RCIA Paperwork battle

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I’ve been doing RCIA for close on to 30 years. You think I’d be used to the annual paperwork battle but here it is, 7 weeks from Easter (ish) and I’m STILL hounding folks to submit their birth and baptismal certificates. We started back in August and I put up a slide that clearly stated that I needed both “as soon as possible.” Then I put monthly “nag slides” to remind the folks I needed them as “soon as possible”. Apparently my definition of soon does match those in the class.

Am I the only RCIA lead with this problem? Is there some method I’ve missed that gets the paperwork in earlier?

I’m thinking of instituting the rule that you can’t go through the Rite of Welcoming/Acceptance (Nov) without your paperwork in order, but I dislike being mean.

For RCIA directors/leads – how do you handle this?

For RCIA participants – can you suggest a method of motivation? What was your experience?

Any help greatly appreciated.
 
I also have been leading RCIA for over 30 years. What we do is when the program begins we hand out forms that ask for all of their info. We include a question asking where they were baptized (If they had been). Then, if they can’t provide the needed paperwork, and sometimes they can’t because it was lost or misplaced etc. we do the phone calls ourselves calling the churches or godparents and witnesses etc. Not fun but it gets done that way. Usually they are willing to provide the information,but really drag their feet when it comes to chasing down the paperwork.
 
I suggest you give them an actual date.

Don’t say “as soon as possible”. Say, “December 14” or “January 15” or whatever date you choose.
 
Meet with them one on one. Lay it out. No slides. Point blank. “This is what we require”. Period.
People know what I’m after when they see me coming.
 
I agree with 1KE that you need to give a date. If my boss told me to do something “as soon as possible,” it would probably never get done.
 
Dates are helpful for me. Also, sometimes people don’t know what will be involved or the amount of time one part-time person needs to dig up the info and mail it out. Do you think if your deadline was Ash Wednesday, which would have a 6-week leeway, would be a goid time to require it? That way participants wouldn’t feel pressured at the beginning, and no one would be pushing during the holidays. And give a reminder at the beginning of January that sometimes it takes a while and it doesn’t mean they are 100% committed (if they are not yet sure), but will mean they are prepared if they decide to be received into the Church.

Except for paperwork–wow! it must be great to work with people coming into the Church!
 
I’ve been with RCIA for only around 10 years or so. And yes, some people are forthcoming, others not so much. It’s different every year! I think deadlines are great. It makes people more accountable.
Re procrastination: The same goes for finding sponsors! I want the sponsors nailed down before the Rite of Acceptance. And it’s great if the sponsors attend class too. The ones that do really enjoy it and it makes a big difference to the attendee. They rarely if ever miss class if their sponsor goes with them.
We had a horrible situation around 10 years ago (my first year helping with RCIA) The catechumen wanted her boyfriend/fiance to be her sponsor. The leaders allowed that until on the day of the Vigil, they found out that the boyfriend hadn’t been confirmed. So it was a no, and boy was he angry. To this day, he’s a very angry man re: RCIA. It was a teachable moment for me. When I became the facilitator, I was diligent about finding a suitable sponsor for people, and counselling them on choosing a sponsor.

Blessings to you and hope this year works out well.
 
Our church is a Mega Church, so deadlines are often set in stone. There is just too few resources available to accommodate people who miss deadlines. For example, ANY rites that are missed cannot be made up, no exceptions. There is also an interview process with the OCI director, where you convince him that you want or should proceed with the process of becoming Catholic.

The reasons for all of this are explained in advance. There is some leeway with missing a few classes, but that is it. Paperwork is no exception. You can still become Catholic, you just have to wait till next year. This is a serious process and commitment, if you cant remember to bring a document in your possession before a long standing deadline, then you are not serious, and you are wasting time for many staff members who have deadlines of their own.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
I agree with 1KE that you need to give a date. If my boss told me to do something “as soon as possible,” it would probably never get done.
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I agree. The best advice I ever received from a manager was to always give a due date. I worked for another manager who when I asked when the project was due said “whenever you get a chance”. I promptly put the folder at the bottom of my “to do” pile. There was an awkward moment of silence and then he said I need it by next Tuesday. He always gave me a deadline date afterwards.

You need to do this with your group. Just as individuals come into RCIA at a variety of levels with faith experiences so do they arrive with various levels of organizational/time management skills.

Trust me, as a teacher it is one of my challenges to respond with charity and prayerfully when I want to shake some sense to them. These ARE the people who will be late to their own funerals.

God bless!
 
I agree with those who say to set a firm deadline and do it early in the class. It would be easy to use one of the commitment milestones, say before committing to be a Catechumen, they need to have the paperwork in. Explain it is a part in their process as much as learning what the Church teaches and if they want to enter / continue, they have to have the information in to you or they are “self unregistering”. They’ll respect you for it.

Good luck next year!
 
set firm due date and tell them that after that date they will have to go to the Pastor and explain the situation before they will be allowed to continue.
 
Our RCIA has set deadlines for paperwork. If it’s not all in by the deadline you will have to repeat RCIA to be confirmed the next time around. The paperwork goes to our Archdiocese so there’s no getting around the final deadline. Everyone knows that (they have been told about it from day one) but there are still some stragglers. I think all those in RCIA with me now will *probably *get everything in but it will be close for a few of them!

I don’t know how people can just sit on that stuff. I’m pretty much “OCD about paperwork.” Anything they’ve asked for which I had was given to them the day it was requested. Anything I was assigned to create (we had a couple of papers to write) I gave to them the next day. Anything I had to order was expedited.

I’m sure there are various reasons for people putting off the paperwork, but I am bound and determined to be confirmed and received. I am *not *going to let required paperwork keep me from that!
 
Is requiring a birth certificate standard? I wasn’t been asked for one, and I don’t have a copy of mine on hand (it got lost, and getting a replacement has proved to be a bit of a challenge as Vital Stats and I disagree on where my mother was born). I don’t want to be one of those people causing any headaches prior to the Vigil.
 
casslean said:
Is requiring a birth certificate standard? I wasn’t been asked for one, and I don’t have a copy of mine on hand (it got lost, and getting a replacement has proved to be a bit of a challenge as Vital Stats and I disagree on where my mother was born). I don’t want to be one of those people causing any headaches prior to the Vigil.
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I wasn’t asked for one when I was received.

Anyway, if it’s to prove you are who you say you are, surely a passport or drivers licence would do.

OP, why do you/the church authorities ask for a birth certificate, exactly?
 
casslean said:
Is requiring a birth certificate standard? I wasn’t been asked for one, and I don’t have a copy of mine on hand (it got lost, and getting a replacement has proved to be a bit of a challenge as Vital Stats and I disagree on where my mother was born). I don’t want to be one of those people causing any headaches prior to the Vigil.
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We only ask fro the Birth certs when young children are involved. This area has a problem with well-meaning grandparents bringing young children in to be Baptized. We need the permission and intent from the PARENTS. Adults can speak for themselves.
This never happens in the context of RCIA. (adults class) I have one 4th grader in the children’s component…and the custodial grandparent has provided the appropriate paperwork. Non-custodial mom is flying in for the Vigil and has also expressed approval.
 
When my Mom and I began the Inquiry part of RCIA, we were asked for our baptismal certificates then (i.e. August). I was able to get mine in a couple of weeks, but Mom’s took longer because her first church was in another state.

It seems to me that everyone should be asked to have their paperwork in the appropriate hands before the Right of Acceptance/Welcome.

Note: Not everyone HAS a copy of their certificate of baptism – neither my mother’s church nor mine ever issued that document. We ended up getting letters signed by the pastor confirming that we’d been baptized.
 
paperwight66 said:
OP, why do you/the church authorities ask for a birth certificate, exactly?
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The short answer is because the Diocese requires it. I believe it has to do with ensuring the correct recording of names for the Sacramental registry books. You would be surprised the number of times folks have found out that their names are “backwards” from what they thought. Meaning the first name is actually their middle name (and vice versa). Birth certificates also contain the official names of parent(s), an important component for correct Sacramental registration.
 
OK, the advice seems to be unanimous, “set a date”. So I will do that from now on. Seems obvious now that I see all the kind responses, but somehow I thought I was “doing good” in not setting a date.

I like the phrase “self un-registration”. I think I’ll use it! 😃

Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply. Sometimes you need help seeing something that is right in front of you.
 
I am not involved with RCIA but I am guessing the church would require proof of previous baptism from people wanting to join the church. We can only be baptised once, so if coming into the church you will only require confirmation and first communion. If you have not been previously baptised (trinitarian form) then you will need to be baptised as well. If there is doubt about a previous baptism then a “conditional baptism” would be performed.
 
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