Family Life Conference Canada Day Long Weekend, 2019
FLC June 28 - July 1st, 2019
ONLINE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!!!
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please read the following.
Family Registration is for parents and their children living in the same household.
Use the Family Registration Module to register your immediate family.
For all additional children or adults attending with your family,
register and pay separately using the appropriate registration module(s) for:
Child Registration; Senior/Student Registration; or Individual Registration.
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After June 21, 2019 Late Registration Fees apply
and refunds will no longer be issued.
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Conference Schedule: Will be posted as soon as it is finalized.
Keynote Speaker: Dr Tim Gray
Tim Gray is President of the Augustine Institute and a well-known Catholic speaker and author. Under Dr. Gray’s leadership, the Augustine Institute has established the largest Catholic graduate school of theology in the country, and has created best-selling programs including: Symbolon, a comprehensive program of faith formation for adults; FORMED, a digital platform with a vast array of Catholic films, eBooks, and audio talks; and Signs of Grace, a sacramental preparation program for children. They are currently also developing a comprehensive Catholic curriculum for students in grades Kindergarten through high school.
Dr. Gray has a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Catholic University of America., and is the author of several books including Peter: Keys to Following Jesus and Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina. Tim and his wife Kris, and son Joseph, live in Littleton, Colorado.
Keynote Speaker:
Sister Helena Burns
Sister Helena Burns, FSP was going to be an ornithologist, but God “zapped” her and now she belongs to the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of religious women dedicated to spreading God's Word through the media. When she’s not singing, Sr. Helena gives workshops to teens and adults on media literacy, philosophy, and Theology of the Body. Sr. Helena is the writer/producer of Media Apostle: the Father James Alberione Story and a co-producer on www.The40Film.com. She also reviews movies for LifeTeen and various Catholic newspapers. She is a dual--not duel--citizen: an AmeriCanadian.
Her interests include the typical: praying, helping people, reading books, philosophy, Theology of the Body, playing keyboard, and praising God, and the not-so-typical: writing screenplays, biking, birding and rollerblading.
Favorite music: jazz, blues, black Gospel, funk, disco, Christmas music, (good) folk music, Canadian folk music, classic rock, world music, hard rock. Favorite movies: Man for All Seasons, The Mission, Blade Runner (director's cut), What About Bob?, Romero, Gran Torino. Favorite books: The Bible, Imitation of Christ, I Believe in Love, Power in Praise, The Wet Engine, Fides et Ratio, Theology of the Body, anything by JP2G or B16 or James Alberione.
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Ryan Topping
A native of Saskatoon, Canada, Dr. Ryan Topping earned an MA in Philosophy from the University of Manitoba as well as an M.Phil. and a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Oxford. He is a Professor of Theology and serves as Vice-President and Academic Dean at Newman Theological College, Edmonton. He formerly taught at Thomas More College in New Hampshire and held the Pope John XXIII Chair of Studies in Catholic Theology at St. Thomas University, Canada. Dr. Topping has published on a variety of Catholic themes and figures, from St. Augustine, to Dante, to G.K. Chesterton in academic and popular journals. He has published several books on Catholic culture and education, including Rebuilding Catholic Culture: How the Catechism Can Shape our Common Life (Sophia Institute, 2012), The Elements of Rhetoric (Angelico Press, 2016) and Renewing the Mind: A Reader in the Philosophy of Catholic Education (Catholic University of America Press, 2015). His forthcoming book is Christmas Around the Fire: Poems, Stories, and Lessons for the Season of Christ’s Birth (Tan, 2019).
His newest book, published fall 2018, is The Gift of the Church, volume 1: How Catholicism Transformed the History and Soul of the West
ADULT TALK: “Keeping the Faith in an Age of Unreason”
One out of three young Canadians now claim they have “no religion”. The number one reason why young people say they don’t have faith is because they think science disproves it. In this talk, Dr. Topping shows how believers can unite faith, reason, and Tradition to help advance the New Evangelization.
Anna Topping and her husband Ryan have been blessed for their sanctification with eight sons and one daughter, whom they educate at home. Prior to becoming a mother, Anna was a school teacher in Canada and the UK. Anna blogs nowhere.
ADULT TALK (Testimony): “Finding a Catholic Home”
Ryan and Anna Topping each grew up as Mennonites, entered the Catholic Church in their 20s while living in Oxford, and together have nine children. In this presentation, the Toppings describe their journey into the Church and reflect on some of the successes and challenges they’ve met along the way as parents trying to build a Catholic culture in their own home.
Friday Mass Celebrant
Most Rev. Paul Terrio, B.A., L.Th., Cert.Ed., Ph.L. Bishop of St. Paul was born on May 4, 1943, in Montreal; ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 1970. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a teaching certificate from Concordia University, a Licentiate in Theology from the University of Montreal and a Licentiate in Philosophy from Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He worked as Parochial Victor of the Cathedral of Montreal to 1975 and taught at College de Montréal until 1983. As a Sulpician he served at the Seminary of Brasilia and in 1994 joined the formation team at St. Joseph Seminary in Edmonton. He served as pastor to two parishes in the Archdiocese of Edmonton and as Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese. He was working as President of Newman Theological College when Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of St. Paul on October 18, 2012. He was ordained to the episcopate on December 12, 2012.
Saturday Mass Celebrant
Archbishop Richard W. Smith was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 28, 1959. He studied at St. Mary's University and at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax. Ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 1987, he pursued further studies in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and earned a Licence in 1993 and a Doctorate in 1998. After some fruitful years of ministry in the Archdiocese of Halifax, he was appointed Bishop of Pembroke on April 27, 2002 and ordained to the episcopate on June 18, 2002. Pope Benedict XVI, on March 22, 2007, appointed him to the Metropolitan See of Edmonton. Archbishop Richard Smith was formally installed as seventh Archbishop of Edmonton on Tuesday, May 1, 2007, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. He serves as President of the Catholic Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and is past president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Sunday Mass Celebrant and Sunday Evening Benediction
Fr. Paul Moret is a regular at our Family Life Conference and the Spiritual Director of Catholic Family Ministries. At our Family Life Conference he regularly celebrates the sacraments of Holy Mass and Reconciliation and leads Benediction. He has been our guest speaker a number of times as well as throughout the diocese. He will be breaking from his sabbatical to join us once again at this year's FLC to celebrate our opening Mass and evening Benediction.
Monday Mass Celebrant
Father Dean DOWLE, current Adjunct Judicial Vicar and Chaplain of Edmonton Catholic Schools, was appointed Pastor in 2018, replacing Father Paul Kavanagh at St. John the Evangelist Parish in addition to his responsibilities as Adjunct Judicial Vicar. Father is a tremendous Pro-Life advocate and works closely with the Gianna Centre at Catholic Social Services and was the MC at the 2019 Pro-Life Walk at the Edmonton Legislature in May. His passion for the unborn was greatly appreciated by the 1200+ Pro-Life participants who attended this Annual Walk.
Adult Music in the Shrine/Youth Speaker: Mike Landry
Mike Landry attended the first Family Life Conference as a teenager, and has hardly missed a conference since. His music ministry, Anaphora, has long served the Family Life Conference for both young people and the adults. Mike spent ten years as a parish youth minister, working for both Holy Family Parish in St. Albert and Holy Trinity Parish in Spruce Grove/Stony Plain, and currently serves as chaplain to Evergreen Catholic Schools, West of Edmonton. In addition to music ministry and his work in the schools, Mike travels Western Canada as a Catholic speaker; writes a regular column for Grandin Media, and most importantly, is a husband and father of five children.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Theology from Newman Theological College (Edmonton) and a Master of Arts in Graduate Theology from Franciscan University (Steubenville). In addition to leading music in the Shrine, Mike is looking forward to speaking to young people at this year's conference.
YOUTH TALK: In a study of the faith in young people across North America (National Survey on Youth & Religion), the conclusion was reached that one of the things that ails young people today is that we've embraced a watered down parasite of religion they call "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism". If you were to give this a creed, you would say that those who embrace MTD often believe in these five things:
1. A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to others, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when needed to resolve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.
Mike will give a brief introduction to these points and do both apologetics (where this lines up to our faith and where it does not), and also a bit of an examination of conscience - how have we embraced this in our own lives and what do we need to do to better adhere to the creed of our One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.
Youth/Young Adult Speaker:
Peter van Kampen
Peter van Kampen is a Youth Ministry Coordinator for Red Deer Catholic Schools. He works in three schools and two parishes in Rocky Mountain House and Sylvan Lake. He has also worked for years as the Program Coordinator at Our Lady of Victory Camp, and as the Dean of Boys at Clearwater Academy. Peter is passionate about the faith, and presents it in a way that is dynamic and inspiring, and faithful to Catholic Magisterial teaching. He has a degree in Philosophy and Theology from the Dominican College, and is the author of The Battle for Moriah.