Workshop familiarizes ministers with AI tools for parishes, evangelization

Ministers in the Diocese of Paterson in New Jersey learned how to leverage their skills with Artificial Intelligence (AI) for parish operations and evangelization on Sept. 10 during a workshop, “AI Tools for Ministry,” at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J.

Six local experts presented on their specific area of expertise with AI. They each demonstrated how AI can be applied daily in their respective fields. The presenters were:

• Father Alex Nevitt, episcopal delegate for parish leadership development and administrator of St. Bonaventure Parish in Paterson, N.J., who spoke about “AI Tools for Ordained Ministers.”
• Joseph Ginexi, St. Paul Inside the Walls media specialist, who talked about “AI Tools for Video Media Production.”
• Mary Drasheff, St. Paul Inside the Walls communications coordinator, who explored “AI Tools for Flyers, Social Media Graphics, and Websites.”
• Mary Lennon, diocesan technology director, who spoke about “AI Tools for Parish Administrators (Contact and Sacramental Records Management).”
• Bartosz Luczynski, an AI inventor and a recipient of a Ph.D. in computer science, who talked about “Building AI Agents” and prompt engineering.
• Brian Honsberger, St. Paul Inside the Walls executive director and diocesan director of mission and technology integration.

After the presentations, the students divided into small groups with the presenter of their choice to further discuss their AI topic and to get answers any remaining questions the class had.

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Workshop familiarizes ministers with AI tools for parishes, evangelization