: Nathanael - History :
The Catholic Church has undergone many changes since the Second Vatican Council. She has been renewed. In one of its principle documents, Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), the Church insists upon the participation of lay people in the life of the Church. The Church recognizes the co-responsibility of lay people to be involved. She recognizes the need to develop lay ministers and leadership in the Church in order to transform the world.
Through the Holy Spirit which guided Vatican II, local churches felt the need to offer lay ministry formation in order to help laity respond authentically to the call given to all by God at baptism.
Nathanael was born from this need. The program has existed for almost 20 years. The name, Nathanael, comes from one of the apostles chosen by Jesus to establish the Church and continue His mission of evangelization. Nathanael was mandated by the Archbishops of St. Boniface and Winnipeg. The archdioceses combined their efforts in order to establish a solid process of formation, of three years duration, offered to lay people with a desire to deepen their faith and their Church commitments. When we speak of formation process we must emphasize that Nathanael is not a series of university structured academic courses. It offers for the most part, an opportunity to learn about Theology, Scripture and includes sessions of personal growth and spirituality. A great adventure awaits those Catholics desiring to transform themselves in the service of the Church.
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