by Jennifer King

Last year, ChristLife began partnering with the Diocese of Pittsburgh in a focused way to help reignite the flames of evangelization and discipleship in their parishes. “As the Church calls us to a greater embrace of ‘synodality’, or oneness of heart and mind,” Bishop William Waltersheid shared, “the ChristLife process offers a practical and effective means of transforming communities into places of genuine welcome, rooted in the love of Jesus Christ and the fullness of our Catholic faith.”

This focused initiative involves hosting several events aimed at bringing together parish leaders in fellowship, prayer, and missionary disciple formation in service to the Church’s mission of evangelization. After connecting with parish leaders through a series of webinars and phone calls, ChristLife hosted a hybrid (in-person and virtual) Discovering Christ training event during the first weekend of December. It was inspiring to gather and pray face-to-face with co laborers in the vineyard and equip them to invite people in their communities to discover Christ.

Ed, one of the training attendees, shared, “The energy and passion for sharing the Word of God with others was genuine. I was inspired by your group truly living as disciples to share the Word of God. As I talked at my table and listened to everyone in our diocese going through their merger process, it struck me very clearly that, at least in my lifetime, never has the Church been more in need of the ‘flock’ and lay members to do their part as disciples.” Parish leaders left the training and began planning their next steps. Some parishes are offering Discovering Christ this Lent, others will be later this year, and still others are in the beginning stages of building their team. 

Our prayer for this partnership is “Revive us O Lord.” We ask the Lord to revive each leader, their parish communities, and ultimately, revive the face of the earth.

Learn more about this initiative at www.DioPitt.org/ChristLife