A HUGE part of forming disciples is inviting people to take the next step (there is ALWAYS a next step!). Throughout Scripture, we see Jesus inviting people to take the next step in their faith journey. One such story is of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) and we see how this invitation was life-changing for him. Many of us in ministry can recall how our lives have changed because of an invitation. Here is a picture of […]
The tragic death of Robin Williams is a painful reminder of the insidious nature of depression, an often misunderstood condition/disease. Too often, depression is thought of as a weakness that can be overcome with an attitude adjustment. In reality, however, depression is not something you can just lift yourself out of. It is not a slump, a period of sadness, or a rut. Nor is it to be confused with a “dark night of the […]
I’ve been invited by my friends Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal over at TeamRCIA to participate in a Webinar on Thursday, August 14, 2014, (2:00p to 3:00p Eastern / 11:00a to 12:00p Pacific) titled An RCIA Guide to Making the Good News Great! I’ll be drawing heavily from my book, Under the Influence of Jesus as we talk about how to communicate the Gospel so that it sounds like great news to those who need […]
I had the pleasure of chatting with a co-worker here at Loyola Press, Julie Berggren, about her role as a Minister of Care at her parish, St. Francis Xavier in Wilmette, and the ongoing formation that the ministers of care are involved in there. First a little background: SFX Parish has between 80-100 Ministers of Care who visit and bring Holy Communion to the sick and homebound, in hospitals and in homes and nursing homes. […]
Whether you are doing child catechesis or adult catechesis, it is crucial to establish a climate of prayer and one of the most effective ways of doing this is by setting up a prayer table. People ask me where they can get the objects they need for a prayer table and I thought I had posted on that sometime ago but I guess I was dreaming! So here are some suggestions for purchasing objects for […]
As I mentioned in a previous post, I enjoyed a day in the Diocese of Peoria, in particular, participating in a grade-level breakout session for 5th and 6th grade catechists. Some of these grade level sessions can grow tedious if not facilitated well. I like the fact that for these breakouts, the diocese provided questions to guide the discussions. Here they are: Bringing Prayer into the classroom. Are there any regular prayers you use and […]
I enjoyed a wonderful day in the Diocese of Peoria, IL, on Saturday (8/2) with about 175 catechetical ministers and was privileged to deliver the keynote and the closing talk for the day. In between, however, I enjoyed sitting in on some workshops delivered by local catechetical ministers. I really enjoyed participating in a breakout session for catechists of fifth and sixth grade children (since I taught sixth grade last year) that was led by […]
I met this morning with Maryellen, the staff liason for Adult Faith Formation at St. Barnabas, for our first meeting to begin laying out a vision for what we hope to accomplish in AFF this year. We both agreed that the place to begin is NOT with a program but with a VISION and a PLAN! With that in mind, we are looking to meet with the Faith Formation Commission of the Parish Pastoral Council […]
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