Peter Claver, following Hurricane Katrina. He is also on the Faculty of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, and is also an Associate of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans, LA Ansel has served on the national boards of NCYAMA and NFCYM, and has spoken around the country and written various pieces related to ministry. He presently serves as the Resident Campus Minister for Student Leadership and Faith Formation at St. John’s University in Queens, NY.

10:45 am – 11:45 am
O’Hare Ballroom

What do we do with our parishes as they change, integrating diversity & language and ongoing changes?

Marco A. López is the Director of the Archbishop Oscar Romero Scholars Program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Marco, who has served in ministry for over 25 years, earned his Master in Theological Studies from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He has served as a High School Teacher, Pastoral Associate and Director of Religious Education at several parishes and has been a Faculty Member at the college seminary and director of an immigrant center for the parishes of Pilsen and Little Village. Marco is a contributing author of Así, Es: Stories of Hispanic Spirituality edited by Ed Foley, Arturo Pérez, & Consuelo Covarrubias. He is married with 2 children. Marco is bilingual. 773-457-2462, marcolopez065@gmail.com

3:45 pm – 5:15 pm
DaVinci AB

Small Christian Communities (SCCs) are not just for Advent or Lent. They are a great way to accompany parishioners in deepening faith and participating in parish ministry. SCCs have a great appeal for parents, catechists, and young adults and provide a way to gather and walk with them. This workshop will offer insights into the “why” of SCCs, the benefits of small communities for adult formation as well as some tips on how to get started. Participants will be encouraged to share their experience.

Sr. Donna L. Ciangio

Sr. Donna is a Dominican Sister of Caldwell, New Jersey and holds a doctorate from Drew University. She is the director of Church Leadership Consultation and works internationally and nationally in promoting parish vitality and pastoral direction, congregational and leadership development, faith formation, Small Christian Communities, consulting with parishes and dioceses, and in many other areas.

She served as the International coordinator for Renew and the Director of Pastoral Services of the National Pastoral Life Center and as parish consultant for the Jesuit Conference USA. Sister Donna serves as the Director of Adult Faith Formation at St. Rose of Lima Church in Short Hills, New Jersey, is an adjunct professor in Drew University’s Doctor of Ministry program, and a consultant for RCL Benziger Publishing Company.

Her articles have appeared in Today’s Parish, Ligourian, CHURCH Magazine, and in publications from Crossroads, Paulist Press, and St. Anthony Messenger Press. Her current book is “Open Our Hearts: A Small Group Guide for an Active Lent” a faith sharing book (with Rev. Thomas Iwanowski) from Ave Maria Press and the most recent article, The Parish as a School of Discipleship, in Catechetical Leader, May 2014. Her most recent Lent book is entitled Conversations that Matter, Lent and Advent small group participants’ booklets.

Sr. Donna also serves on the Board of Trustees of Caldwell University and the Center for Ministry Development and is chairperson of the North American Forum for Small Christian Communities (NAFSCC.)

3:45 pm – 5:15 pm
Narita AB

Although Dr. Daniels-Sykes’ research and writings promote the idea of accompaniment in respect to a Lay Ministry Ally in the health care setting, her workshop seeks to expand this idea to other social institutions and structures where, she argues, accompaniment is needed. Drawing on principles of social justice via the context of Catholic Social Teaching, the speaker proposes that a Lay Ministry Ally, when engaged mutually with another(s), that the ally can play a significant role while walking with another to address social institutions that are consciously or unconsciously biased and perpetuate the cycle or prejudice and oppression.

Dr. Shawnee Daniels-Sykes

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dr. Shawnee Marie Daniels-Sykes is currently the only African American/Black Catholic female theological bioethicist in the nation. Having earned her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University, Milwaukee, she is in her eleventh year at Mount Mary University where she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theology. A past chair of the Faculty Assembly there, Dr. Daniels-Sykes teaches courses in Catholic social teaching, Catholic moral theology and in particular bioethics and social ethics, liberation theologies, a Christian faith perspective on human sexuality, among others.

She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and Biochemistry from Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Studies/Theology from Saint Francis Seminary in Saint Francis, Wisconsin.

Dr. Daniels-Sykes is a Registered Nurse by training having worked in labor and delivery and public health care. An adjunct Associate Professor at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies in the Graduate Division, at Xavier University of Louisiana where she teaches a course entitled Moral Questions in the Black Community, she is also a volunteer faculty member at the Medical College of Wisconsin/Children’s Hospital for the Center for the Advancement of Undeserved Children. She also teaches in the Institute for Catholic Lay Life at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.

As a community member, she serves on the Quality Assurance Committee for the Board of Directors for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin. As a Catholic moralist, her current research interests involve the investigation of makeshift death shrines/memorials that are erected after gun violent homicides in the city of Milwaukee and beyond, health care ethics, and current moral issues, such as race, class and gender inequities/disparities in church and society.

Dr. Daniels-Sykes has published book chapters, book reviews, and journal articles in peer reviewed journals, and edited books. She has given television and radio interviews on her research on those makeshift death shrines; there are several newspaper articles on her death shrines’ research too.

Dr. Daniels-Sykes is a national and international keynote speaker and workshop presenter on topics related to theological social bioethics across the human life spectrum: beginning of life, middle of life, and end of life. She has been an active member for many years with the Catholic Theological Society of America. She is the past chair the Professional Conduct Committee for the Society of Christian Ethics and the past secretary and chair of the membership committee for the Black Catholic Theological Symposium.

Having won numerous awards for service in the Catholic Church and in society, Dr. Daniels-Sykes currently chairs the steering committee for the writing of the Black Catholic Pastoral Plan in conjunction with Archbishop Jerome Listecki of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

3:45 pm – 5:15 pm
O’Hare Ballroom

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus provides the way to accompany. He meets the disciples where they are. As they walk along, he questions, listens, understands, and teaches. At their invitation for more, he reveals himself and, with hearts burning, the disciples go forth to preach the Good News of the Risen One. All of this took time and patient accompaniment. Accompaniment is an art, not a science. In this session, we will explore the way Jesus accompanied and how we can do the same with others, so that they may go forth as missionary disciples.

Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C.

Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C., D.Min. is Director of the Catholic Apostolate Center in Washington, D.C. and Provincial Rector of the Immaculate Conception Province of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottine Fathers and Brothers). He is also a Consultant to the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. His academic background, teaching, presenting, pastoral, and administrative work are focused primarily around evangelization, spiritual formation, and pastoral practice that fosters greater co-responsibility and collaboration among all the baptized.