Charismatic conference pushed back to February

Tough economy forces postponement of English-speaking conference from its usual September date.

ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FLORIDA CATHOLIC MIAMI BUREAU EDITOR

Posted: 09.09.09

MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Mary and Jim Horvath have served as lay coordinators of the English–speaking renewal since 1997. The Horvaths also lead a charismatic prayer group at St. Bartholomew Parish in Miramar on Wednesday evenings.

MIAMI | For the first time in 29 years, the English-speaking Catholic Charismatic Renewal will not be holding its annual conference in September.

“Because of the upset of the economy, many people were unable to make their monthly or yearly pledges,” said Jim Horvath, 75. He and his wife, Mary, also 75, have served as lay coordinators of the English-speaking renewal since 1997.

Their office budget of $38,000 a year, which comes entirely from pledges and donations, pays for a quarterly newsletter and provides the upfront funding needed to host the conference. Compounding the problem, rising prices at local hotels have forced them to look elsewhere for a conference site.

“There are not many hotels that would handle the people we had,” said Horvath, noting that the conference has drawn between 600 and 700 people the last few years. “The ones that could handle them were so expensive we couldn’t afford it.”

The plan now is to hold the conference at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Kendall the weekend of Feb. 19-21, 2010 – and keep admission fees to an affordable $35 per person or $50 per couple.

“We’re trying to get those pledges and donations before that conference so we can have funds for it,” said Horvath.

In addition to operating the office, the Horvaths lead a charismatic prayer group every Wednesday night at St. Bartholomew Parish in Miramar. It is one of about 38 English-only prayer groups that are active in the Archdiocese of Miami.

FIND OUT MORE

• The English-speaking Catholic Charismatic Renewal office is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Prayer requests may be phoned in to 954-961-1856; faxed to 954-961-3662; or e-mailed. Jim and Mary Horvath are the lay coordinators; Marianist Father Dan Doyle is spiritual director, assisted by Father John Fink. Visit the Web site.

• For the Spanish-speaking, the Renovación Carismática Católica Hispana may be reached by phone at 305-631-1007, by fax at 305-642-0006, or by e-mail. Concepción Gonzalez is the lay coordinator and Deacon Rafael de los Reyes is the spiritual director.

• For the Creole-speaking, the lay coordinator is Hernsie Milfort, who may be reached at 305-608-2972 or by email.

There also are about 64 prayer groups in Spanish and a good number in Creole, often active in the same parish. Jim Horvath knows of a Filipino prayer group active at Nativity Parish in Hollywood, and a Brazilian prayer group in Pompano that has about 400 members.

“The Haitians have an awful lot (of people),” Horvath said. “They’re really active. They have conferences in New York that they go to.”

At one point, there was only one annual charismatic conference for all the language groups. Simultaneous translation was provided in English and Spanish and as many as 5,000 people attended. In recent years, the different language groups began hosting their own conventions.

According to Deacon Rafael de los Reyes, spiritual coordinator of the Hispanic renewal, the Spanish-language groups host an annual meeting around the first weekend of June in Miami-Dade County, and around the end of August or early September in Broward County. As many as 2,000 people attend in Miami-Dade and 500 to 700 in Broward.

Although there has been a drop in prayer group membership in both the English- and Spanish-speaking communities, Horvath said, “We don’t focus on numbers. A small prayer group can be very powerful when the members attend every week, persevere in intercessory prayer and have an outreach to the poor.”

The coordinators’ role is to keep in touch with all the prayer groups and spread the word about special events, such as Masses for healing and Life in the Spirit seminars. Those consist of a series of weekly prayer meetings that introduce participants to the gifts of the Spirit and culminate in “baptism in the Spirit”.

“That’s when life in the Spirit really starts,” Horvath said, because that’s when people start becoming really involved in their parishes. “That is what the renewal is about. It is about being called to a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ and allowing his Holy Spirit to empower us to be obedient to the Father, so that we may be the hands and feet of Jesus to others.”

Horvath said he himself used to go to church and “it would go in one ear and out the other.”

Then he hurt his back while riding a motorcycle and began attending the first charismatic prayer group founded in the Archdiocese of Miami, at Nativity Parish in Hollywood. It dates back to 1968 – the year the Catholic charismatic movement started worldwide – and to Marianist Father Dan Doyle, who still helps out at the parish and serves as spiritual director of the English-speaking renewal.

“I kept going back to the prayer meeting,” Horvath said. “They kept praying for me. Finally the Lord healed my back. It never bothered me after that and I’ve been going back to the meetings ever since.”

He described a charismatic prayer meeting this way: “We praise the Lord for like 30 minutes or more – sing songs and praise the Lord. The gifts of the Spirit are manifested (as stated in 1 Corinthians 12). There are prophetic words and Scripture sharing and teachings.”

Then members pray for specific intentions, and finally a collection is taken up. Its proceeds are split between the Charismatic Renewal and the poor.

Horvath’s office also accepts prayer requests that are passed on to various local groups, as well as 10 or 15 online prayer groups throughout the country. Periodically, the prayer groups host Masses for those in need of healing, be it physical or spiritual.

“Many people in these days of trial and upset in the world feel that their prayer groups are a great support to them,” Horvath said. “They feel the love of Jesus in their brothers and sisters and as they join together in prayer, they are encouraged, strengthened and lifted up so they can return to their homes and work places and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to those the Holy Spirit puts in their path.”

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