Summer provides us with the perfect time to forge ahead with plans for more robust adult faith formation in the year ahead. At Christ the King Parish, my home parish, we are taking advantage of the summer to lay the foundations for our best year ever in adult faith formation. Building on the success of our small faith groups during Lent, we are now inviting a number of parishioners to consider/discern serving on an adult […]
One of the traps we often fall into when approaching adult faith formation opportunities is thinking that we have to do it on our own, in isolation from other neighboring parishes. In reality, just the opposite is what is needed: collaboration! Today, when parishes are dealing with limited resources, it may not be practical for every parish to have a full-blown adult faith formation program. Instead, parishes can collaborate on certain aspects of the adult […]
Numerous books and websites dealing with successful leadership strategies identify the importance of celebrating small successes (or “wins” or “victories”). Here is one such example: Brenda Bence: The Top 10 Reasons Why Leaders Should Celebrate Wins. This is precisely the reason why we are hosting a celebration tonight at Christ the King Parish: to celebrate the success of our Lenten small faith groups! Now that we are in the Easter season—a time of celebration—we are hosting […]
As you may know, my most recent book is now available: A Church on the Move: 52 Ways to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion. Many parishes are using this book with their parish staff and/or parish pastoral council and other groups of parish leaders to jump-start some creative brainstorming for energizing their parish faith communities. In the book, I provide 52 practical ideas that can contribute to getting a parish out of the rut of […]
As we continue to expand our notion of what adult faith formation is—taking it beyond the scholastic sphere—I’d like to talk about one idea that combines several aspects of the six tasks of catechesis. I’m referring to the practice of parishes creating a Prayer Blanket (or Prayer Shawl) Ministry. In this ministry, parishioners sew/create prayer blankets or shawls for adults or children experiencing serious illness or transition (preparing for surgery, recovering from an acute illness, […]
As I drive through various neighborhoods, I typically see no small number of lawn signs announcing yard sales, garage sales, or real estate open houses. Often, attached to the signs are a few balloons. The message is clear: this is where the action is! Contrast that with an experience I had recently (and all too often) when I visited a parish to participate in an adult faith activity that sounded very engaging. There were no […]
If you’ve been following Catechist’s Journey for a while, no doubt you’ve read my lament that one of the mistakes we make in adult faith formation is that we assign participants a passive role: we bring in a speaker to do a presentation, perhaps open it up for some Q & A, and call it a night. One way to ensure that there are more voices being heard than the guest speaker is to recruit several […]
One of the mistakes we make in adult catechesis when it comes to prayer—one of the six tasks of catechesis—is that we talk about prayer instead of simply engaging people in experiences of prayer and then unpacking those experiences later. I have learned that a very effective tool for engaging people, especially beginners, in the life of prayer is the labyrinth. A labyrinth is a circular pattern with a cross at its center, and a person […]
Adult faith formation leaders are always planning ahead. With that in mind, here is a suggestion for an effective strategy for Christmas. Many parishes are finding that the celebration of Christmas in the parish is a wonderful opportunity to focus on strengthening the faith of adults (many of whom do not regularly attend Mass) by doing a book giveaway at all of the Christmas Masses. Loyola Press is ready to assist you in such an effort […]
What was your favorite meal, favorite book, or favorite TV show when you were eight years old? How did you see the world? Fast forward to when you were in high school. How would your answers change? Now think about today; are your answers different? We’d be in deep trouble if we didn’t grow up and expand our tastes, knowledge, and skills. Unfortunately for many Catholics, when it comes to faith formation, we put on […]
Copyright © 2006-2024 Loyola Press. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of Loyola Press is expressly prohibited.