Time to Get Serious…About Adult Faith Formation!

I hope you enjoyed my “summer chuckles” while I was on vacation! Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, reminds us that “our relationship with God — like any relationship — can use some humor from time to time.”

Couple at homeNow that I’m back, it’s time to get serious about my focus for the upcoming year: adult faith formation! As I mentioned in a previous post, this year, instead of teaching a grade of elementary age religious education, I am going to be devoting my energies to adult catechesis.

With that in mind, I have a fruitful day planned for tomorrow!

First, in the morning, I will be meeting with the staff of St. Barnabas Parish in Chicago to get to know them and to lay out my vision for how I can be of assistance to them in growing their adult faith formation focus.

Second, in the afternoon, I will meet with Deb, the DRE at St. Cajetan Parish in Chicago where I taught last year, to begin brainstorming some adult faith formation initiatives for that parish as well. In particular, we are already working together to plan a brand new “opening day” for the RE program this Fall that will be much more intergenerational and will focus heavily on the role of the parents in their child’s faith formation. Our goal is to make a serious dent in the “drop-off” mentality that is so pervasive among parents when it comes to their child’s faith formation. We want to do so, not by badgering them about it, but by shifting the focus to their own faith formation.

I’ll let you know how these meetings go!

About Joe Paprocki 2742 Articles
Joe Paprocki, DMin, is National Consultant for Faith Formation at Loyola Press, where, in addition to his traveling/speaking responsibilities, he works on the development team for faith formation curriculum resources including Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts and God’s Gift: Reconciliation and Eucharist. Joe has more than 35 years of experience in ministry and has presented keynotes, presentations, and workshops in more than 100 dioceses in North America. Joe is a frequent presenter at national conferences including the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the Mid-Atlantic Congress, and the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. He is the author of numerous books, including the best seller The Catechist’s Toolbox, A Church on the Move, Under the Influence of Jesus, and Called to Be Catholic—a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Joe is also the series editor for the Effective Catechetical Leader and blogs about his experiences in faith formation at www.catechistsjourney.com.

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