By Rita McInerney

Called to be compassionate means "We accept our weaknesses and those of people around us," Greer Gordon told about 700 catechists as the annual archdiocesan Catechetical Institute opened Sept. 28 at St. Ann's Church, Marietta.

Her keynote talk, "Creating Communities of Compassion," was followed by a liturgy celebrated by Bishop James P. Lyke, OFM. Several priests of the archdiocese concelebrated.

Ms. Gordon was introduced by Bob Melevin, catechetical consultant from the archdiocesan Office of Religious Education, as one who has the gift of "articulating an understanding of church and the meaning and importance of church in our day."

She began her talk by urging participants to "overlook, acknowledge, suffer and move forward together. That is church. You cannot be compassionate if you have not suffered."

"We're in a lot better space than we were in the 1960s. We are church, not just our leadership, our educators, sisters, catechists. It's all of us together."

"All of us fit together as church" and this cohesive sense that "we move together gives us hope as a collective sign to the world. We say 'look at the message, listen to the message, step inside to see the Lord that we have met.'"

The contemporary world, where the use of crack cocaine and heroin is widespread at both the "top and bottom of the economic line means we're losing children - white, black, Latino - all my children," she said.

"We have to be the ones living by the value of hope. To say we are catechists means we have to speak in a fashion where our children can see us. We have to be signs of hope to families of children who have taken their lives or been victims of violence."

Referring to the account of the last judgement in Matthew, Chapter 21, Ms. Gordon said the "core of compassion" is when Christians can be with the imprisoned, the hungry, poor, those with AIDS or other illnesses.

"We are called not to shun or fear them, but to reach out to them."

She told of being a sometimes reluctant visitor to inmates at a maximum-security prison. Gradually, seeing the men participate in liturgy, hearing their stories, changed her. Now some of them, having served their time, help in her work on the streets of Boston and are among her biggest supporters.

They have changed her life, Greer Gordon acknowledged, helped form "another shade of compassion," in her, "compassion that says we have learned to cross over in the experience of others, to walk in another's shoes."

To be people of hope means fine tuning the process of living, she said. In planning scheduling, living by calendars, much is lost. In today's driven society, teens have business cards, 34-year-old men have heart attacks.

"So often we plan God out of our lives ... we just don't hear the call." When was the last time, she asked her audience, that they were still, had time to reflect?

"We are so on the move, we don't notice what we've done to our lives."

Persons of compassion are often "most conflicted. Once changed you have to move forward. In this church we call it conversion, the lifelong process of becoming more in the image of God."

Racism, she claimed, "exists because people have not learned to cross over to the experience of others. I ask the Irish Catholics in Boston to tell their children where they came from." Knowledge such as this equips people to cross over and gain deeper understanding.

Ms. Gordon, a native of Baton Rouge, La., is director of the Office For Black Catholics in the archdiocese of Boston and a lecturer in religious studies at Regis College in Weston, Mass.

Once embracing compassion as a life stance, she said, visions of hope and peace form. "If you're really following the Lord, He will make you look strange and you will be changed in ways unknown. Many will benefit from those changes."

Among the wide array of workshops offered over Friday and Saturday, those concerned with children and teenagers drew heavy attendance.

A large group attended a workshop led by Mary Ann Plaskon, youth minister at Holy Family Church in Marietta. She told how she tries to interact with senior high school youth and their preoccupation with rock music, taking negative music and putting it in a positive setting.

"Rock is the stuff of their life. We need to enter that life," she told the group.

Hers is a total youth ministry, she explained, involving religious education, service projects, peer ministry, even football games. "My setting is the daily life of the kids."

A big battle for catechists (and parents) is to try and obtain the words of the songs the youth prefer and which only they seem to understand. It's better to learn the words from the kids, whom she called "our best resources."

She mentioned using a popular song by George Michael, "I Want Your Sex," and then having the youths read from St. Paul's letter to the Colossians from contrast, to emphasize the virtue of being chaste.

For seniors in a retreat setting, she suggested a lengthy discussion of premarital sex. "Say to them, 'Let's look at what society is saying and what our church is saying about saving yourselves for marriage.' We have to help them struggle with it."

"Give them Church teaching on the value of sexuality. It's important to bring their world into a Catholic setting," she suggested.

"I watch MTV," she said. "Knowing what they're watching is a way to get into their world. Then they will come to you with other things."

She's worked with teens involved in cults. They were heavy metal and heavy party kids. "You have to help them. Try to find out if it's a fad or are they beyond that?"

"Find out what they're doing after school. Look for symbols, crystals, pentagrams, Satanic bibles." Being into cults is "almost hypnotic." They become obsessed and afraid. "It can be dangerous. There is usually the drug influence. Their lives are at risk."

"You have to pray with them. Start focusing on Jesus as their Savior," she urged.

Among resource materials she made available were lists of current songs, the worldly message they bring and the faith themes that could be discussed to counteract such messages.

Of contemporary songs, 90 percent of songs teens listen to are about relationships and sexuality. "Hardly any have to do with social justice," she's found.

She recommended several publications and audios that offer guides to contemporary music and Christian music. One publication she finds helpful is the Access Guide to Pop Cultures by Reynolds Ekstrom. From Dom Bosco Media, it presents ideas for youth programs, prayer and Scripture activities and lesson plans using contemporary songs.

Katye Rixse, Clemson student and Holy Family member, opened the workshop by reading a prayer from the book, "Society of Salty Saints," by Michael Elliott. The song, "Peace in Our Time," was played. A video made by Holy Family teens working in small groups while on retreat was shown. Billy Joel's hit song, "We Didn't Start the Fire," was background music for the video.

Although many people feel they have to make moral choices along, it doesn't have to be that way, Sister Barbara Baker, MHSH, a member of the pastoral team at Transfiguration Church in Marietta, said in a workshop on "Moral Decision Making and Church Teaching."

"We are social by nature. We must connect with the community."

The call of the Christian life is to live more deeply, she said. The Gospel lesson of Matthew, Chapter 20, on the workers in the vineyard is a reminder that "God calls us again and again to conversion and promises us great rewards."

"Do I really choose good over evil? Are my intentions selfish or for the sake of others?" are questions Catholics must ask in the process of moral decision making, she said.

An example she presented would be making a decision to pull the plug on a life support system keeping a family member alive. This could be good, freeing the person to go to God, or evil, taking a life, she pointed out.

And what about the intention behind the decision, she asked. Was it to free the loved one of pain and suffering, or because of the cost of such treatment?

Do we understand the teachings of Jesus regarding life and its values, she questioned.

"Don't close the door and walk away without understanding Church teachings. We tend to live in a supermarket world. We tend to pick and choose, things I believe, things I reject. What am I saying about who I am as a believer? Think, look at the consequences, consider the collected wisdom of 2000 years of church."

In trying to make the right moral decision, "we should have the courage to consult with people who are informed." A person buying a car studies consumer reports. "We don't do the same shopping for religious choices as we do for material things."

Making the right moral decision, she added, requires reading, thinking, and working through morality issues. Church programs on adult enrichment help in this quest for informed understanding. But those who attend are few, she admitted.

Knowing and doing the right thing is challenging and freeing, gives inner peace. "This doesn't mean we won't be intensely lonely, but there is also promise and love."

"We all need to stand for something. Far too many are embarrassed to state who we are, what we believe. Parents have to have something to give their kids."

"To study and reflect in community is everyone's charge. We can't depend on professionals entirely. The more we can cross-pollinate, the richer we become," she concluded.

In his homily during the Liturgy, Bishop Lyke reminded institute participants to take advantage of the wealth of experience offered by the Church.

"It is the teaching authority of the Church and our adherence thereto, which validates and sustains our commission as apostles to the unenlightened and the uninformed."

"Our duty, handed down and treasured since apostolic times is three-fold: first, to teach the message of the Gospel; second, to build and earthly community based on Christ's command to love the Father and one another, and third, to serve human society through prayer, public liturgy, and social action."

He said the enduring product of catechetical instruction in the archdiocese is "consistently excellent, an ongoing testimony to the enlightening power of the Spirit and the wisdom He instills in your hearts. With such power at hand, all our problems will be faced head on, and we will persist in addressing the needs of any people that may have previously escaped our attention.

Commenting on the institute which drew 702 registered participants, Marylyn McDonald, director of religious education for the archdiocese, expressed gratitude for all who made the annual event a success. She mentioned two groups, volunteer catechists who work both at jobs and parenting and who "give extra time to teach the word of God," and the Catholic school principals, who give priority to the institute and approved an in-service day for their faculties.

She described the two-day gathering as a "potpourri of all possible learning opportunities, a celebration of Catholic teaching" enhanced by the preparation and enthusiasm of the presenters.

The popularity of the workshops on youth "indicate the great need out there to educate our teenagers in the faith," she said.

Music for the Liturgy and for the prayer services was played and sung by members of the Atlanta Council of Catholic Pastoral Musicians.