Please Suggest Topics for Catholic Adult Continuing Eduction

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TimothyH

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I’ll give the “Not sure where to put this” disclaimer first. The topic really doesn’t fit any of the forums too well. I don’t have to tell the mods that they can move it. 😉

I’ve been asked to assist with Adult Continuing Education at my parish and I would like to solicit your help in what topics people like you would be interested in.

We have had what is called “Adult Continuing Education” between Masses on Sunday mornings while PSR is going on for the kids. This is not RICA, nor is it PSR for kids. It is instead a place where adults can go while the kids are in PSR to hear about various subjects of interest to our faith. It has been very well recieved and we get more than just the parents of kids who are at PSR. We get people from other parishes coming to some of the talks.

Speakers have included deacons, a Dominican Sister who teaches at the school, a visiting Franciscan, and subject matter experts such as doctors and even a Catholic state court Judge who spoke about justice and mercy in relationship to his job. We have a man who has a really great understanding of moral theology, and some other great subject matter experts who have contributed to some really great educational sessions.

So my question is, if you had the opportunity to get together with about 100 other people in a big room to learn about our faith from some pretty well eductated speakers, what topics would you be interested in? Anything is fair game as long as it has to do with our faith.

I have a few ideas, but would be interested in your feedback. Some of my ideas are…
  • Gospel Poverty
  • The Geograhy of the Old Testament
  • A Walk Through the Order of the Mass
  • The Mass in the Bible or A Biblical Walk Through the Mass
  • The Place of Religious Orders and Consecrated Religious People in Our Church
  • The Spirituality of Various Religious Orders
  • Our Repsonsibility as Catholic Voters
  • The Liturgy of the Hours as the Prayer of the Church and How to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours
  • The History of the Reformation
  • The Relationship of Non-Catholic Denominations to the Holy Catholic Church
  • Church Teaching on Respect for Life (to conincide with January Respect for Life month)
  • The Place of the Deacon in the Church
  • Talks on Various Saints
  • An Overview of Eastern Catholicism
  • Anything on Church history is always well recieved.
What do you guys think? What would you like to hear about if you had the opportunity to go to talks and ask questions of subject matter experts.

Any thoughts at all would be most welcome.

-Tim-
 
Tim:

That’s a really nice list!

Exposure to the spirituality of religious orders and the Eastern Churches should be strong topics.

The Bible in the Mass (and vice versa) is also a very strong choice.

One suggestion comes from a great experience in my own parish, where our priest did a five part series on morals and ethics, taking us from the philosophical foundation to the application in the Church. It was well done and well received, making a lasting impression on those who attended.

Good luck with this!
 
Pope Benedict has delcared this year as “the Year of Faith”. I know of many parishes who are offering a series titled"the Four Pillars". This is a study of the Catholic Catachisim. I am enrolling in such a class it will run for a year(breaking for summer)separated into four part(pillars)🙂
 
I would love to be in a church with such a program!

I would add to your list
Indulgences, what are they are maybe give the approved prayers in the “Book of Indulgences”.

Apologetics
 
Great list…I think you have it pretty well covered…

How about something on the Mystical tradition in the Church (The mystic saints and the desert fathers etc.)
A lot of people these days seem attracted to the “east” (Yoga, meditation, Buddhism etc.) and this might be a good way to let them know that they really don’t have to look any further than the Catholic Faith for this sort of spirituality.

This is an area that I was not even aware existed until just a very few years ago - and I was raised in the faith. The simplicity of it, with it’s focus on growing in holiness (as opposed to “avoiding sin”) was and is very compelling to me. I bet it would be to others as well.
I’ve even considered putting together some “talks” on various aspects of this topic myself…

Peace
James
 
TimothyH said:
I’ll give the “Not sure where to put this” disclaimer first. The topic really doesn’t fit any of the forums too well. I don’t have to tell the mods that they can move it. 😉

I’ve been asked to assist with Adult Continuing Education at my parish and I would like to solicit your help in what topics people like you would be interested in.

We have had what is called “Adult Continuing Education” between Masses on Sunday mornings while PSR is going on for the kids. This is not RICA, nor is it PSR for kids. It is instead a place where adults can go while the kids are in PSR to hear about various subjects of interest to our faith. It has been very well recieved and we get more than just the parents of kids who are at PSR. We get people from other parishes coming to some of the talks.

Speakers have included deacons, a Dominican Sister who teaches at the school, a visiting Franciscan, and subject matter experts such as doctors and even a Catholic state court Judge who spoke about justice and mercy in relationship to his job. We have a man who has a really great understanding of moral theology, and some other great subject matter experts who have contributed to some really great educational sessions.

So my question is, if you had the opportunity to get together with about 100 other people in a big room to learn about our faith from some pretty well eductated speakers, what topics would you be interested in? Anything is fair game as long as it has to do with our faith.

I have a few ideas, but would be interested in your feedback. Some of my ideas are…
  • Gospel Poverty
  • The Geograhy of the Old Testament
  • A Walk Through the Order of the Mass
  • The Mass in the Bible or A Biblical Walk Through the Mass
  • The Place of Religious Orders and Consecrated Religious People in Our Church
  • The Spirituality of Various Religious Orders
  • Our Repsonsibility as Catholic Voters
  • The Liturgy of the Hours as the Prayer of the Church and How to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours
  • The History of the Reformation
  • The Relationship of Non-Catholic Denominations to the Holy Catholic Church
  • Church Teaching on Respect for Life (to conincide with January Respect for Life month)
  • The Place of the Deacon in the Church
  • Talks on Various Saints
  • An Overview of Eastern Catholicism
  • Anything on Church history is always well recieved.
What do you guys think? What would you like to hear about if you had the opportunity to go to talks and ask questions of subject matter experts.

Any thoughts at all would be most welcome.

-Tim-
Click to expand...
Tim,

I have read many of your comments on these forums and enjoyed them, learned from them. So whatever you choose will be wonderful for your parish.

I personally enjoy Church History and the Bible in the Mass. Sign me up! 👍
 
TimothyH said:
  • Gospel Poverty
  • The Geograhy of the Old Testament
  • A Walk Through the Order of the Mass
  • The Mass in the Bible or A Biblical Walk Through the Mass
  • The Place of Religious Orders and Consecrated Religious People in Our Church
  • The Spirituality of Various Religious Orders
  • Our Repsonsibility as Catholic Voters
  • The Liturgy of the Hours as the Prayer of the Church and How to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours
  • The History of the Reformation
  • The Relationship of Non-Catholic Denominations to the Holy Catholic Church
  • Church Teaching on Respect for Life (to conincide with January Respect for Life month)
  • The Place of the Deacon in the Church
  • Talks on Various Saints
  • An Overview of Eastern Catholicism
  • Anything on Church history is always well recieved.
What do you guys think? What would you like to hear about if you had the opportunity to go to talks and ask questions of subject matter experts.

Any thoughts at all would be most welcome.

-Tim-
Click to expand...
Sign me up! Looks like a great list.

How about adding ** the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist**? I read a book on the topic and really enjoyed learning the historical and cultural context of Jesus’s words and actions and how they related to the understandings and expectations of the Jewish people of the first century. The New Exodus, The Manna, The Bread of the Presence, The New Passover, etc. Good stuff!
 
You might want to check out the Institute of Catholic Culture for possible topics. They go around giving adult Catholic education seminars.

instituteofcatholicculture.org/

Also, a lot of their material is online, too, if anyone wants to check them out. They are very orthodox, and also (for those who are interested in this sort of thing) the founder is Melchite Greek Catholic, so there isn’t necessarily a Latin-Church bias. OTOH, it doesn’t come up all that often. 🙂

–Jen

P.S. I’m not affiliated with them, I just like their seminars. 🙂
 
For parish adults, I would guess most are married heads of families, some will not be.

You have to start by protecting those present. Start with solid talks on the sanctity of marriage. There is great material from Dr. Edward Sri and Pole John Paul the 2nd.

Once this topic is covered, move on to teaching the faith at home and living the faith at home. The home is where faith must be present to enable outside efforts such as traditional CCD programs. This results in doing the daily readings as a family, going to 1st saturday confession, etc.

Once this piece is in place, start teaching real spiritual warfare. We are in a battle for the hearts and minds of adults and youth. We have to engage this battle to save souls. The figure of merit for success will be souls saved.

A.M.D.G.
 
Thank you all. Keep the suggestions coming
revert_jen said:
You might want to check out the Institute of Catholic Culture for possible topics. They go around giving adult Catholic education seminars.

instituteofcatholicculture.org/

Also, a lot of their material is online, too, if anyone wants to check them out. They are very orthodox, and also (for those who are interested in this sort of thing) the founder is Melchite Greek Catholic, so there isn’t necessarily a Latin-Church bias. OTOH, it doesn’t come up all that often. 🙂

–Jen

P.S. I’m not affiliated with them, I just like their seminars. 🙂
Click to expand...
Jen, that site is wonderful. I have it on my to do list to watch “Feasts of the Jews: Understanding the Jewish Festal Cycle and its Fulfillment in Christ” just for my own interest. I will definitely be reaching out to the founder of the site, Deacon Carnazzo. Thanks!

And thank you all. Keep the suggestions coming.

-Tim-
 
novusCatholic said:
Sign me up! Looks like a great list.

How about adding ** the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist**? I read a book on the topic and really enjoyed learning the historical and cultural context of Jesus’s words and actions and how they related to the understandings and expectations of the Jewish people of the first century. The New Exodus, The Manna, The Bread of the Presence, The New Passover, etc. Good stuff!
Click to expand...
That was covered but I think the topic is worth covering again in a two or three part series. Parts of Dr.Pitre’s book were breathtaking.

-Tim-
 
Up here in Canada we refer to what you are talking about as “adult faith formation” and it ussually does not occur around mass. It can take various forms, guest speakers, disscusions, prayer . . . Being a filmmaker, our Parish priest asked me to do a “movie night” with a discussion afterwards on a particular theme from a catholic perspective which has proved quite successful to date.
 
TimothyH said:
That was covered but I think the topic is worth covering again in a two or three part series. Parts of Dr.Pitre’s book were breathtaking.

-Tim-
Click to expand...
I liked Dr. Pitre’s book as well. I’m reading it again, but with a notepad this time!
 
Great list so far. I’d definitely go to it, work schedule for me permitting if I lived in your area.

Personally, if I was asked to do such a list, this is what I’d include:

*Learning and understanding some basic items/lists of things that all adult/older teen Catholics should know about including: works of mercy, the sacraments, gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the precepts of the church.
*Basics of church manners and etiquette
*Learning about the whole Mass especially learning about the parts that have background in scripture
*Church history - touching on events that have most impact on today’s Catholics
*Learning some about both forms of the Mass in the Roman (Latin) Rite: Extraordinary and Ordinary
*Learning some about the Eastern Catholic Rites
*Understanding basics about our Orthodox brethren: similarities and differences
*Both basics and understanding the differences between social justice and charity
*The Holy Bible: basics of reading, study and sharing scripture
 
I’d include a study of St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings on the nature of God, perhaps from Peter Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa.
 
TimothyH said:
I’ll give the “Not sure where to put this” disclaimer first. The topic really doesn’t fit any of the forums too well. I don’t have to tell the mods that they can move it. 😉

I’ve been asked to assist with Adult Continuing Education at my parish and I would like to solicit your help in what topics people like you would be interested in.

We have had what is called “Adult Continuing Education” between Masses on Sunday mornings while PSR is going on for the kids. This is not RICA, nor is it PSR for kids. It is instead a place where adults can go while the kids are in PSR to hear about various subjects of interest to our faith. It has been very well recieved and we get more than just the parents of kids who are at PSR. We get people from other parishes coming to some of the talks.

Speakers have included deacons, a Dominican Sister who teaches at the school, a visiting Franciscan, and subject matter experts such as doctors and even a Catholic state court Judge who spoke about justice and mercy in relationship to his job. We have a man who has a really great understanding of moral theology, and some other great subject matter experts who have contributed to some really great educational sessions.

So my question is, if you had the opportunity to get together with about 100 other people in a big room to learn about our faith from some pretty well eductated speakers, what topics would you be interested in? Anything is fair game as long as it has to do with our faith.

I have a few ideas, but would be interested in your feedback. Some of my ideas are…
  • Gospel Poverty
  • The Geograhy of the Old Testament
  • A Walk Through the Order of the Mass
  • The Mass in the Bible or A Biblical Walk Through the Mass
  • The Place of Religious Orders and Consecrated Religious People in Our Church
  • The Spirituality of Various Religious Orders
  • Our Repsonsibility as Catholic Voters
  • The Liturgy of the Hours as the Prayer of the Church and How to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours
  • The History of the Reformation
  • The Relationship of Non-Catholic Denominations to the Holy Catholic Church
  • Church Teaching on Respect for Life (to conincide with January Respect for Life month)
  • The Place of the Deacon in the Church
  • Talks on Various Saints
  • An Overview of Eastern Catholicism
  • Anything on Church history is always well recieved.
What do you guys think? What would you like to hear about if you had the opportunity to go to talks and ask questions of subject matter experts.

Any thoughts at all would be most welcome.

-Tim-
Click to expand...
Encountering Christ in Holy Scripture through Lectio Divina

The Traditional Catholic Spirituality of “the three ages” of the interior life.
 
There are different types of formation.

Doctrinal (catechism, Bible study, encyclicals, dogma, canonical law, etc)

Spiritual (prayer, getting the most out of Confession, maintaining a Presence of God, developing an interior life, dealing with the Cross in everyday living).

Apostolic (how to share ones faith, apologetics, friendship)

Human formation (developing virtues, cheerfulness, removing vices, forming resolutions,etc).

There are also classes in Christian living: hospitality, using your time well, planning and taking vacations, etc?

We need all of these, and we need refreshers.
 
TimothyH said:
What do you guys think? What would you like to hear about if you had the opportunity to go to talks and ask questions of subject matter experts.

Any thoughts at all would be most welcome.

-Tim-
Click to expand...
With four years of posts on my blog that explores understanding my conversion, the one topic that seems to be the most vibrant, the one that serves to explain all the worldly issues of abortion, gay marriage, pornography, John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and how the Church views them is that of personhood. Here is a grouping of 19 essays on Personalism from my blog. I’ve learned a great deal from them but the topic isn’t really exhausted. It goes to the very roots of belief.

dj
 
The catholic devotions, such as rosary, scapulars, way of cross, chaplets, medals, blessing of homes, Sacred Heart, Immaculate Heart, holy water, different crucifixes, and so on.

Euarcharist - biblical references/explainations, Apostolic fathers, saints, miracles, objections to real presence.
 
The thing is you can offs what you believe are the greatest topics but then when people don’t come it gets very frustrating. We did a parish Adult Formation survey to find out what topics the people were interested in and it was surprising. I suggest you do the same so you are not offering talks on things that only your committee is interested in but the rest of the parish has no interest in.

We are doing a series on Vatican II, but we know from experience that when we offered something no one came. Now with the year of Faith Vat II is a topic that our diocese wants us to focus on. We are taking a different approach than in the past and looking how the council affects our every day life as Catholics. We are avoiding the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy since last year with the revised texts that Mass was our big focus in adult education.

People also like talks on spirituality. Talks on morality seen to get the fewest attendees. Devotions seems to get the old folks and only a few young people.

Another thing to consider is time. People are so busy that you often have to do things in the mornings, afternoon or repeat something twice in one day.
 
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