Have you gone through or taught in RCIA? Tell us about it!

[Lepanto]

Have you gone through or taught in RCIA? Tell us about it!

What did you like about it? What didn’t you like?

Was it too intense or too fluffy?

How were theological disagreements resolved?

What things were dwelled upon too much, and what topics were not discussed enough?

What happened when the teacher couldn’t answer a question?

Was homework assigned? What was the attitude towards homework?

If you had to do it over again, what would you change?

 

[pyropam]

RCIA was wonderful!!! I finished and was Baptised Catholic at Easter 2007!!

I only thought I knew something about the Bible!! I was born and raised in a pentecostal church (Church of God). At 43 years old I became Catholic!!

Our Priest is excellent!! He is young and really knows his stuff…
We were able to ask all the questions we needed to ask. He gave all of us copies of the Compendium of the Catechism and we went over almost every item.

We were like little children all over again!! It was really exciting and funny.

He made the learning interesting and fun. Our Priest was once a Baptist Minister…lol… I think that was his best quality because he could say…“Been There Done That”.

I think that a lot of “Cradle Catholics” should go to the RCIA classes and renew / refresh their faith. You will walk away with so much more knowledge.

God Bless

 

[Rawb]

Have you gone through or taught in RCIA? Tell us about it!

Was Confirmed this past Easter Vigil! I’m also in it now as a Sponsor for a friend getting Confirmed.

What did you like about it? What didn’t you like?

I liked that little groups of friends were formed. Yeah, a lot of people think ‘cliques’ are automatically bad, but once we all settled into our same tables every Tuesday we got to know one another and formed a deeper friendship than in groups I’ve been in where we were ‘shuffled’ every now and then. I liked that we got genuine Catholic teaching and weren’t taught a watered-down faith. I’m glad that on the head team there was a Traditionalist, a Charismatic, and many who just called themselves plain Catholic because it really showed us the breadth and depth of Catholic spirituality and the ablity of HMC to hold all of her children together.

This year, however, they’ve started singing at the begining, and it’s being led by a man and a woman who sing very dippy songs while the woman gives testemonies or something in between songs (they’re in the program, btw, not fully Catholic yet). The first night as we left my friend’s first comment was “that was very Protestant”. The singing makes me uncomfortable, just as it did when I was a protestant, but it’s probably just my personal preferences.

Was it too intense or too fluffy?

Neither. The singing in the begining bugs me, but I have to say everything I’ve heard has been orthodox as far as I can tell.

How were theological disagreements resolved?

There were none. Anything majorly important has already been defined by the Church. If there were multiple options on something (such as a literal interpretation of Genesis or whether or not Mary died before the Assumption) we were presented with both options and told we could decide for ourselves.

What things were dwelled upon too much, and what topics were not discussed enough?

We went so far into the rosary that we were being repetative, I think, but at the same time it is an important devotion. The use of sacramentals, the role of such things as encyclicals and papal bulls in the Catholic life, and the teachings on Salvation are still a little fuzzy to me.

What happened when the teacher couldn’t answer a question?

We never had just one teacher, there was a group of people with their nametags in red called ‘red badgers’ and between the group of them they could pretty much answer anything.

Was homework assigned? What was the attitude towards homework?

During Inquiry there were reading chapters but other than that not really. I can’t imagine adults would enjoy doing homework much though.

If you had to do it over again, what would you change?

Not very much. I had a great RCIA.

 

[puzzleannie]

Have you gone through or taught in RCIA? Tell us about it!

I have been an RCIA coordinator and catechist for 5 years, for adults, teens and children.

What did you like about it? What didn’t you like?
I love the Easter vigil
this is the favortie part of my job, and I wish I could devote the time it deserves. I don’t like that I can’t interest others in the parish in this ministry.

 

[aurora77]

I was part of a team of teachers who taught RCIA last year. It was my first experience with adult ed (I’ve been teaching 3rd grade CCD for a couple of years). I really enjoyed the whole thing.

We had a small class this past year, 3 people joined the church and we had one young lady who was interested, but didn’t feel comfortable enough to make a decision to come into the Church. My favorite class was on Confession–I used the book, of course, but also used Scott Hahn’s Lord Have Mercy. It ended up being a great class, one woman in our class was a lifelong Baptist, so she had a lot of questions about confession.

Overall, I had a good experience teaching RCIA. I learned a lot and have some ideas that will help me improve my classes.

Are you considering teaching? It’s definitely rewarding!

 

[fellowChristian]

I am a Cradle Catholic who teaches CCD, K-6 grade

I’m signed up for RCIA and I am bringing 4 more people with me!!!

Be hospitable! Invite people with you!!! Tell everyone what you are doing!!

Pray for my brother he is number 5, and I am praying for him to call and say yes!

 

[Texas_Roofer]

Have you gone through or taught in RCIA?

yes, & yes

Tell us about it!

A group of people meeting weekly for 30 plus weeks, plus a retreat plus a trip to the diocese

What did you like about it? What didn’t you like?

You will learn alot, each and every year, you will be amazed at what you did not know. As for dislikes well all teachers are not good at teaching

Was it too intense or too fluffy?

varies from group to group

How were theological disagreements resolved?

’ um like what? Get a copy of the catechism that is what you are learning in RCIA

What things were dwelled upon too much, and what topics were not discussed enough?

varies from group to group. We are big on feelings light on rules

What happened when the teacher couldn’t answer a question?

There should be a whole RCIA team, then you have Deacons and Priest if needed

Was homework assigned? What was the attitude towards homework?

Only in asking you to reflect and to address your thoughts. No right or wrong, no tests, or papers

If you had to do it over again, what would you change?

We have certain amount of change each year. The key to a good RCIA is to get people involved. Ask questions, learn through discussion, you can always read the book outside of class.

Most catechists I know would rather not finish their lesson because the students (catechumen) were engaged in discussion about the Church than the opposite. If the class just sits there it makes for a long boring session.

BTW there are dozens of discussion which come up every year

• Who did Cain & Abel marry
• Who was Cain afraid of
• Evolution
• Mary, Mary , Mary tough for non Catholics
• Judaism, the Old Convenient
• Just War
• Order of Mass
• Confession (why, and do I have to)

 

[love4mary]

The entire staff of RCIA people were and are very dedicated to the program. Very patient and caring and loving and walked with me the entire way through my emotional ups and downs of Coming Home. As a support group, I could not have had a better group of friends.

As for the Program Materials:ehh:

Warm -n- Fuzzy
Touchy Feely
Dessert w/o the meat and tators

The biggest questions asked throughout the program was,“How does this make you feel?” I felt like I was back at Woodstock and all I lacked was a flower in my hair.

The basics of Doctrine and Theology were rarely discussed and I can’t even remember if any good reading material was suggested other then the Bible and CCC of course. My sponsor gave me the greatest and most useful gift though, it was the Baltimore Cat. and I just LOVE IT.

Mid was through RCIA, I found the Catholic Answers Forums and that is when I truly started to learn about my new faith. I became a sponge from the postings here and the books that fellow posted recommended.

RCIA was just the tool used by the parish for all who join the Church and a great place to meet life long friends, but as a venue to learning the faith?, sadly the answer to that is No.

 

[Bruno_esqueXXII]

*The entire staff of RCIA people were and are very dedicated to the program. Very patient and caring and loving …

As for the Program Materials:ehh:

Warm -n- Fuzzy
Touchy Feely
Dessert w/o the meat and tators

The basics of Doctrine and Theology were rarely discussed*…

Wow, were you in my class?

Mine was like this too – I did appreciate the welcoming, friendly leaders, don’t get me wrong – especially since I knew no one to be my sponsor and they found a great one for me.

However, maybe I am too bookish, but I would have liked more discussion about Scripture and how things in the Church came from it. We didn’t even open the Catechism or even a quote from it?!?! The closest we got was a small (about 50pg) summary of the Catechism, but then we never even discussed it!!

I would have liked some writings from the Church Fathers or Saints – we only got material from catholic digest-type magazines and such. I WANT ORIGINAL SOURCES!!!

In their defense though, no one in the class asked many questions or even added to the discussions or even seemed all that into it. Several of them were there because they married a Catholic or something like that (not to judge, but I didn’t think they were all that interested in learning more so they never added much.) My Church largely sort of has that “rich man’s Country Club” vibe to it – it’s in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood and we have more “Parish Golf Tournaments” than “Feed the Poor” events so I guess that’s what suits the majority of the Parish.

 

[Melo]

I went through RCIA and was confirmed Easter Vigil 2006. It was an absolutely wonderful experience! It was led by a Deacon from our Church but there were several Guest Speakers that presented lessons throughout the year. I learned so much about the Church and had a wonderful sponsor who helped me along the way.

I can’t think of anything that I didn’t like about it. I loved that I felt welcome from the first time that I went to class. Everyone was very helpful and available to me. It wasn’t too intense or fluffy.

I had a friend who was going through RCIA at another Church and she had a much different experience. They sat around and talked about their feelings. There was no structure and I have to say that she didn’t seem to learn much from attending the classes. And this is really horrible, but halfway through the program, she told me that she was receiving communion at Church each week!!! Her sponsor happened to see her taking communion and mentioned to her later that she shouldn’t be doing that!!!

I think RCIA should have a formal structure to it (as mine did). Certain topics should be necessary in order to complete the course and become confirmed. My friend was confirmed and is now Catholic and anything that she has learned has been outside of RCIA.

 

[Bruno_esqueXXII]

My Church largely sort of has that “rich man’s Country Club” vibe to it – it’s in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood and we have more “Parish Golf Tournaments” than “Feed the Poor” events so I guess that’s what suits the majority of the Parish.

I felt bad about putting this in these words so let me slightly correct it by saying that I think the golf tournaments are fund raisers (though, to be honest I am not 100% sure they are but I would be very surprised and disappointed if they were not.)

I shouldn’t complain about the Parish in general as that will not be accurate, but I guess I just had higher expectations for the RCIA experience.

 

[jf0313]

I was confirmed on Pentecost Vigil of this year! I had a wonderful RCIA experience. My parish priest was my teacher, I really enjoyed getting to know him. My sponsor was wonderful as well she had made me felt so welcome at church and has also became my church buddy I sit with her every Saturday.

I think its all according to where you are and everyones RCIA should be structured differently according to if you are a convert or not.

If you are a convert RCIA should be according to your need and questions you have.

 

[Jon_S]

My RCIA experience was absolutely horrible.

It all started with the teacher telling the class that Mary was not perpetually virgin. It all went downhill from there.

The good news is that I was confirmed in June three years ago and have devoted all my spare time to studying the Catholic faith, and now I help teach the RCIA program in my parish.

Truth wins out in the end.

God bless you all.

-Jon

 

[Andinell]

I start rcia classes tonight, (yay!) so hopefully i’ll have something to add to this thread.

 

[KarenElissa]

I start rcia classes tonight, (yay!) so hopefully i’ll have something to add to this thread.

Yea! Tuesday seems to be a popular night for RCIA. I just had my second class tonight. And you should come visit us in the chat thread in my sig for converts, reverts, and those of us who are converts to be.

 

[Melo]

I was confirmed on Pentecost Vigil of this year! I had a wonderful RCIA experience. My parish priest was my teacher, I really enjoyed getting to know him. My sponsor was wonderful as well she had made me felt so welcome at church and has also became my church buddy I sit with her every Saturday.

I think its all according to where you are and everyones RCIA should be structured differently according to if you are a convert or not.

If you are a convert RCIA should be according to your need and questions you have.

Jesse,
Did you have a one-on-one RCIA? If so, then that is wonderful and I agree that it should be structured around the individual.

My RCIA was a huge group of people (approx 40) so it was a classroom atmosphere. There was a subject to covered each week and at the end of the class, there was time for questions on anything that was on our minds.

My friends RCIA (that I referred to above) was also a large group but instead of having certain subjects covered during their time, they just sat around and talked about whatever came up. I think there should be time for this, but it shouldn’t be the entire focus of RCIA. Because, as I said, that poor girl didn’t even know that she couldn’t have communion while going through RCIA.

I will always cherish my RCIA class and the Deacon who ran the program. I’m glad that you too had a wonderful experience.

 

[Andinell]

Here’s a question… How does one choose a sponsor? I don’t really know anyone in our parish…

 

[LSK]

I teach RCIA at St. Joseph’s in Modesto. We use the Catechist manual developed by ACM at Steubenville. In fact we (the team) goes back every year to participate in the Don Bosco Conference with our DRE. The goal is to have everyone on the team certified through the RCIA Track at the conference, which takes 5 years. It was an incredible learning experience - it was my first time at Bosco - and it felt like my brain had been put on a 20 mile run.

We have a reputation in our Diocese for being ‘hard core’ - in fact, often times we are met with very little tolerance by other parishes when they discover that we teach out of the Catechism, the Bible, the Compendium (spelling? it is very early/late and I am a lousy speller). What we have discovered, of course, is that people are attracted by Truth. I think we have such large numbers coming to us for instruction because of our 24/7 Adoration Chapel and because of how we present the material - no holding back, with lots of love and enthusiasm. When our DRE interviews people after Easter Vigil (right before we begin Mystagogy) he finds that they were inspired by the material AND the obvious love for the Faith that is expressed by the Catechists.

It also helps that our pastor, Father Ilo, is very supportive and enthusiastic about the program material too.

We help people get sponsors by having members of the parish volunteer to be available as sponsors…and then we try to match them up. Sometimes someone has a specific person in mind to be a sponsor but we can help them…

 

[Texas_Roofer]

Here’s a question… How does one choose a sponsor? I don’t really know anyone in our parish…

There is not a hard rule. We assign sponsors. We avoid husband, wife, girlfriend, etc arrangements. We ask the husband to be part of a male sponsor/catechumen, while the wife is part of a female sponsor/catechumen. This is for many reasons, largely because your RCIA should focus on learning not pleasing your significant other. Any reasonable request for a specific sponsor is quickly approved. We usually get a seasoned citizen to sponsor our newer people. All sponsors must be in good standing in the church to be a sponsor.

 

[Melo]

Here’s a question… How does one choose a sponsor? I don’t really know anyone in our parish…

I was in the same situation. When I went through RCIA, I didn’t know anyone at my Church.

There were a lot of people that came to the RCIA meetings as volunteers. You could choose a sponsor from among them. I went a few weeks without a sponsor until I found someone that I connected with and felt comfortable speaking with.

I have heard that some RCIA programs assign sponsors though, so I’m not sure how it will work for you.

Good luck!