Adult Religious Education

  • Thread starter Thread starter KathyA
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
K

KathyA

Guest
Does your parish offer adult religious education? If so, what? Who leads/conducts the religious ed? Does your parish priest participate? Any ideas for getting this started?? (I am in a rural parish, so our resources are very limited.)

Thanks,
Kathy
 
40.png
KathyA:
Does your parish offer adult religious education? If so, what? Who leads/conducts the religious ed? Does your parish priest participate? Any ideas for getting this started?? (I am in a rural parish, so our resources are very limited.)
Click to expand...
Aside from RCIA and Adult Confirmation, our Adult Ed is on a periodic basic, where we’ll occasionally get a speaker or Father will offer a series on a special topic.

Our parish welcomes parishioner initiatives if they are led by a dependable layperson using orthodox materials. Your parish may too, but they are probably wary of anything that will increase their heavy workload and schedule (most DRE’s and catechists spend a lot of evenings away from home as it is) There is a lot of good orthodox Catholic material out there; the secret is to take the initiative, and to be conscientious about promoting, organizing and conducting it. If you are to be the one to initiate it and hope it to become an ungoing ministry, I would strongly urge you to look for participants you can mentor and take over for you once in a while, or even after you move on to other things. I think leader burnout kills a lot of good ministries.

My wife conducted a women’s Bible study in our parish for about a year. She had to stop doing it for various reasons and, since no one was willing or able to pick it up, it went dormant. The women who participated it in still come to her at Mass and say how much they miss it. One even said she was thinking about going to a Protestant Bible study to fill the void.People are so hungry for this type of thing. Check with your DRE or pastor to see if they’d be open to you starting something.

Here are some materials you might consider. Many of them are free or inexpensive:

Emmaus Road books features Bible studies for women’s groups:
emmausroad.org/shopnew/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=7&subcat=43&cat=Bible+Studies

The Ignatius Study Bibles, with questions for study at the back of each book (currently the four Gospels, Acts, Romans and I/II Corinthians:
ignatius.com/ViewProduct.aspx?SID=1&Product_ID=824&Category_ID=6&TabID=1

Catholic Exchange has very in depth studies, currently Romans and Genesis, with Exodus coming this fall. Others available:
catholicexchange.com/css/biblestudy.asp?study=BS13

Scott Hahn also features Bible studies at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels on his web page:
salvationhistory.com/

Catholic Serendipity Bible: A NAB without the footnotes but with lots and lots of practical Bible studies and study helps:
zondervanbibles.com/031093737X.htm

Steve Ray’s monumental but user-friendly Catholic Bible study of John’s Gospel:
ignatius.com/ViewProduct.aspx?SID=1&Product_ID=418&SKU=BSGC:JN-P&ReturnURL=search.aspx%3f%3fSID%3d1%26Keywords%3djohn

Consider watching as a group one of Steve Ray’s Footprints of God videos, currently Jesus, Mary, Peter, Moses and Paul. They are extremely well done and come with great study notes:
catholic-convert.com/DesktopDefault.aspx

Also consider watching Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ as a group and using these small group materials:
passion.catholicexchange.com/

Beginning Apologetics with Study Guide/questions available:
catholicapologetics.com/ba1.htm

If you want to study the Catholic response to the “Left Behind” end times errors, Paul Thigpen has a great book and available study guide suitable for small groups:
search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?endeca=1&isbn=0965922820&itm=10

There are a couple of good books that refute the ridiculous but popular Da Vinci Code. Amy Welborn’s *De-Coding Da Vinci * is short and simple and includes questions for group and individual study at the end of each chapter: amywelborn.com/davincicode.html
Carl Olsen and Susan Meisel’s The Da Vinci Hoax is much more in depth and also has a study guide available: ignatius.com/books/davincihoax/resources/

That should get you started! 🙂
 
Thank you for all of the great ideas. During Lent last year, we had a weekly video after Stations of the Cross. We tried to keep the videos to around one hour. It went well for the first couple of weeks, then fizzled out.

I guess the bigger question here is, how do you motivate people to participate when so many feel like they are already doing all that is necessary by attending Mass once a week?

What you say about burn out is so true…I feel that myself in working with the high school students. I keep thinking, if only their parents were active in continuing their religious ed, the kids would see the importance…hence, my question.

Thanks for the feed-back.
 
We are very lucky to have wonderful speakers several times a month. They are scheduled right after Mass and there are also classes for kids the same time so parents can attend and not worry about what the kids are doing. Most of our speakers are members of the parish but have an area of expertise that they speak on (we have several professors from a local Catholic college). One was an ethics professor from the college and his talk was especially helpful for me in understanding the Church’s stance on human life issues. Our priest also does some of the talks, particularly those related to the liturgical year. We went through Advent and have Lent upcoming with classes each week.

All this, great music and a very dedicated priest.

Lisa N (lucky indeed)
 
I am the DRE, in charge of CCD for preK through grade 12, sacramental prep and RCIA. There is a sister who is full time director of evangelization. In addition to a weekly class- Alpha, Touching Jesus through the Church, various bible studies and other set topics (English and Spanish) repeated about once evey 2 years, she does pre-Baptismal classes, moderates prayer groups in homes, does some home visits, runs “visiting the sick”. She has been ill, however, so there have been no adult classes lately.

I wanted to have something specically for parents of CCD students they could do while waiting for their kids. I did surveys to determine interest, got materials, advertised every which way til Tuesday, called those who had asked for these bible studies and other programs. - nada, the one or two who did come found excuses not to continue. They sit in the hall and gossip until their kids are ready to go home, but won’t watch a video, join a discussion group, or a bible group. I have tried this 3 years in a row and have given up. Not my job anyhow. I will concentrate on what my job is, and educate the parents the best I can through the mandatory parent meetings for sacramental classes.
 
40.png
puzzleannie:
I wanted to have something specically for parents of CCD students they could do while waiting for their kids. I did surveys to determine interest, got materials, advertised every which way til Tuesday, called those who had asked for these bible studies and other programs. - nada, the one or two who did come found excuses not to continue. They sit in the hall and gossip until their kids are ready to go home, but won’t watch a video, join a discussion group, or a bible group. I have tried this 3 years in a row and have given up. Not my job anyhow. I will concentrate on what my job is, and educate the parents the best I can through the mandatory parent meetings for sacramental classes.
Click to expand...
Man, that’s discouraging. What is with people? What can we do to get adults interested in learning the Faith? Catechising their children does no good if they go back to homes where the faith is not caught or taught. I’m convinced it all starts with the pastor. If you don’t hear strong, doctrinal teaching from the pulpit that gives the average Joe and Jane in the pew a taste of the depths of the Faith, they don’t know what they are missing–they think they know it all. If all they hear is squishy platitudes and Guideposts spirituality on Sundays, why would they want more of the same?
 
We do get strong doctrinal teaching from the pulpit, from probably the best theologian in the diocese. He is the one that has been urging me to do more, to target the parents. He is the only priest in the diocese to hire a full time person for adult programs. The sister is also fed up, because the idea of educating these people is that they will then become evangelizers and reach others, but they seem to want to take courses for their own enrichment, but are not interested in helping present the next course, becoming catechists, or moving beyond the basics. extremely discouraging.

Diocese has had the same problem with our new lay ministry institute. The courses were intended to prepare people to teach others in their parishes, but not one is interested in handing on what they receive.

I also open up our post-confirmation classes to all adults of the parish, advertising heavily in the parish, and on campus nearby. last year was our Fathers Plan video and study guide, this year is beginning Apologetics. The number one and number two most requested courses in our survey. Had 8 people for each course, 6 who kept with it all year. good news is the seniors last year kept going for 3 weeks after CCD was over because they wanted to finish the video. Next course will be a bible study on Revelation, by request.
 
Years ago when I was young, Dad worked, Mom kept house, and kids entertained themselves and had chores. Today both parents often are working, after school they are transporting the children to scouts, 4-H, sports, etc. I frankly do not know how they do it and get any rest and retain their sanity. I feel so fortunate that we were still a part of the blessed families, where I had a job, my wife took care of the house and kids. We did get hit with the plethora of after school activities, but with six kids they were told to chose one because there was not enough time in the world to do it any other way. As a Scout leader in later years, I used to be upset because many parents just didn’t seem to want to help. I realize today that they were already on the “treadmill” and down time was rare enough that they needed to recoup their lives. In short, I believe the young folks activities burn so much parent time that there is little left for anything else. Retirement and grown children are blessed relief.
 
I think you are right on the money about today’s parents being burned out with all the activities. Work and taking care of the family are priorities, but just looking at my kids, it seems a lot of what they do is self-imposed. I find it hard to believe that a 2 year old needs to attend 5 formal, planned activities with her peers each week. Baby has play group twice, gymboree, swimming and nursery time at church during Mass (parents help out once a month). I like the idea of the last one (having tried to sit through Mass with her), but DD spends 4 mornings a week ferrying her to her activities, not to mention all the activites for the 4 school aged kids.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top