For the first time in the history of the Diocese of Sacramento, a convocation of priests has been planned in the Jubilee Year as a celebration of priestly life and ministry.

The event, set for Oct. 9-12 at Konocti Resort Hotel in Clear Lake, will be attended by more than 165 diocesan and retired priests, as well as religious order priests working in a diocesan assignment.

Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Garcia heads the committee planning the event, with the theme, “Ministry with Christ: Yesterday, Today and Forever.”

“We will be convening to begin to look at our future ministry together while at the same time thanking God for our past history, the blessing we’ve been and the blessings we’ve received from the people of the diocese,” Bishop Garcia said.

The four-day convening will include prayer and reflection, keynote speakers, discussion groups and even some time set aside for social activities. Speakers include Bishop Richard Hanifen of Colorado Springs, Colo., chairperson of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry, who will address the topic of challenges for ministry in the new millennium. Father Steve Avella, associate professor of history at Marquette University, will present a historical development of priestly ministry in the Sacramento Diocese.

Father Canice Connors, the provincial of the Franciscan Conventuals in New York, will be the facilitator for the four-day convocation.

Bishop Garcia explained that the convocation will be an opportunity for priests to collaborate on a vision for the diocese in the new century.

“To better equip us for future ministry, we’ll do some dreaming together about our future, about how we have to depend more and more on our sisters and brothers as lay men and women in ministry in our parishes and institutions,” he said.

Another primary consideration, Bishop Garcia added, will be seeking ways to embrace priests from other countries and cultures as well as newly-ordained priests.

“We need to become more conscious of the fact that we are to be one priesthood,” he said. “We all have something to learn from one another.”

Bishop Garcia said the convocation will also be a time to consider ways to enable all priests to make their voices heard in the decision-making process in the diocese.

The Council of Priests recommended the planning of a convocation to Bishop William K. Weigand, who both endorsed the suggestion and appointed a seven-member committee headed by Bishop Garcia to plan the event.

Other committee members include Msgr. James Kidder, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in El Dorado Hills; Father Vincent O’Reilly, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Vacaville; Father Daniel Looney, pastor of St. James Parish in Davis; Father Mark Richards, diocesan vice chancellor; Jesuit Father Gerald Robinson, pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Sacramento; Father Polycarpo Gumapo, pastor of All Hallows Parish in Sacramento; and Father Humberto Gomez, parochial vicar of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Vallejo.

Msgr. Kidder echoed Bishop Garcia’s hope that the convocation will be a time for priests to come to better know and support one another. He is also hopeful priests will address the challenges of a rapidly-growing diocese.

“It is my hope that we come to a better awareness of the need for our own health and well-being in ministry, where the number of Catholics is growing and there are a smaller number of priests who are aging,” he said. “We need to seek ways to mutually support one another in ministry in those areas where expectations are growing.”

Father Robinson, a religious order priest serving on the committee who is assigned to the diocese, said whether priests are serving temporarily or for a lifetime in the diocese, those attending the convocation face a common challenge.

“We need to build up the clergy, its spirit and morale,” he noted. “We need to be as collaborative as possible.”

Plans are being made for the pastoral care of parishes and institutions during the convocation. While daily Mass will not be provided in every parish during this time, with the assistance of area religious order priests and priests from outside the diocese, it is anticipated that priests will be available in all deaneries for emergency situations.

Bishop Garcia said that long-range plans for future convocations every few years would make the October event the first in a series of shared ministry events. The convocation may also lead, he added, to a diocesan synod including the laity, religious and permanent deacons.

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