Ministry
Resources
Work the Word
In collaboration with Mustard Seed Communities, Paulist Press
is proud to introduce an important Catholic formation program
designed to build a deeper spirituality and raise the level
of awareness and commitment in service to the most vulnerable
in your community and around the world.
The Work the Word
program is based on a small group structure and is organized
into two seasons with an additional mission component.
The first season provides participants with a spiritual
foundation through prayer and reflection, and grows out of
the experience of Baptism, the Eucharist, and Reconciliation.
The second season assists the participant to hear
and to follow the call of Christ to live out the Gospel through
the sacrament of Confirmation. It builds on and takes shape
through the experience of mission and service within the Church
and the world.
The mission component stems from the heartfelt desire
to do more than just reflect on one’s faith. Many participants
request the need to do something practical so that their faith
can live out the Gospel. This component gives parishes and
communities who use the program the opportunity for participants
to express their faith in a practical way and to “work
the word” in the local community and beyond.
Basic Structure:
The First Season
Session 1: Simplicity of Commitment
Session 2: Simplicity of Faith
Session 3: Simplicity of Life
Session 4: Freedom to Be Myself
Session 5: Freedom of Desire
Session 6: Freedom of Action
The Second Season
Session 1: Bread and Generosity
Session 2: Community of Faith
Session 3: Global Community
How Can I Work the Word? Practical Options
Option 1: A Service Mission in Your Community
Option 2: Service Projects for Mustard Seed Communities
Option 3: Work the Word Immersion Trip
Option 4: Mission Trip outside the United States
Skills and Materials:
The entire program is contained in user-friendly manuals
for both leaders and participants.
The Leader’s Guide includes simple-to-follow
instructions for facilitating the gatherings—no special
skills are required, nor does a leader need previous experience
in the Work the Word Program..
The separate Participant’s Booklet for each
season outlines each session and provides all the material
required for reflection and small group discussion.
Additional resources are available, including a Mission
Trip Leader’s Guide, a Mission Trip Journal,
and support materials to assist the leaders and facilitators
in implementing the process successfully according to the
needs of the parish.
Making the Gospel Come to Life
The mission component of Work the Word is a voluntary invitation
to venture beyond our boundaries either in the local or world
community. It allows the participant to come to “know”
the vulnerable and not just “do something for those
people.”
Based on the spiritual foundations of the first and/or second
seasons, this practical opportunity enables the participants
to meet Christ in others and know Christ in themselves. It
allows for a real and deep conversion to take place, which
will hopefully lead to continued service within their families,
the parish, and the community.
“In Matthew 25:40, the Lord is not saying, ‘I
was hungry, and I wanted you to send your neighbor to feed
me.’ Rather, he said, ‘You are to feed me.’”
—Fr. Gregory Ramkissoon, founder and executive director
of Mustard Seed Communities
For more information or to order the materials for this program
please contact:
Paulist Press
997 Macarthur Blvd.
Mahwah, NJ 07430
Phone Orders: 201-825-7300
Fax Orders: 201-825-8345
info@paulistpress.com
Work the Word
Beyond Our Boundaries
A MINISTRY OF MUSTARD SEED COMMUNITIES
For more information log onto www.mustardseed.com
or
E-mail: worktheword@mustardseed.com
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