On September 12, ChristLife traveled to the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit to present the Following Christ and Sharing Christ Conference. 128 parish leaders from 38 parishes gathered to receive training in implementing Following Christ and Sharing Christ, the second and third piece of the ChristLife Series.

Rev. Eduardo Montemayor, the director of evangelization and catechesis for the Archdiocese of Detroit, welcomed conference attendees on Saturday morning by expressing his gratitude for those using the ChristLife series at their parishes.

ChristLife presenters, Dave Nodar and Rev. Erik Arnold, shared the goals and unique dynamics of the Following Christ and Sharing Christ courses. “[It] brings people to Christian maturity,” explained Rev. Arnold during his talk on Following Christ.

“[Dave and Fr. Erik] were very effective. It will help greatly when we start our Following Christ,” said a conference participant. Another shared, “It gave me a broader understanding of the courses so I am better able to share the ChristLife series with other parishioners.”

The conference also gave attendees the opportunity to practically experience unique elements of Following Christ and Sharing Christ, including forgiveness prayer time and the cardboard testimonies.

In Following Christ, we establish the necessity of forgiving others to grow in our relationship with God. People often experience a great outpouring of God’s mercy during a prayer time that follows the teaching. Conference participants were given a chance to practice this prayer time and many experienced the mercy and love of Jesus Christ.

“[I was] enriched and encouraged,” shared one participant about the prayer time. “It was one of the best elaborations on the power of forgiveness that I have ever heard!”

In Sharing Christ, the final retreat session offers course participants an opportunity to share a brief cardboard testimony. Everyone attending the conference had the opportunity to experience this as well. A participant told us the cardboard testimonials “were revealing and engaged my senses and experiences with Christ.”

Rev. Montemayor organized the conference for those in the Archdiocese of Detroit who received training at last year’s Archdiocese of Detroit Discovering Christ Conference.