Archbishop Mark Coleridge commends the Catholic Leaders Formation Network , now the Spiritus Leaders Network.
A professional formation network for educators and leaders in Catholic schools and the broader Church, committed to renewing their mission of evangelisation.
A collaborative venture between
The Spiritus Leaders Network is a fruit of the partnership between Spiritus Youth Ministry International and the Australian Catholic University’s La Salle Academy. The Network is managed by Spiritus Youth Ministry International.
The Spiritus Leaders Network brings together Catholic leaders, educators and others for prayer, learning, formation and sharing with others in similar ministries and roles so that they can more effectively evangelise.
The Spiritus Leaders Network is a response to a recognition at all levels of Church leadership that formation for Church leaders is critical to the Church’s mission into the future. Despite new forms of social media and communication, Church leaders rarely enjoy the spiritual nourishment and fellowship that can come from journeying with other Church leaders.
Aims
The SPIRITUS Leaders Network aims to support Catholic leaders and educators and others in ministry to:
develop and sustain a personal living relationship with Jesus and a strong Catholic identity through ongoing formation, discipleship and participation in the life and mission of the Church.
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develop a vision and model for a ministry of evangelisation and a commitment to sharing the Gospel of Christ.
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discover and live out their vocation within the Catholic Church.
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build bonds of fellowship in mission through dialogue and collaboration, common formation experiences and prayer.
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to form, network, certify and resource Catholic educators, school and other Church leaders to be more effective evangelisers.
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The Spiritus Leaders Network is growing as an international network of over 1,500 Catholic school and other Church leaders. Spiritus Programs have been conducted throughout Australia, East Africa, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The Oceania Evangelisation Program, typically held on Pentecost Sunday, has gathered thousands of leaders together in Hubs throughout the Pacific.
Membership
Leaders, teachers and youth ministers in schools with a Spiritus Youth Ministry subscription are members of the Network and have access to the Network’s programs, resources and events
Graduates of Spiritus Leader Formation Programs (Spiritus Parts 1-2, 3) are members of the Network and have access to the Network’s programs, resources and events
Benefits
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Leader and staff formation programs and resources including Porta Fidei, Called and Essentials for Faith Leadership, Voices and Visions
Prayer resources
Certification as a Spiritus Youth Ministry Educator and/or as a Spiritus Leader (Conditions apply)
Participation in formation-orientated seminars
Access to video libraries on evangelisation, discipleship, faith life
Regular newsletter and access to Blog with links to other professional learning and formation resources for Catholic leaders
The completion of Spiritus Leaders Network programs and conferences can contribute to meeting the requirements of Diocesan accreditation policies. Please contact your Diocesan leaders to confirm prior to commencing these courses.
Formation and Professional Learning
Certification and Accreditation
The Spiritus Leaders Network offers certification for educators and leaders of evangelisation. For certification as a Spiritus Youth Ministry Educator, applicants must have completed a Spiritus Youth Ministry Equipping School or an online training course and a retreat or formation experience within the past three years.
Spiritus Leaders have completed Spiritus Leader Formation Programs and exercise leadership within their ministry contexts
Leadership and Licensing of SLN Programs
Spiritus Leaders exercise leadership within their own communities as they ‘step up’ to lead and facilitate the formation of colleagues and other adults. They can run programs within The Spiritus Forming Leaders Series (Porta Fidei, Called and Essentials for Faith Leadership). With additional training and support they can be licenced to lead Spiritus Leader Formation Programs and Spiritus Youth Ministry Equipping Schools.
Resources
Prayer Resources
Formed in Prayer provides weekly Sunday Gospel inspired prayer and reflection for staff prayer. The Spiritus International website provides access to a wealth of prayer resources as well as instructional videos on praying traditional forms of prayer such as Lectio Divina and The Ignatian Examen. Additional prayers authored by an increasing range of Catholic and other Christian leaders will be available for use in staff and leadership team meetings.
Links to Professional Learning and Formation Resources for Catholic Leaders
Links to ACU La Salle and other articles and multimedia resources on leadership and evangelisation, Catholic faith and life will grow each year.
The ACU La Salle Academy Voices and Vision:
Catholic Schools in Conversation
As the subtitle suggests, the resource is aimed at facilitating dialogue between those who work in Catholic school communities, helping them to consider ways in which they can bring to life the values proposed in the Church documents. Rather than drawing heavily on the text of the documents, Voices and Visions uses quotes, poems and prayers from a range of authors whose writings are aligned with the themes and ideas in the documents and inspire the reader to interpret their meaning for their particular context.
The Voices and Vision pack contains twelve easy to use pamphlets, three on each of the four themes in the resource:
Life and Culture: our way of being together
Education and Formation: our approach to teaching and learning
People and Vocation: our expectations around participation
Communion and Mission: the heart of our unfolding purpose
The pamphlets are best used in group reflection and discussion where the group is led by a facilitator. To assist facilitators, the La Salle Academy has produced three videos that will help skill them in leading a group in the use of these pamphlets.