Diocese of Fall River, MA - Office of Faith Formation

CLI 2008 has been completed. Watch for details of CLI 2009.

The Christian Leadership Institute , sponsored by the Office of Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Fall River, is a week long leadership training experience for high school age youth. C.L.I. seeks to foster the leadership potential of young men and women and to heighten each young person’s awareness of leadership and ministerial roles and responsibilities in the parish and high school setting. CLI are celebrating our 20th anniversary in 2008.

Graduates and Team of CLI 2008

CONTACT CLI

CLI LINKS and INFO
Who should participate in CLI?
What happens at CLI?
Who will be faciliating CLI?
What is the application process?
Correspondence and Questions

Who Should Participate in CLI?

Candidates for the Christian Leadership Institute should exhibit leadership potential. Teens who are willing to make a commitment to youth ministry/campus ministry should be encouraged to attend. Maturity, openness, the ability to work with peers and adults, good communication skills and a sense of faith should be considered when discerning possible C.L.I. candidates. C .L.I. is not a retreat! C.L.I. is not a cure-all for spiritual and/or emotional problems. Mature youth who are involved in parish/school life and are willing to continue this commitment in a leadership role make the best C.L.I. candidates.

What happens at CLI?

Past C.L.I participants all agree that this experience defies description! Our week is packed with learning, prayer, affirmation and fun.

Some daily sessions focus on the art of leadership; communication skills, leadership styles, group dynamics, and planning skills. Other sessions explore various aspects of Catholic Christian discipleship, and how that is embodied through prayer and liturgy, moral decision making, sacramental living and service. C.L.I. participants are challenged to use their skills and talents in planning sessions for specific portions of the daily program; morning wake-up, morning and night prayer, meal blessings, daily liturgy and evening socials. Despite this full schedule, there is still time for relaxation and recreation on the grounds of the diocesan retreat facility, Cathedral Camp, East Freetown.

To ensure that CLI graduates don’t get “lost in the shuffle” of parish and school life, as well as to reap the benefits of their being trained for collaborative planning, this year the team will sponsor follow-ups after the C.L.I. experience . Each follow-up will provide the C.L.I. graduates with the opportunity to plan and evaluate the Diocesan Youth Convention which is held in October. Thus, besides providing an opportunity to continue to build Christian community, the C.L.I. graduates will also be held responsible for what they have learned during the week-long program.

Who will be faciliating CLI?

Director

Frank Lucca - Frank is a youth minister at St Dominic’s in Swansea and has served as a team member and/or director of YES! Retreats for 15 years. He has also served on CLI teams for five years and served as director of CLI 2004 - 2008. He has served on teams for Cursillo Weekends and was the lay director of the Cursillo Movement for 3+ years. He has been a team member on an Emmaus weekend.

Team Leaders

Fr. Jeff Cabral - A former chaplain at Coyle Cassidy High School in Taunton, Fr. Jeff is currently studying canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He has been involved with the Emmaus Retreat program. A candidate on the first YES! retreat and a graduate of CLI 1990, Fr. Jeff has previously served on team for CLI.

Gualter Chaves - Gualter is a catechist at St. Joseph's in North Dighton. He has been involved with the confirmation students for the last 10 years. He has served as a retreat leader for the youth at his parish for the last 5 years. He has been a member and a team member on an Emmaus Weekend.

Amanda Cooke - Amanda is a graduate of Providence College where she received a BA in Youth Ministry. She is currently enrolled at Boston College where she is pursuing a MA in Pastoral Ministry. Amanda is currently a religion teacher and Campus Minister at Bishop Stang High School. She is a member of St. Elizabeth's Parish in Bristol, RI and is a transplant from the Diocese of Providence.

Becky Couet - After growing up in East Freetown, Becky commuted to Bridgewater State where she earned her bachelor's degree. She then had the magnificent opportunity to join a Christian teaching program through Providence College where she received a Master's in Educational Literacy. She is currently a member and cantor of St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown and teaches 8th grade reading in Taunton, Ma.

David Dearden – David is a youth minister at St. Mary's in Dartmouth and just recently started a Life Teen Program at St. Julie's in Dartmouth. For the past 8 years, he has directed several Retreats and Days of Reflection for parishes in the Fall River Diocese. In addition to working in Youth Ministry full time, he also ministers to the Prisoners at the Dartmouth House of Correction.

Chad D’Adamo - Chad has been involved in the YES! program since 1995, the Emmaus program since 2001 and returns to CLI for the 4th time. He graduated from CLI in 1994. He grew up as a member of St. Stanislaus Parish, where he has served as Confirmation program coordinator and currently teaches 9th grade Religious Ed in his Parish. He received his M.B.A. from Bentley College and works as a Strategic Project Manager. He is a graduate of Bishop Stang H.S. and Stonehill College.

Fr. David Frederici - Fr David is currently the Chaplain to Cape Cod Hospital and Cape Cod Community College. He is the associate Scout chaplain for the diocese and is involved with ECHO. He spent 12 years working for the YMCA in organizing teen leadership programs.

Janine Hammarquist - Janine is the Coordinator of Religious Education at St. Francis Xavier in Acushnet and she has served as an adult leader in the St. Francis Peer Ministry for the past 4 years. She has also served as retreat leader for her parish cluster for the past 2 years. She also has been a Catechist for the Confirmation and first grade students for many years prior. She is a mother of three and enjoys sharing her faith with others.

Crystal-Lynn Medeiros - Crystal is the Assistant Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Fall River as well as the Youth Ministry Coordinator at St. Lawrence, Martyr parish in New Bedford. She has served on team for CLI and Emmaus. .

Elena Sardinha - Elena is a member of St Anthony of Padua Church in Fall River and has served as a Youth Minister, teacher of religious education as well as the coordinator and director of the Post Confirmation Youth Retreat. She is a member of the YES! Board and has served as a team member and director. She has also served on numerous CLI weeks. Elena is a medical technologist for the Southcoast Hospital Groups.

Support Team

Bobbi Paradise - Bobbi was the Youth Minister of Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, Ma since 1988. Since living her Cursillo in 1972 Bobbi has served in ministry with the Echo retreat program (serving as a Rectora and/or a team member for over 20 weekends). She has also served on team for several Emmaus weekends as well as the Bethany Retreats. She served on team for the first 5 CLI weeks and on CLI 2004-2007.

Scott Waite - Scott is a graduate of Bishop Stang H.S. and received his B.S. in Nursing from Salve Regina and Curry College. He has been a member of the YES! Retreat team for numerous weekends and an assistant director. He is a 1991 graduate of CLI. He is a member of St Mary’s parish in New Bedford. He is a nurse and Independent Critical Care Consultant, Sagent Health Staffing.

Phil Pereira - Phil has been playing the organ since he was 6 years old, and has been involved with liturgical music since he was 14. He started his ministry at St. John the Baptist in New Bedford. Currently, he plays at the English masses at St. Michael Parish Family in Fall River, as well as the 8am masses at St. John Neumann. It is his pleasure to provide music for CLI '08 since he was once, too, a CLI grad!

Nathan Domingue - Nathan is a student at St Joseph College in Maine. He served as a intern on CLI 2007 and will reprise that role on CLI 2008.

Each parish and Catholic high school of the Diocese is invited to submit applications for two youth. In order to have a balanced program, please make every effort to choose one boy and one girl. You may also select one or two alternates. Alternates will be placed on a separate list and will be chosen in the order received.

All applications and deposits ($50.00 per applicant) should be received by Friday, June 9, 2008 When the completed application and deposit are received, your two applicants will be placed on the C.L.I. registration list. Because of the past popularity of this program, we will not be able to reserve spaces prior to receiving an application and deposit. A sponsor form must accompany each application. This assists the C.L.I. team in their preparation.

After the registration and deposit are received, the C.L.I. candidate will be sent the necessary permission and health forms. Further information concerning the C.L.I. program will also be sent. Applications received after June 9 will be charged a $15.00 late fee. The balance of payment ($149.00 per applicant ), as well as the permission and health forms are due on or before June 20 .

Correspondence and Questions

The candidates’ applications, sponsor forms, as well as a check payable to “Office for Youth Ministry” should be mailed to Office for Youth and Youth Adult Ministry . Please be sure to include your candidates’ names and/or parish/school on the check.

Mail to: Office of Youth and Adult Ministry, 423 Highland Avenue, Fall River, Massachusetts , 02720 , ATTN: C.L.I. Registration

For more information about C.L.I. 2007 contact Frank Lucca at work, 508-324-4576 or at
home, 508-679-6329 or cli@fallriverouthministry.org