RCIA Problem

[rwoehmke]

After following a number of threads pertaining to the RCIA and my own experience with some directors of adult religous education, I have concluded that one of the major problems is that some folks with a little education, maybe even a Masters in theology, are more inclined to try to teach advanced, even speculative material, to people who need instruction in very basic information about the Catholic Faith. It also seems that sometimes those with advanced knowledge are either not familiar with or have difficulty accepting the basics. Does this conclusion fit your experiences with RCIA and other efforts at adult instruction?

 

[Scout]

I had an excellent experience with my RCIA class. It followed the Catechism and all the teachings of the Church on all the basics and then some. We had excellent discussions about the teachings of the Church and why something was one way, and something else another way. No ideas weren’t listened to, but the instructor and our priest had a great way of bringing the discussions back to the teachings of the Church. Our instructor is a 5th grade teacher for one of the local Catholic schools, and our priest was ordained over 22 years ago. We also had a vowed sister who helped out regularly and taught as well.

I know my experience might be unique, but I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed the class. I had done a lot of studying before I began RCIA, and if I had discovered them teaching something that went against the teachings of the Church I would have informed them immediately! Then I would’ve found another RCIA class to attend.

Scout :tiphat:

 

[puzzleannie]

you may be right, I can surely tell you it is a real challenge to find materials that will appeal to college students, those with advanced degrees, Catholics with no background in their faith, Protestants who are very conversant with scripture and Christian doctrine, those who speak Spanish, English, Tagalog and Vietnamese as their first language, people with advanced degrees, people with very little formal education, engaged persons, people who have been married for 40 years – well, you get my point. I am only one person, the deacon helps for one adult class a week, and finally have someone to teach the Spanish class. But there is limited time and space available during the week, so we are doing our best to provide classes and tracks to meet everyone’s needs. Even so, I do know people have left to go elsewhere where they can be accomodated.