Thank you for your interest in presenting at the 2020 GO! Conference. The theme for the conference is "2020: His Vision/Our Call." The conference will be held January 9-11, 2020 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana.
The planning committee requests proposals from diverse and engaging speakers who can address God's vision for our world and how we can faithfully live our Baptismal call. Proposals should incorporate the 2020 theme into session titles and descriptions.
We would like to offer practical presentations that will assist our participants in their ministries and everyday lives. Our participants come from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, as well as many other areas. They are Catholic school teachers, parish catechists, principals, administrators, clergy, youth ministers, RCIA teams, those who work for Catholic Charities, and many more. Our participants have expressed a need for practical "how-to" breakout sessions as well as sessions that help them to grow in their own faith lives.
Specific suggestions for breakout themes include
- Universal Call to Holiness
- "Rejoice and Be Glad" by Pope Francis
- Vocations
- Authentic Discipleship
- Practical Spiritual Leadership
- Family Faith Formation
- Alternate Models of Catechesis and Formation
- New Church Documents, Including the New GDC
- Liturgy and Music
- Faith And Science
- Practical Ways to Incorporate Scripture into Daily Life
- Catholic Social Teaching on Current Issues and Events
- Practical Methods of Lifelong Catechesis
- The Domestic Church
- Building Community Among Isolated
- Recruting Volunteers
- Accompaniment/Mentoring
- Keeping Kids (and others) Catholic
We have been blessed to have our speakers sponsored by publishers, institutions, (arch)dioceses and individuals. The conference does provide conference registration for its speakers, and we encourage our speakers to participate fully in the conference. Like NCEA and other conferences, we are unable to provide stipends, transportation, or hotel costs for our breakout speakers. Please note that the selection committee (made up of diocesan directors) will meet in May. You will be notified of their selections no later than June 10, 2019.
The deadline for submitting your proposals is May 15, 2019. In addition, any potential speaker who did not speak at the GO! Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference in 2019 (and does not work in the Archdiocese of New Orleans) must submit a letter of suitability from his/her ordinary, vicar general or chancellor in order to be considered. This letter must be received by May 15, so please request this as soon as possible. This letter should be addressed and mailed to
Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans, 7887 Walmsley Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70125
A photo of each potential speaker should be emailed to Aline Harbison at aharbison@arch-no.org by May 15, 2019. Incomplete or late submissions will not be accepted. All proposals must be completed online using the link at the bottom of this page.
We thank you for your consideration look forward to a great conference in 2020!