By Nancy Mann Jackson
Rarely does a local meeting draw international attendance. But the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress (RE Congress) is different. With more than 50 years of history, the event is the largest of its kind in the world. And while it’s sponsored by the Catholic Church’s local Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Office of Religious Education, the meeting draws attendees from across the country and around the globe – 40,000 people in 2008, compared with 1956, when it drew 500 teachers and catechists to a high school auditorium in LA.
Held annually during the first quarter of the year, the RE Congress has experienced steady growth since its early days, so planners have consistently been challenged to meet the needs of ever-larger groups. And because today’s audiences are more diverse with greater expectations – and because they face new challenges in the church and in the field of education – conference organizers continually strive to develop creative ways to meet attendees’ needs and keep them coming back for more.
Although the conference is sponsored by a Catholic organization, people of all faiths are welcome, according to Paulette Smith, Congress Event Coordinator for the Office of Religious Education of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Even within the Catholic Church itself, a variety of clergy and laity are drawn to the event’s offerings.
“Our mission for this Congress is to promote religious education,” says Smith. “But that mission reaches more than just teachers or priests. People in all kinds of ministries come to this Congress, such as those working in bereavement ministries and liturgical ministries and many other types of ministries, because education is such a vital part of so much of what we do in the church. The program areas that have grown over the years depend on what challenges we’re facing as a church and what the world is facing at the moment. We look at what religious documents have come out and how we can help people understand those documents and use them in their ministries, or at liturgical [worship] renewal and how it affects what we do in our parishes.”
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Designing for Diversity
A tall order, but the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is one of the most diverse archdioceses in the United States, and the Office of Religious Education certainly reflects that diversity when organizing the annual RE Congress. Organizers consider a wide array of attitudes and attendees, including ethnic, racial and generational issues.
For example, in its efforts to cater to a younger demographic, the RE Congress offers Youth Day on the first day of the four-day event. Youth Day draws 15,000 young people in grades nine through 12 and includes a variety of workshops, rallies and three different liturgies, or worship and prayer experiences, Smith says. This year, organizers added “Called by God,” a unique vocations program, to the Youth Day experience. This new event offered young people a chance to dialogue with Cardinal Mahony, Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishops and other religious leaders on the subject of careers and vocations. The program included opportunities “to hear the discernment stories of our leaders, as well as having young people share their ideas with others,” according to the RE Congress website.
In addition to recognizing the various needs of different age groups, the RE Congress also takes into account the wide variety of cultures and ethnicities represented in the Los Angeles Archdiocese, as well as those represented by additional international attendees. “There are a number of people active in our archdiocese who speak Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and other languages in addition to English,” Smith explains. “We offer Mass in over 30 languages each weekend in our archdiocese.”
As a result of that year-long attention to cultural diversity, the annual convention is a decidedly multicultural experience. At the conference, prayer and worship services are regularly offered in four languages (English, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese). During the conference weekend, attendees also have opportunities to attend worship services in a variety of different “characters,” which are traditionally structured prayer and worship services that are enriched by the flavor of a particular culture, musical style or tradition. Some of the worship styles offered in the past have included Celtic, jazz, and young adult. In 2009, the RE Congress will offer special prayer services in “characters” such as African-American, Spanish, Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Samoan, Church on the Way to Unity, Hope of the World and Many Cultures – One Journey of Faith.
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Incorporating Entertainment
While worship experiences are among the most popular components of the RE Congress, organizers also make an effort to incorporate plenty of “just for fun” events as well. For years, the conference has included two evening concerts, usually featuring Catholic entertainers. This year, Friday night’s concert will feature Liam Lawton, a Catholic priest who is also a musician in his own right and often featured on PBS, Smith says. The Saturday evening concert will feature a mariachi band from the LA area. New this year, the conference will also add outdoor entertainment at lunchtime, allowing attendees time to unwind in the middle of the day and experience some sought-after Catholic entertainers.
Other types of entertainment are also on tap at the RE Congress. Two years ago, organizers added the Catholic Filmmakers Showcase, a popular evening event that draws about 400 attendees. At the showcase, attendees view movie shorts and clips from a number of Catholic production companies in Hollywood. “The producers and directors come and talk about the films so attendees get to experience some conversation about them as well,” Smith notes.
The event’s exhibit hall also offers plenty of interesting diversions. In 2008, the show included 250 exhibitors with 400 booths showcasing everything from publishing companies and artists to ministry partners and technology. “There are all kinds of exhibitors, but they must all tie in some way to our mission of promoting religious education,” Smith explains.
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Utilizing a Familiar Site
Although the entertainment and educational options at RE Congress change and evolve every year, organizers haven’t had to worry about site selection issues in almost 40 years. Since 1970, the convention has been held at the Anaheim Convention Center, just outside Los Angeles.
Why stay in the same place for so many years? “We know the site well, the site knows us well and our meeting has been a good fit for the city,” Smith says. Because it’s such a large event, RE Congress contracts with 32 hotels near the convention center. Other centers in the region don’t offer as many nearby hotel rooms.
“Within our area, Anaheim is the only center at this point that can accommodate us,” Smith says. “We have 35 to 37 breakout sessions per day, and we use the entire convention center, as well as five additional hotels. The Anaheim site contains all our needs.”
And for those attendees who come back year after year, they have a built-in familiarity with the meeting place. While Smith doesn’t rule out the possibility of relocating the meeting if other viable sites become available in the LA area, she definitely appreciate the conference’s long history with its current venue. “We have pictures of the meeting from the 1970s. Many of the hotels around the center weren’t even built yet, but we were already meeting there,” she says, adding, “We’ve grown right along with the convention center and the city.”
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