Mission Teams

Role of the Champion/Alpha Team

The JOURNEY Mission Champion is not a formal ministry in the JOURNEY process. The Mission Champion is simply the person or persons who begin the process of bringing the retreat to their home parish. This is a long process which will involve various twists and turns.  We are not in control, we attempt to do our part, be open to the Holy Spirit and take the gift forward when we are first able to do so. 

Bringing JOURNEY to your parish

1. Contact the Regional Support Team (info@journey.org). You will be assigned a liaison from the JOURNEY Regional Support Team.

2. The JOURNEY Mission Liaison will meet with the interested parties to outline the steps that need to be completed in order to bring JOURNEY to the parish.

• Pastor must give approval and support for JOURNEY

• Pastor and Mission Champion must recruit 6 men and 6 women to form the Alpha Team for the parish. The Mission Champion may be one of the 12.  Materials to support recruiting the Alpha Team can be found in the Invitations Facilitator Guide (password servant).

• The Alpha Team members and the pastor must attend a JOURNEY retreat weekend at another parish

• The Alpha Team members will become part of the Mission Teams and help present the first JOURNEY retreat weekends at their parish

The Mission Champion will continue to be the key contact for the Mission Liaison, for both men’s and women’s teams.

It should be made explicit to the Alpha Team the expectation that they will form the Continuation Committee at the parish AND take on specific facilitator roles to support the JOURNEY process at their parish.

Alpha Team Ministries

The specific duties of the Continuation Committee are outlined in the section on Continuation Committee on the JOURNEY website and in the handbook. In addition, the 12 Alpha Team members will be expected to take on the following ministries (one man and woman for each):

• Invitations Facilitator/JOURNEY Begins Facilitator

• Physical Arrangements Facilitator

• Kitchen Facilitator

• Chapel Support Facilitator/Sharing Facilitator

• Evening with the Holy Spirit/New Life in Christ Facilitator

• Spiritual Guide

Shortly after the Alpha Team members have attended the JOURNEY retreat at another parish, the Regional Support Team will provide an overview of these ministries. The pastor will either appoint Alpha Team members to these roles or the team will discern among themselves.

The six ministries are described below. The expectation is that the person discerned for a particular ministry will stay in that role over the course of several weekends, in order to create continuity and develop clear processes. Once the systems are in place, the Continuation Committee can determine a process for inviting new people to the Continuation Committee who would be trained in these areas. Invitations, Physical Arrangements and Kitchen Facilitators would always be held by Continuation Committee members. Sharing, Evening with the Holy Spirit/New Life in Christ Facilitators and Spiritual Guides would not need to be. The Spiritual Guide is the exception to staying in a role over the course of several weekends. A Spiritual Guide can repeat, but should not do so on back-to-back teams.

1.       Invitations Facilitator/JOURNEY Begins Facilitator

• One man and one woman take the lead for invitations, in cooperation with the pastor

• The Invitations Facilitators will be pre-discerned as the Invitations Coordinators for the Mission Teams

• Define a system for your parish; the Invitations Facilitator Guide (password servant) provides helpful information

• Establish goals for your parish

• Develop a Parish Invitations Worksheet

• Make follow up calls on behalf of the pastor

• Develop a database for future invitation outreach

• The person discerned as Invitations Coordinator for a specific team will be the liaison between the team and the Invitations Facilitator; team members will continue to be encouraged to invite people they know

• Invitations Facilitator also facilitates The JOURNEY Begins. Click on The Journey Begins Facilitator Guide (password servant).

• The Invitations Facilitators/JOURNEY Begins Facilitators will hold these roles over the course of several weekends

2.       Physical Arrangements Facilitator

• One man and one woman take the lead for organizing all the arrangements for each weekend

• Reserve all rooms for weekend and Journey with Christ

• Inventory and procure all supplies for the weekend, including foot washing supplies

• Serve as the liaison for the team and the parish facilities manager.

• Develop a plan for the setup of all spaces (what needs to be moved, special arrangements) in cooperation with the Journey Leader, other support ministry coordinators and the Continuation Committee. Photos of the spaces before setup can facilitate clean up.

• Recruit volunteers from past JOURNEY teams to assist in setup and take down (especially take down as current team will likely help with set up.)

• Test audio/video equipment. Ensure that the Liturgists/Music Coordinator knows how to operate equipment.

• Schedule a walk-through of the space prior to the retreat weekend.

• Figure out parking arrangements for the weekend and communicate that information to the Invitations Facilitator so it can be shared with invitees.

• Cover windows and glass doors to eliminate distractions.

• Train sacristans if needed

• Recruit and schedule chapel prayer support throughout the weekend

• Arrange for visiting priests for Reconciliation, including invitations, confirmations, stipends, thank you notes,

• Assist in identifying a Teen Witness, if needed

• Plan and organize the weekend chapel for all prayer sessions and sacraments.

• Arrange with the Spiritual Guide for a tabernacle for the weekend chapel.

• Arrange with priest or deacon for the Blessed Sacrament to be in the tabernacle in the weekend chapel.

• Arrange and facilitate Reconciliation, in cooperation with the Spiritual Guide and the pastor. Arrange space, greet confessors, ensure the smooth flow of invitees to each confessor (if individual confessions are being heard).

• Ensure that all materials needed for Mass are present (chalice, purificators, hosts, etc.

• Arrange with priest or deacon for the Blessed Sacrament to be returned to the main tabernacle.

• Return all materials from the chapel to their proper places at the close of the retreat weekend.

• The person discerned as Physical Arrangements Coordinator for a specific team will be the liaison between the team and the Physical Arrangements Facilitator. The Physical Arrangements Facilitator will also work with the sacristan/liturgist on each team.

• The Physical Arrangements Facilitators will hold this role over the course of several weekends.

• Find out more at the Physical Arrangements Facilitator Guide

3.       Kitchen Facilitator

• One man and one woman take the lead in organizing the kitchen

• Develop a process for food sign up; Plan menus that are simple, easy to digest and appeal to a wide variety of diets.

• Develop standard menus for men’s and women’s weekends

• Reserve kitchen and supervise set up/clean up; ensure that any special requirements of the kitchen are observed

• Recruit volunteers (not from the current team) to assist with prep, serving and clean up

• Inventory kitchen equipment and supplies.

• The Continuation Committee should set a budget if supplies/food must be purchased.

• Check with Invitations regarding any dietary restrictions.

• Develop a schedule for food preparation and clean up, including how many volunteers will be needed at what times.

• Develop a plan for any excess food.

• The person discerned as Kitchen Coordinator for a specific team will be the liaison between the team and the Kitchen Facilitator.

• The Kitchen Facilitators will hold this role over the course of several weekends.

• Find out more at the Kitchen Facilitator Guide

4.       Sharing Facilitator/Chapel Support Facilitator

• The Sharing Facilitator guides the JOURNEY team through Sharing Our JOURNEY, the first part of the formation process. This usually involves 4-5 evenings at the beginning of the team’s formation. Materials to assist the facilitator are available on the JOURNEY website (password servant).

• Recruit and schedule chapel prayer support throughout the weekend

5.       Evening with the Holy Spirit/New Life in Christ Facilitator

• This person facilitates the Evening with the Holy Spirit and New Life in Christ, both discernment activities. The first helps the team discern ministries for the JOURNEY Retreat Weekend. The second helps the team discern where they are called following the Retreat Weekend. Facilitator Guides are available on the JOURNEY website (password servant).

6.       Spiritual Guide

• The Spiritual Guide is the liaison between the team and the pastor/Continuation Committee. Setting the spiritual tone for the team, the Spiritual Guide pays attention to the spiritual formation of all team members and ensures that JOURNEY with Christ meetings remain focused on spiritual formation, not planning an event. Specific responsibilities are outlined on the JOURNEY website (password servant).

Alpha Team Support for Weekend Retreat

The Mission Team will provide the content for the first JOURNEY weekend retreat at a parish. In addition to the duties described above, the Alpha Team is responsible for making decisions in advance of the first JOURNEY retreat weekend.

What rooms on the church campus will be used for the JOURNEY retreat? These areas should be made private during the retreat weekend. The retreat requires, at minimum:

• A meeting room large enough to hold about 50 people with six round tables and two long tables

• A chapel large enough to hold about 50 people with an altar for celebrating Mass

• Sleeping areas to accommodate about 50 people

• An area for food prep and a dining area to accommodate about 50 people

• A secure area to store luggage

• A work room for supplies, support letter sorting, etc.

What sort of sleeping arrangements will be offered? Sleeping at the church is an important part of the retreat. Some parishes may choose to grant exceptions for health issues, but it is best practice to require invitees to stay overnight. The Alpha Team needs to arrange sleeping for about 50. Options include:

• Retreatants bring their own air mattresses

• Parish provides:

  • Air mattresses and air pumps

  • Metal frame cots

  • Foam mattresses

Keep in mind that materials must be stored between retreats.

Who will be eligible to attend the JOURNEY retreat? Most parishes welcome anyone who lives within the parish boundaries, whether that person is a parish member or not. Some parishes will allow those who live near the parish to attend. Keep in mind that while individual spiritual growth is at the heart of the JOURNEY retreat, the parish community is also developed. If a similar retreat experience is available at a non-parishioner’s parish, it might be best to encourage attendance at the home parish.

Will JOURNEY retreat participants attend the parish Mass on Saturday during the retreat weekend or will a separate Mass be celebrated? The JOURNEY process provides two options. It is ideal to offer a separate Mass at the end of the day Saturday (Option 2 in the handbook.) Given the demands on most pastors’ time, it is not always feasible to find a celebrant. In that case, use the schedule marked Option 1 in the handbook.

What should happen to support letters when an invitee does not attend? In the event that a retreatant fails to attend the retreat, that person’s support letters should be returned to the Emergency Contact two weeks after the scheduled retreat. It is a complicated situation and the timing of returning the letters to the Emergency Contact can be handled on a case-by-case basis. A parish may also elect to hold the letters in case the person attends the next retreat. Another option is to return the letters to the retreatant instead of the emergency contact.

What materials need to be procured for the retreat weekend? Typically the Regional Support Team provides initial supplies needed for a retreat weekend (called Weekend in a Box.) Parishes are not required to purchase JOURNEY handbooks. All the materials are open source and available on line. In addition, the parish should supply:

• Bibles - NAB paperback

• Christ Candle

• Reconciliation tapers (enough for each participant) and lighter

• Mass Items: hosts, wine

• Arrange for a place to store all supplies between weekends

What questions should be asked on comment cards at the end of the weekend? Some parishes choose to ask a specific set of questions to retreatants in order to have consistent responses upon which to base changes in the retreat.