In their Pastoral Letter, “Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us”, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called parishes to focus on Adult Faith Development as one of their highest priorities.
We [the USCCB] are convinced that the energy and resources we devote to adult faith formation will strengthen and invigorate all the charism that adults receive and the activities they undertake, in the Church and in society, to serve the Gospel of Christ and the people of today. Every Church ministry will be energized through a dynamic ministry of adult catechesis.1
After noting in paragraphs 40 and 41, the benefits of effective adult faith formation on children and youth and the need for adult faith formation serving as “the point of reference for catechesis for other age groups, the USCCB states that
the Church wisely and repeatedly insists that adult faith formation is ‘essential to who we are and what we do as Church’2 and must be ‘situated not at the periphery of the Church’s educational mission but at its center.’3 (no. 42)
Through this page, we will share ideas which have worked well in various settings and have contributed to the faith development of adults at various ages and stages in their lives.On the Your Ideas? page, you are invited to share your ideas. This will be updated periodically.
1 United States Catholic Conference. U. S. Catholic Bishops. Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan
2 United States Catholic Conference, Department of Education, Serving Life and Faith: Adult Religious Education and the American Catholic Community, no. 157 (Washington, D.C.: United
3 U.S. Catholic Bishops, To Teach as Jesus Did: A Pastoral Message on Catholic Education, no. 43 (Washington, D. C.: United States Catholic Conference, 1972).
Catholic Basics: A Pastoral Ministry Series
The National Conference for Catechetical Leadership publishes through Loyola Press a very helpful series of books on basic topics. I have found the following books very helpful:
- Christology: True God and True Man
- Scripture: Nourished by the Word
- Sacramental Theology: Means of Grace, Ways of Life
- Mary and the Saints: Companions on the Journey
- Christian Morality: In the Breath of God
Each book has a different author with each chapter having a summary, reflection questions and further references. I have ordered them through www.amazon.com. They are great for inservice sessions for parish catechists or for continuing faith development for adult study groups!
Make Straight Program
During the summer the Archdiocese of Cincinnati offers in depth classes for Catholic School Teachers, Parish Catechists and any adults interested in deepening their understanding of the Catholic Faith. Classes are held at various parish sites in the Cincinnati area and are taught by qualified instructors. Classes are also offered in other parts of the Archdiocese. Here are the website addresses:
www.catholiccincinnati.org/oec/cincinnati_calendar.pdf
www.catholiccincinnati.org/oec/dayton_calendar.pdf
www.catholiccincinnati.org/oec/northern_region_calendar.pdfIf you are visiting this site from another part of the country, and would like to have your classes such as the ones above listed, please contact Sr. Rita Hawk sritahawk@copper.net
Exploring the Basics of the Catholic Faith
All of us need a periodic refresher about our Catholic Faith! One small faith community has found the book, This Is Our Faith: A Catholic Catechist for Adults (Michael Pennock, Ave Maria Press, 1998) very useful.
The first 11 chapters deal with the Nicene Creed; the next 5 chapters discuss the Liturgy and Sacraments. Part Three, consisting of 5 chapters, discussed our life with Christ or Christian Morality. The last chapter, Part Four, Chapter 22 discusses prayer, especially the Lord’s Prayer.
Each chapter begins with an introduction, continues with a question and answer format, includes reflection/discussion questions and ends with a prayer. All of the topics give cross references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
A Section at a time would provide plenty of food for thought and would fuel some lively and enriching discussion in a Small Faith Community group or a neighborhood adult faith formation group! It would also be an excellent resource for RCIA.
Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation
The University of Dayton offers wonderful adult faith formation through their virtual learning community. Three to five week courses are offered for a small charge. Many Dioceses and Archdioceses are partners in this endeavor and the fees are thus reduced for participants.
Participants are provided with on-line directions, materials and the opportunity to converse with class participants from various parts of the country. A qualified facilitator works with the learning group during the course. Courses such as Images of Jesus, Church and Communication, Introduction to Catechesis, Marianist Studies: Prayer, Digital Catechesis and many, many more are offered. Certificates to the students, through the Diocesan Offices, are granted at the end of each course. If a student is not part of a Diocesan partner, the student receives the certificate directly.
I just finished a Three Week Seminar through the Virtual Learning Community. Nine of us from Illinois, Florida, Ohio, Maryland and New Jersey participated in this experience. For most of us this was the first time. Within the first several days, a sense of community began to emerge as we shared in the “Meeting Place”–kind of like gathering around a drinking fountain at work–and, as we posted our responses to reflection questions as a result of our reading. Both in-depth learning and community were the fruits of those three weeks.
Check out this exciting opportunity at the website: http://vlc.udayton.edu
Scripture Reflection Process
In two parishes where I have ministered, we met weekly for a reflection on the upcoming Sunday Scriptures. This was the first time for such a program in both of the parishes. Participants were at first hesitant to become involved because they felt they “didn’t know anything about the Bible.” I assured them that we were there to learn together and to share our faith experience. Inboth parishes the group grew from 4-6 participants to 12-14 by the end of a couple years.
Several weeks before the program began, I developed bulletin announcements and flyers to advertise the program. I also published a tentative schedule. In both parishes, we met on Wednesday mornings after the morning Mass. We always had coffee and often donuts or other treats. I kept dishes of hard candy on the tables!
Our session began with the Opening Prayer from the upcoming Sunday or a modified Lectio Divina approach to one of the Scripture Readings. Participants had copies of the readings either from the parish missalette or from their Bible. The parishes purchased New American Bibles, but soon each participant wanted their own Bible. They found tabs helpful in finding the passages.
For resources for my preparation, I primarily used Word and Worship Workbook 1. It provides a process using input, reflection and sharing. The exegetical content is ample–usually more than needed for a session. The workbooks can be purchased through www.amazon.com. I also used segments of videos and handouts from Scripture from Scratch 2 . Participants really enjoyed the overview on the Gospels. They soon became much more comfortable with their insights and realized that they “knew” a lot more than they thought.
In time, I found them coming to the session having already read the Scripture passages and being familiar with the footnotes and cross references. I always tried to make the sessions challenging, but not strictly academic. We often had lively discussions as the Scriptures applied to the present circumstances. As one participant said, “we have far too much fun in this class, but I wouldn’t want it any other way!”
What are your experiences with adult scripture study? What are some of the challenges? We look forward to your sharing by clicking on “Your ideas?” sublink.
1 Mary Birmingham, Word and Worship Workbook. Paulist Press. New York, 1999. (The subtitle is “For Ministry in Initiation, Preaching, Religious Education and Formation.” There is a separate book for each Cycle A, B and C.)
2 Elizabeth McNamer and Virginia Smith, Scripture from Scratch: “Overview of the Gospels”. (Cincinnati OH: St. Anthony messenger Press. 1991, www.americancatholic.org).
