Lives of prayer are the foundation from which the regional pastoral councils will succeed in their mission, said speakers at the first Synod formation day for the new councils.

"Love is always a choice," said San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, while presiding the opening prayer service. "Our love depends on our relationship with the Lord Jesus."

He encouraged pastoral council members to commit to lives of prayer and the Eucharist. "Authentic love costs," added the bishop. "It cost Jesus. It will cost each one of us."

All five of the newly formed regional pastoral councils gathered for a day of formation at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks Oct. 23. With them were Auxiliary Bishops Gabino Zavala, Edward Clark, Thomas Curry and Msgr. Bernard Leheny, Episcopal Vicar for the San Pedro Region.

Keynote speaker Mary Ann Gubish, director of the Office of Pastoral Life and Planning for the Diocese of Greensburg, Pa., recently co-authored the Paulist Press publication, "Revisioning the Parish Pastoral Council: A Workbook."

The reason for regional pastoral councils is to "institutionalize collaboration" between parishes, priests, religious, laity, bishops and with the interfaith community, said Gubish, as well as to guarantee "excellence" and "quality of pastoral life."

A leadership ministry, she said, involves visioning, planning and being a change agent to create a better future. Leaders give people hope and empower them to carry out plans.

Communion, she suggested, is more of a verb than a noun and implies all of the faithful working together in unity. "Communion is the fiber of who we are because of our baptism. It is the mystery of unity," said Gubish.

The faithful are entrusted to ensure the mission of Jesus Christ is accomplished. "The mission is so overwhelming that it needs all of us," she said.

It also implies "a radical sense of embracing diversity," she added. "Racism is not a part of who we are as a church."

The councils will develop a bond through regular prayer and faith sharing, she said. "The paper plan is secondary to the conversation and dialogue that creates the plan," she said. "Think relationships, not programs."

Richard Krivanka, director of pastoral planning for the Diocese of Cleveland, led a workshop on communication skills, planning and organizational tools for effective regional councils. The councils then met with their regional bishops.

Marisol Meza, San Pedro Region pastoral council member and parishioner at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Paramount, said the formation day "is challenging me and all other members to really look at who we are and what this commitment is to be about. It's a challenge to help us also grow in our personal lives --- not just at the regional and parish level --- but how we are at home, at school and in the workplace."

The five regional pastoral councils now begin the work of implementing the Synod pastoral initiatives and strategies for their own particular regions. An overall archdiocesan pastoral council, made up of representatives from the regional councils, will be selected in the spring.

The commissioning ceremony for the regional pastoral councils takes place at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m. with Cardinal Roger Mahony presiding.