| CONTENTS Preface Prologue |
ANTIOCH WEEKEND LEADERS MANUAL |
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OVERALL ORGANIZATION OF THE WEEKEND |
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| Introduction
to the Antioch Weekend
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This section only contains a few notes on the different types of things which have to be done to put on an Antioch Weekend. Each topic could be covered at much greater length. Materials for each area have been and will be printed up separately. Much of what could be said depends on the kind of program that is developed for the whole campus effort, and so it is better treated outside of the Antioch Weekend Manual. The uses of the Antioch Weekend
The Antioch Weekend can be used in a variety of ways. The Manual provides the framework for the weekend itself. How the weekend is made use of in an overall campus effort will determine its specific purpose. What follows is a description of some ways that Antioch Weekend has been used successfully. 1. AWE used to build an overall Christian community. AWE has been used as a way of introducing people to a full Christian life and to a growing Christian community. Recruitment was generally from among people who had only a little or sometimes no contact with the Christian community before. The effect of AWE was to bring them to a deepening commitment to Christ and bring them into the Christian community so that they began to take part in community gatherings, such as Community Mass, discussion groups, prayer meetings, parties, and growth groups. Talksduring the weekend were pitched (through examples and stories) toward the kinds of things anyone (even a new Christian) can do. Personal testimonies centered on a commitment to Christ for the first time. Talks included clearly, but did not put the main stress on, direct evangelism, “Working for Christ” was used to explain growth groups. Follow-throughmost immediately involved forming group reunions that centered on sharing, growth in prayer, scripture and spiritual reading, and apostolic action. On some campuses these groups were also action groups regularly carrying on a program of apostolic action. On other campuses they were primarily for sharing and Christian friendship with the members engaged independently in apostolic action projects. Some of those who participated in the weekend follow-through program would make AWE their primary apostolic work and would begin to work as team members on AWE’s. Putting on more AWE’s (recruiting, helping, prayer support, etc.) was a community project and was a source of unity and strength for the whole community. 2. AWE used for the formation of a core of leaders AWE has been used as a way of forming a group of leaders who will work to form the campus (or as much of it as possible) into a strong Christian community. The weekend worked to lead a group of growing Christians who were already involved apostolicly to a deeper dedication to Christ and to a more mature vision of the Christian life. Recruitment was from among Catholics who were already actively a part of the Christian community with a commitment to Christ, a certain maturity, and leadership abilities. Sometimes people of little Christian commitment were accepted if there was no obstacle to their turning to Christ and if they had sufficient depth of personality. They were people who were known by the leaders of the campus effort and who had shown potential for becoming leaders. The effect of the weekend was to lead them to feel a responsibility for other Catholics and to motivate them to meet with other leaders both to work for the campus effort and to share their Christianity in a deeper way. Talks during the weekend put emphasis on responsibility for forming the Christian community. Personal testimonies were given with a depth of Christian commitment. A substantial commitment was asked for in Growth. The emphasis was on personal contact (talking to others about Christ) in Mission. More emphasis was put on full-time commitment to the direct apostolate in Following Christ. Follow-through was a regular leaders meeting for working together on campus and smaller meeting for Christian friendship (such as, the group reunion.) The Antioch Weekend will make a specific contribution to building up a campus effort. It is designed to do mainly two things:
In attempting to make use of the Antioch Weekend on a particular campus, it is important to consider the actual situation carefully, and to use the weekend to make the contribution that is needed (not to use it in competition with other Christian efforts or in isolation from them). It will be important to consider what is there and what kind of formed leadership is ready to work with the Antioch Weekend. Since the weekend presents a basic Christian message that is of value for students at different levels of growth, it is flexible enough to be used in many ways. The Organization of the Weekends themselves: The weekend depends on having a leaders group which takes responsibility for it. The format and structure themselves, no matter how good, will accomplish little unless they are used by dedicated, capable Christians. The stronger the group of leaders, the more effective the weekend will be. In order for this group of leaders to grow in Christian maturity and in effectiveness as leaders of the weekend, they must meet together weekly for growth, and for planning and coordination. Without such a meeting the Antioch Weekend will not last very long. There seems to be two main possibilities for such a meeting for the leaders of the weekend:
Either kind of leaders’ meeting should have the following elements: 1) prayer together and sharing together as Christians, 2) a study session (the talks of the AWE will suggest the main area for study), and 3) a work session to make plans, organize, etc. The following are the main areas of responsibility for the Weekend itself (recruiting and the follow-through are not considered here, even though more effort should go into the follow-through than into the weekend itself):
The Team on the Weekend: The team members who are needed:
There can be 8 or 9 participants for each group, so for a group of about 25, only 3 speakers and 3 helpers are needed and the group divided into 3 discussion groups. No more than 4 of each should ever be needed, because the group should never go above 35. Two or three talks can be given by the same speaker (preferably no more than one a day). Being a Christian and Following Christ should never be given by the same person. The assistant leader is there primarily to be of aid to the leader. He does mainly what the leader asks. He does not have the responsibility for directing the weekend (unless the leader gives him some part of it), but in most things (personal contact, etc.) he does the type of things the leader does, so he should be familiar with the leader’s role. He is learning how to be the leader. He may give a talk. The helpers act mainly as leaven. They are learning to be team members. They do everything in the team instructions except give talks. Requirements for speakers:
Requirements for the leaders
Candidates Much the best form of getting people is personally contacting those whom we invite to go on the weekend, a telephone call, a letter, a notice are not enough. The face to face meeting is essential. Suggestions for things to say in the course of explaining the weekend to someone:
Ask for the application blank and the deposit ahead of time. This will help him to make and stick to a serious commitment to going. Keep in touch with the candidates up until the very start of the weekend. Many influences will be working on him to get him to change his mind; many things competing for his time and interest. If he is “signed up” and never hears anything more, there is a good chance he will not come. Follow-through The follow-through is far more important than the weekend itself. Encountering Christ is important, but following Him is the decisive matter (even Satan has encountered Christ). Helps for forming a campus program are printed separately.
To be leader on an Antioch Weekend is to have a great responsibility. Much is at stake. The Antioch Weekend can make a major difference in the lives of the students who come. It can reorient the whole direction of their lives, introduce them to Christ, perhaps for the first time, maybe even make the difference for some of them in their eternal destiny. Had Castro or Marx been able to make Antioch Weekends when they were young Christians, perhaps the world would have been different. There is no telling what could happen in each weekend, but it is certain that a good weekend can make a real improvement in the Christian lives of those who come. It is the Spiritual Director who has the chief responsibility for the weekend. It is his decisions which must be the final decisions. But the leader will bear the major part of the responsibility for the unfolding of the weekend, because he is the one who will be directing it at every moment. If something is not done, it is his fault. The buck stops here. Therefore, he must think of himself as the father of a family. Even though the father does not do everything, he makes everything a matter of his concern from the spiritual development of the children to replacing a light bulb. Many of the jobs in the weekend will be delegated to others (the giving of the talk, the preparing of food, etc.), and even though these will be part of the leader’s concern, he should not have to do them himself. His main job will be directing the actual events of the weekend. He will indicate what will be done, when and how. And because he will be directing the weekend, he will be in a key position to set the tone of the whole weekend. The leader should think of his job as a service. He has been commissioned by Christ to care for a group of Christians. But he does not care for them alone. He cares for them with a team. Therefore, as a leader of a team, he should think of his job as a service of the team. He is a servant of the servants. He has a concern for the rest of the team so that they can better help the others on the weekend. Jesus called them all to Him and said: ”You know that the so-called rules in the heathen world lord it over them, and their great men have absolute power. But it must not be so among you. No, whoever among you wants to be great must become the servant of all, and if he wants to be first among you he must be the slave of all men! For the Son of Man Himself has not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life to set many others free.” (Mk. 10:42-45) I assure you that whatever you did for the humblest of my brothers, you did for me. (Mt. 25:40) Before the Weekend The leader is in charge of seeing that everything is ready for the weekend. Even if someone else is in charge, he should check on everything. In particular, he should check on: recruitment of candidates for this weekend, the place for the weekend, the assembling of the materials. The leader’s main personal concern will be the preparation of the team for this weekend.
Above all, the leader will try to form the team members into a real team, a group who have a love for one another and who can work together. He should have them pray together and share together as Christians. If possible it would be well if they could get together socially before the weekend. He should have some personal communication with each one of them, trying to build a friendship and a sense of mutual concern. The leader should be careful to have his own talks well prepared before the weekend, “setting a good example to the others.” The leader should make an extra effort to pray and sacrifice for the weekend, if possible arranging to pray with the team for the success of the weekend. During the Weekend Much of the leader’s effort will be in the unplanned and unplannable aspects of the weekend. It will be how he maintains the overall tone and direction of the weekend. It will be his personal contact with the team and with those making the weekend. It will be in a way he handles difficult situations. The Overall Tone and Direction The leader should be attentive to the spirit and tone of the progression of the weekend. How he leads everything will give the whole weekend its character. He should try to be as sensitive as possible to the way in which what is done would be seen by the participants. The leader should be conscious of the mood of the group so that appropriate adaptations can be made on the spot; for instance it there is an especially good response to a talk, perhaps a few moments of silence would be a good addition to the schedule at that point; or if there is a general note of apathy, a break in the schedule for some singing or free time would help. Jokes can often be used strategically. The leader can sometimes give a little talk to the group to reemphasize a point that has been missed or to reset the tone of the group. Some of these talks are written into the leader’s schedule. Others may vary on the different weekends. Just before talks or before breaks are natural time for such talks. The impression should be given as much as possible that the events of the weekend (especially the parties, discussions, and breaks) are spontaneous. The best way for spontaneous things to come out well is to have them carefully prepared for. The leader should rely especially on the team members to act as a leaven (as sparkplugs) in the group. In general, it is better to give the group less than they want of something which they like (singing, games, etc.) than more than they want. Interest will stay higher if they do not get tired of things. By the way in which the leader conducts himself and by the unfolding of the weekend, it should be clear to the participants that he is in control. They are asked to relax, to be receptive, to forget about time, etc. It is therefore necessary that there be someone they can put faith in, someone they can trust to see that everything will go well. More than anything else, the leader should have the spirit of joy and love which characterizes the message of the weekend. Even when tired, he should be cheerful, and he should always be interested in and concerned for those making the weekend. |
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