General parish education programs

[chewchoo]

as a cradle catholic i have been going to mass every sunday, but just going thru the motions. then i found catholic radio and now i know just how much i don’t know about my faith.

i am under the impression that many in my parish are in the same boat. so my question to all of you is what kinds of religious education programs does your parish have? i mean beyond CCD and RCIA? (and if you don’t have any programs, what would you like to see?)

i am hoping to reach out to those who aren’t already tuned into catholic radio and catholic internet.

how should this education program be started? what is a good format? what kind of content? etc. etc. i am going to attend the education commission meeting in september.

thanks for any and all (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

We have:

• in-house weekend retreats called Light of the World.
• Why Catholic groups.
• small study groups.
• Women’s group that has a talk about once a month.
• bringing health and faith together, our parish nurse brings in people about once a quarter.
• a mission of some sort at Lent.

Check with your disocese. They might have an office that deals with this sort of thing and can help you get something off the ground.

 

[quiet52]

what kinds of religious education programs does your parish have?

We invite all adult Catholics to attend the RCIA nights, but very few take advantage of it.

 

[puzzleannie]

RCIA and adult confirmation class are combined and this year the basic text will be the new US Catechism for adults, with study guide ffrom OSV. We have decided to invite all adults of the parish to participate at no charge, esp. since our catechist is excellent. Don’t know what kind of response we will get, but the folks who went through the bishop’s Lenten confirmation program (truncated 11 sessions) have asked for this class, so that is at least 12. Some of our new catechists are also interested. This parish had a lengthy study on the CCC soon after its introduction about 10 yrs ago by the pastor, which is available on tape, so there is a new generation of adults who need this type of course.

We have two part time staff people in charge of adult evangelization, Spanish and English, so that does not really come under my area. Right now their efforts are concentrated in Disciples in Mission, the diocesan evangelization program.

I have regular faith formation classes for catechists which are open to all parishioners, and I do sometimes get interested people attending, esp. if it has anything to do with the bible.

we have several college age adults who participate in the post confirmation apologetics class, and there are usually at least a couple of older adults as well, since the topics rotate.

there is another group who presents mini-retreats, actually “recollection evenings” during Lent and Advent which are well attended. We get about 40 for the catechist retreat in January. That’s about it. I would like to see a lot more, but it is out of my area.

 

[Mike_Brick]

as a cradle catholic i have been going to mass every sunday, but just going thru the motions. then i found catholic radio and now i know just how much i don’t know about my faith.

i am under the impression that many in my parish are in the same boat. so my question to all of you is what kinds of religious education programs does your parish have? i mean beyond CCD and RCIA? (and if you don’t have any programs, what would you like to see?)

i am hoping to reach out to those who aren’t already tuned into catholic radio and catholic internet.

how should this education program be started? what is a good format? what kind of content? etc. etc. i am going to attend the education commission meeting in september.

thanks for any and all (name removed by moderator)ut.

Sorry to be so late in seeing your post. Most Catholic parishes have good to great formation programs for children through confirmation. Our failure in the past is to “graduate” our kids after confirmation and leave them to the world to finish their formation.

Today, the best parishes offer Adult Faith Formation Programs, and have part-time or full-time staff to plan, coordinate and help deliver those programs. If your parish doesn’t have much to offer for adults, you might want to offer to help get that going there. There are a lot of spiritually hungry adult Catholics out there who possibly had poor formation as a child or youth, who would be eager to know more and perhaps help put on such programs. There are also a lot of protestant and non-denominational groups who are seeking out poorly formed Catholics to fill their ranks too. We must not let that happen to our members!

God Bless
Mike

 

[chewchoo]

There are a lot of spiritually hungry adult Catholics out there who possibly had poor formation as a child or youth, who would be eager to know more and perhaps help put on such programs. There are also a lot of protestant and non-denominational groups who are seeking out poorly formed Catholics to fill their ranks too. We must not let that happen to our members!

God Bless
Mike

exactly, i just found out somebody else in our church is now attending the episcopal church. people are looking for something and the church isn’t delivering. i want to help, i am just new to this whole evangelizing thing. and i am learning myself…

 

[Mike_Brick]

exactly, i just found out somebody else in our church is now attending the episcopal church. people are looking for something and the church isn’t delivering. i want to help, i am just new to this whole evangelizing thing. and i am learning myself…

An absolutely outstanding, must read book for anyone interested in evangelization from a Catholic perspective is John Paul II, and the New Evangelization, from Ignatius Press. I got mine cheap and only slightly used from www.half.com. It will get you fired up about telling “The Good News” of Jesus, and just as importantly help you organize your plan to do that so you can be more effective sooner. About 35-40 years ago Pope Paul VI asked that we first evangelize the Church, then the community. Pope John Paul II took that a step further and urged us to use a new approach, using all available media to do that as well.

God Bless

 

[chewchoo]

An absolutely outstanding, must read book for anyone interested in evangelization from a Catholic perspective is John Paul II, and the New Evangelization, from Ignatius Press. I got mine cheap and only slightly used from www.half.com. It will get you fired up about telling “The Good News” of Jesus, and just as importantly help you organize your plan to do that so you can be more effective sooner. About 35-40 years ago Pope Paul VI asked that we first evangelize the Church, then the community. Pope John Paul II took that a step further and urged us to use a new approach, using all available media to do that as well.

God Bless

great, thank you. i am growing my catholic library and this sounds like a wonderful addition.

 

[Debra_C]

We have a ministry group called Adult Faith Life which organizes events such as lectures, special presentations, Bible study series, etc. We have an evangeliaztion library where people can come check out spiritual reading materials, videos, tapes, etc. Also we have one or two parish missions each year.

In addition, one of our priests does 2 Spanish and 2 English Bible study classes and a Spanish spirituality class each week. We have a book club that meets once a month, and we have a number of lay apostolate groups such as Legion of Mary, Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, Third Order Carmelites, and others that work through prayer and discussion to build one another’s faith.

If you feel called to start something along these lines, go talk to your priest(s).

 

[po18guy]

Chewchoo,

Except for the cradle part, I was much the same Catholic as you.
UNTIL the Lord sent a charismatic priest to our parish. I half-heartedly attended “Life in the Spirit” seminars he hosted. Impressive witness given by many.

However, when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the conclusion of the series, my faith exploded! I am no longer afraid to discuss my faith, reach out to fallen away Catholics, or to tell others of the wonders of the faith. I have been asked if I was a minister or pastor. This always shocks me. If you knew me, it would be clear that the Spirit had been speaking, and not me.

It is simply amazing to see some of the minor miracles that have occurred since, and you never know what gifts the Spirit will give until you ask. Have a look at the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Remember how the apostles went forth, doing great things while “filled with the Holy Spirit”?

I must say it is all true.

Christ’s peace be with you.