September 28th, 2016 – Excerpted from Put Out Into the Deep, Bishop DiMarzio’s column in The Tablet:

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

Starting Oct. 2, parishioners throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn will experience a comprehensive process of evangelization and spiritual renewal through programs developed by RENEW International called “ARISE Together in Christ,” “LEVÁNTATE Unámonos en Cristo,” in Spanish, and LEVE KANPE ak Jezi Kri,” in Creole.” We see that this program will take place in the three major languages of Brooklyn and Queens, and also in Polish.

The New Evangelization tells us to find new methods where we can reach out, especially to those Catholics who are inactive, to those who are not practicing the faith. The purpose of this program is to lead Catholics to a deeper and richer understanding of their faith through the context of small faith-sharing groups. This method has been proven useful throughout the country. People do like to meet with one another and in small groups where they can share what is not possible to share in our large assemblies.

ARISE Together in Christ is one resource for parishes to use in achieving the goals of our diocesan four-year Evangelization and Renewal Plan called, “The Joy of Encountering Christ: The Family’s Hope.” This diocesan plan is now in its second year and in 2018 will be concluded.

Read the full text of the Bishop’s column on The Tablet website.