Cultural Orientation Program for International Ministers

The Cultural Orientation Program for International Ministers (COPIM) is a series of three 3-day workshops designed to support the ministry of priests and religious sisters and brothers whose native culture is not that of the United States. The program was started in 1990 in response to needs expressed by some international priests themselves, as well as diocesan bishops, vicars for clergy, continuing education directors, and offices of ethnic ministries. It was recently expanded to serve the needs of sisters and brothers as well.

COPIM gives priests and religious some opportunities for cultural dialogue in supportive, affirming contexts. They learn more about the church, society, and culture of the United States while also appreciating and affirming their own cultural heritage and values. The goal is to enable them to become more critically aware of both their own cultures and the U.S. culture(s) they serve.  Understanding how to recognize and respect cross-cultural boundaries is crucial for ministry in today's multi-cultural situations. Theory and skills learned in this program prepare the participants for more effective ministry in the U.S. and for reentry in case they return to their country of origin.

General Information

COPIM is designed for priests and for religious sisters and brothers who have come from other countries to work in the United States within the past five years and are already engaged in pastoral ministry here. Invitation to participate in this program ordinarily comes through their bishop or religious superior. Ministers born in the United States who work in inter-cultural contexts or those from other countries who have been here for many years may also attend. Priests or religious from any culture will find the COPIM workshops informative, challenging, and helpful for ministry in today's Church.

COPIM workshops use adult education models with as much dialogue and interaction as possible. Most of the presentations are given in English, but are translated into other languages, as necessary. Small group discussions may take place in Spanish or other languages common to the group.  Content presentations provide useful information in areas of culture, church history, theology, and pastoral ministry.  Question and answer periods allow the participants to understand more fully the issues raised by the presenters.  Small group sessions provide time for further dialogue among the participants, whose ministerial and personal experiences are honored as valuable resources for pastoral reflection.  Guest speakers include leading experts on the cultural, social, pastoral, theological, and legal aspects of church life and ministry in the United States today. For further general infomation, please see the following:

• The Intercultural Context of Ministry in the United States
• COPIM Frequently Asked Questions
• The USCCB Guidelines and COPIM (print pdf)

Fees include registration, tuition, program materials, and private room and board in a beautiful retreat house setting.  Participation in COPIM is funded according to the arrangements for continuing education in most local dioceses or religious orders. A Cultural Orientation Certificate and continuing education credit is awarded to those who complete all three workshops.  Schedules and tuition are subject to change.  Additional fees may be incurred for books and materials.  Please check the Web site for updates.  Submit an enrollment form for each workshop (three in total) via direct mail, or contact LMU Extension at 310.338.1971 to handle your enrollment over the phone.  You can also register for courses individually online.

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INSTRUCTORS

B. Kwame Assenyoh, S.V.D., STL is a PhD student in Interdisciplinary Studies of African Diaspora and Christian Mission at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Ordained in Ghana, West Africa, in 1998, Kwame has worked as pastor and missionary of the Society of Divine Word with black parishes in Louisiana for 8 years. He has a MA in religious studies from Loyola University New Orleans and STL (systematics) from Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kwame’s research concerns a critical investigation of the Church’s mission/evangelization models from an African Diasporic perspective in order to account for the current decline of black Catholicism in the USA. Kwame is the organizer of Sankofa cultural trips to Ghana for black Catholics. He has spoken at diocesan workshops and conferences and preached missions (revivals) to some ten Black Catholic Churches across the USA. He is the author of “International Ministers: Different than Missionaries” in the S.V.D. magazine "In A Word" of February 2009.

Reverend Brett Hoover, C.S.P., PhD is a Paulist priest and research faculty at the Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) at Loyola University in Chicago. He also facilitates cultural orientation for international priests and religious beginning ministry in the United States. He completed his Ph.D. at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, writing on the phenomenon of the shared parish, where two or more cultures share the same parish but have distinct masses and ministries. In 2001, Fr. Brett co-founded BustedHalo.com, an outreach and catechetical website for young adults. He is the author of "Losing Your Religion," "Finding Your Faith: Spirituality for Young Adults" (Paulist) and other books and articles. Originally from Southern California, since his 1997 ordination he has served Hispanic/Latino, Euro-American, Filipino, and African American communities in New York City, California, and the Midwest.

Reverend Ricky Manalo, C.S.P., PhD (cand) is a member of the Missionary Society of St. Paul (The Paulists). He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and his liturgical music is published by Oregon Catholic Press. He has written more than 20 pastoral articles on liturgy and culture, intercultural ministry and liturgical music. He is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy, a board member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM), and is an advisor to the U.S. Bishops’ Secretariate on Cultural Diversity in the Church. Currently he is a doctoral candidate at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.