Lenten parish mission open to all

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OGDEN — Everyone of good will – all active Catholics, lapsed Catholics and non-Catholics – is  invited to participate in the upcoming Lenten Parish Mission at Holy Family Catholic Church in Ogden.

The event, which is free, will be presented by Tony Brandt and Chris Steward from Casting Nets Ministry, a non-for-profit lay apostolate.

According to the website castingnetsministries.com, the apostolate is comprised of a team of professional lay Catholic speakers and evangelists who conduct “dynamic and highly effective missions, retreats and evangelization trainings for parishes, schools, and dioceses aimed at leading souls to Christ and forming the laity for missionary discipleship.”

Brandt and Steward were invited to make a presentation at Holy Family Parish after Father Bill Wheaton, pastor, met them at a conference last year.  

“He was very moved by them and felt this would be a very worthwhile experience for our parish,” said Marjie Weldele, the Holy Family parishioner who is organizing the mission.

The two presenters, who are the founders of Casting Nets Ministries, “are dynamic, passionate, faith-filled men,” Weldele said. “I don’t think Father was necessarily looking for presenters to come to the parish but when he met them he responded to the movement of the Spirit that resulted from meeting them.”

People who attend the Lenten Parish Mission can expect to receive both spiritual growth as well as  encouragement to become more active in the evangelization of the Catholic faith, she said.

“I think the mission will challenge us to take ownership and responsibility for growing and sharing our faith,” Weldele said, adding that in this world, “it is too easy to have a passive, receiving-only mentality about faith, but that is not the witness Jesus lived.”

Brandt and Steward will share personal stories as well as give examples from the lives of some saints, and focus on points they call pillars “to help us work on specific attitudes and actions to better follow the example of Jesus,” Weldele said.

The event will also offer an opportunity to rediscover Catholic traditions.

“I believe that in sharing our testimonies, life stories, we build community,” she said. “We bear witness and learn to watch for and recognize the moving of the Spirit in our lives on a more regular basis. Tony and Chris share how their Catholic faith has strengthened them and also inspired them to share with others. When we experience something good we want to share it with others. Tony and Chris remind us that in our Catholic faith we have something great that we should naturally want to share with others.”

The mission with “Tony and Chris and to be in the presence of their energy is truly something you don’t want to miss,” said Weldele, who speaks from experience, because the parish leadership team heard a two-day preview from the pair in January.  “The excitement from the team was palpable.”

The parish mission was intentionally scheduled “so that it will kick off our Lenten journey,” she said.