PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR STARTING AN ADULT FAITH FORMATION PROGRAM, A Richard C. Brown Paper, $19.95 144 pages, 5½" × 8½" ISBN 0-89390-572-0 View Table of Contents View Excerpt Quantity:

A Practical Guide for Starting an Adult Faith Formation Program provides Roman Catholic dioceses and their parishes with a simple, practical, step-by-step way to implement the U.S. bishop’s vision, learn to develop their own vision, organize teams, publicize their ministry, recruit volunteers, and match their unique talents with the needs of their church. This manual will show them how to catechize adults the way Jesus did. It will enable them to use their intellect in problem-solving and evaluation, develop a healthy adult spirituality, resolve relationship conflicts, catechize adults through service outreach, build community, and interrelate an adult faith formation program with other parish ministries. Timeline and bibliography included.

About the Author
Dr. Richard C. Brown, founder and director of the Center for Effective Ministry, inc., has also served as parish director of adult faith formation. He holds three master’s degrees (counseling, education, Catholic pastoral theology) and a PhD in education. He has been an assistant professor at Ball State University, a Marianist brother for 10 years and a high school counselor and family therapist in private practice for 22 years.

Foreword
 
Chapter One — How Do You Make the U.S. Bishops’ Vision Happen? 
 
Chapter Two — Choosing and Training Leaders
 
Chapter Three — What is Adult Catechesis?
 
Chapter Four — Match Talents to Program Needs

Chapter Five — The Use of Our Intellect in Visioning, Problem Solving and Evaluation
 
Chapter Six — Resolving Relationship Conflicts

Chapter Seven — Multiplying Volunteers
 
Chapter Eight — Healthy Spirituality for Adult Faith Formation  
 
Chapter Nine — Service and Building Community 
 
Chapter Ten — Marketing    

Chapter Eleven — Where Does the Program Fit in the Parish?  

Appendix: First Year Timeline

Bibliography
 

Foreword

I recently attended the planning session for a Diocesan Priests Convocation. We were asked to share issues and topics about which we felt passionate. I have to say that two items at the top of my list would have to be (1) the parish, and (2) adult faith formation. For the vast majority of Catholics their experience of Church, for good or ill, is practically co-terminus with their experience of parish. Congressman Tip O'Neill liked to say that all politics are local; our spirituality and religion are local as well. The experience, vigor and vitality of Church depend largely upon the experience, vigor and vitality of the local parish community. Chancery office, diocesan departments, bishops and even the Vatican may well be in the average Catholic's vocabulary, but the experience of Church is almost entirely the experience of parish.

Past generations of Catholics, actually generations now long gone, may have grown up in a community and culture that conveyed sufficiently all they needed to receive about being Catholic. Family, relatives, neighbors, parish life with novenas, devotions, sodalities and societies, the strong impact of parochial schools and even an anti-Catholic culture, all converged to arm earlier generations of Catholics with considerable information, education and formation. In that bygone era new questions did not continually assault the believing Catholic from both beyond and within the Church as they do today.

We live in a society where almost everything is questioned. Why should we be surprised if this applies also to the topic of religion and to issues of faith? More and more we are questioned and challenged to justify and articulate our religious beliefs. And we must do so for ourselves. Many would describe this not as secular attack or unbelieving critique, but as a basic element of healthy adult faith development. At infant baptisms I often remark that every child has the right to be baptized and raised in a faith "which they will probably reject as teenagers and hopefully come home to as adults." Because the world is a context to our faith and we, as human beings, are its subject, the homecoming is a lifelong process.

In my own parish experience we have featured adult education evenings with speakers and discussion. Topics have included Bible study, religion and science, internal Church issues and best-selling books. We have developed a support system and resource material for large numbers of small church communities. We make available on tape and on-line all adult ed sessions as well as each weekend's homilies. We have recently added Bishop Ken Untener's suggestion of a four-minute post-communion teaching at Sunday Masses. Our RCIA community is effective with both candidates and sponsors. With all that, my assessment is that we do not go deep enough, reach out enough or include enough issues of parishioners. And many parish communities offer considerably less.

Another judgment from my pastoral experience is that academic study, advanced learning and professional scholarship, crucial and important as they may be, are not our goal nor are they sufficient. Adult faith development means personal reflection in community and repossession of the truths we cherish in the ever shifting context of our lives, our society and our world. Education must lead to formation, formation to ministry and ministry to mission. Then we will not only grow as adults, but as disciples rooted in Jesus, living in the Church and world of the 21st century.

There is no "one size fits all answer" to the challenge of adult faith formation. And there is no community that "has it all together." With this book, Dr. Brown offers a vision and strategies to link parish life and adult formation from which we can all profit.

Fr. Brian T. Joyce
Pastor
Christ the King Parish
Pleasant Hill, Calif.

Chapter One

How Do You Make the U.S. Bishops' Vision Happen?

When a pastor asked me to start an adult faith formation program from scratch a few years ago, I recognized a man of vision. Here stood someone who understood the need and right for all adults to grow in their personal relationship with God. Sunday Mass, though of prime importance, was not enough.

Within a year, we had 1500 adult parishioners ttending a variety of three-session adult faith formation seminars (mostly at $15 per person -- a figure arrived at by the parishioners themselves to help fund the new program). Some seminars drew 200 people, but most were in the range of 35-70. Through the U.S. census we also found 2,500 Hispanics within our parish boundaries, but only 50 attended Sunday Masses. I gave a seminar on "Hispanics in the U.S. Church," based on the U.S. bishops' pastoral letter of 1983, The Hispanic Presence: Challenge and Commitment, and all 22 participants joined as leaders in a new Hispanic ministry. They soon turned out 500 Hispanics for the parish's first Spanish Mass.

The moral of this story is that every parish is hungry for so much more for adults. We must do for adults what we are doing for children and teens. The time for adults has come.

The U.S. bishops are responding to this need. Their vision produced a dramatic call for adult faith formation in their November 1999, document, Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us. They deeply desire all adults to experience a personal relationship with God that develops throughout their lifetime.

What possible forms can this adult faith formation program take? Lifetime adult catechesis might include:

• The study of Scripture to learn more about God and how to respond to the Word;
• The study of the social teachings of the church and how to build a just society in which all God's children can thrive;
• Preparation for church liturgy and sacraments to better experience the growing fullness of a personal and community relationship with God;
• Opportunities to relate faith to the personal, family, church or social situations of one's current life;
• Spiritual formation experiences, such as, new forms of talking with God, discerning God's movement in one's life and following Christ's example;
• Systematic theological instruction to better understand one's faith and to develop the skills to share it.

All of these opportunities enable adults to fulfill Christ's summary of what their human lives are all about: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Mt. 22:37)

Numbers Do Count!

Another moral of the above story, and a conviction of my own, is that numbers do count. I firmly believe that God expects us to be concerned about numbers. A current cultural belief in our U.S. church ministries is: "You do the best you can in church ministry but don't worry about how many people turn out." Rather, I think God is concerned about all his children, about each and every one of us. Why would God hope that only a few people attend an adult faith formation seminar? At the heart of your ministries should be the conviction that you can and must reach all your people. This requires your programs to be excellent and your marketing to be the latest in what works to attract people. Numbers, for the sake of all God's adults, do matter!

What Do the Bishops Say?

Throughout the first three of the four major sections (Parts I-III) of Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, the bishops discuss adult catechesis, which promotes a lifelong growth in an adult's personal relationship with God. The topic pops up again and again as they compel us to see adult faith formation as the new priority for all parishes. They describe the mature Christian adult. They describe content and delivery approaches. But their most striking focus is adult catechesis -- what actually works in bringing us to truly know, love, and serve God. The final section (Part IV) describes the organizational structure that every parish and diocese needs for effective adult catechesis.

As you explore how to start your parish program, refer to Parts I-III. In the Introduction, "A Renewed Commitment to Adult Faith Formation," the most helpful sections include a description of how Jesus catechized adults at Emmaus (nos. 7-15). The list of referred documents, which includes the General Directory for Catechesis, offers a wealth of concrete suggestions for your program. There is also a list of challenges and concerns facing the Church, (nos. 32-37), including problems such as human dignity, family stress, the limited faith experiences of many Catholics, people leaving the Church, and some catechetical efforts falling short.

In Part II, "Qualities of Mature Adult Faith and Discipleship," there is a bulleted list on page 17 (no. 51) that instructs how to maintain a life of union with Jesus. Characteristics of mature faith are described on pages 17-20 (nos. 52-63), including recognizing that "however great or modest our competence or accomplishments, God's favor is always a gift and a grace." (no. 63)

Part III, "A Plan for Ministry: The Goals, Principles, Content, and Approaches for Adult Faith Formation," contains lists that are concrete and helpful. One of the three "principles" (nos. 75-87) for conducting adult faith formation is to "'Use the catechumenate [RCIA] as an inspiring model for all catechesis.'" (Cf. GDC, nos. 59, 68, 88-91; Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, no. 81). When the bishops explain the six "dimensions " of Christian life (nos. 88-96), one aspect of a dimension is learning how to "live a lifestyle reflecting scriptural values of holiness, simplicity, and compassion." (no. 93). The bishops also explore five "concrete approaches" (nos. 97-112) for achieving adult faith formation. In a description of one of the approaches, "Family- or Home-Centered Activities," the bishops assert that "Catechetical opportunities situated in family settings foster both adult and family faith growth, while also addressing one of the major reasons adults give for not participating in adult education: time away from their families."(no. 103).

How Is Adult Catechesis The Key To Adult Faith Formation?

Adult catechesis is the most important skill described by the Bishops in their document; it is what they flesh out in Parts I-III. Adult catechesis is also the primary skill needed by the adult faith formation leader, the adult faith formation team, the catechists of adults team, and their counterparts at the diocesan level.

At the center of adult catechesis is the development of a personal relationship with God as expressed in service. But for all adults, how practical is the goal of developing this personal relationship with God? In real life every adult experiences a need to be happy and to cope with life. Some find both in TV, sex, power, wealth, travel and good food, and that is as far as they get. Others go further and find happiness and purpose primarily in love relationships. But every adult, given the opportunity, can also experience a more deep-seated curiosity and hunger for an ongoing and growing personal relationship with God. Given the opportunity, adults marvel at God's loving and intelligent presence in every created thing around us. Given the opportunity, they marvel at how God personally loves and powerfully acts in their lives day after day. Opportunities for reflecting on and responding in love to God's presence and wisdom in their daily lives are what we, as church, must provide.

Considering adult catechesis as a skill, one of the most typical ways to achieve this lifelong conversion to God is by connecting Scripture to adults' personal daily lives. You can walk into a Mass and hear a sermon that makes a personal connection between the day's Scripture and your daily life. On the other hand, if the sermon is merely a theological tract, it is not likely to achieve its primary catechetical function. One of the bishops' more powerful statements on adult catechesis is that we need to lead adults to a "deeper appropriation of the Gospel and its power to guide, transform, and fulfill our lives" (no. 52).

An Example of Connecting Real Life to Scripture

Recently in a parish seminar, "The Parents of Jesus," we read the story of Mary and Joseph losing the teenage Jesus in Jerusalem. I asked the mothers of children in the catechetical classes what experience they personally had of momentarily losing a child. Silence. Then a hand tentatively rose, and a mother spoke.

"I dropped my 11-year old daughter off at a friend's birthday party at an amusement park. I said I would pick her up at 5:00 p.m. When I returned at 5:00 p.m., she wasn't with her friends. I was very worried. I prayed. It took me half an hour to find my daughter in another part of the large park with one of her friends."

I asked the mother, "What did you first say to her?"

"I said, 'How could you do this to me? I've been worried sick as to what might have happened to you!'"

"And did you get an answer?" I said.

"My daughter said something about how she and her friend just got carried away, having such a good time together. I figured it was something I would have to think about."

I asked, "Do you realize how similar your reaction was to how Mary reacted? You were very worried. You asked her for an explanation. You told her how worried you were. You decided you needed to ponder her explanation. Every element was exactly how Mary dealt with her teenager in the temple. See how well God knows and sympathizes with our real problems, such as our teens experiencing their own uniqueness and needing their peer relationships."

"I know," the mother said. "I could feel the connections happening as I told you my story!"

There are so many opportunities to connect adults to God's presence in their lives through the use of Scripture.

How Did Jesus Catechize?

Jesus, God himself, catechized adults with impressive skill. For example, Jesus was the model catechist with the two disciples at Emmaus. Like Jesus, you must join people in their daily concerns, ask questions and listen attentively to their joys, hopes, grief, and anxieties. Then share the word of God and unfold the meaning of their experiences in light of Scripture, God's messages to us about existence. Trust the capacity of prayer and sacrament to open adults' eyes to the presence and love of Christ. Then invite them to live and share this Good News.

Earlier in Jesus' ministry is another example of his method of adult catechesis. Jesus connected with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well her through her physical thirst and her divorces. He dealt with her in a warm, friendly manner. He let her experience God's non-condemning, personal concern for her. He drew her up from daily life to what is really important, the kingdom of God among us, through her experience of thirst and need for water. Then, she went off to serve others by telling them this central message of life, that here is the Savior that God promised us, who is the loving God Himself.

The bishops in their document reflect that ". . . in Jesus the disciples caught a glimpse into the heart of God . . . ," as did the Samaritan woman (no. 11). Though the bishops did not include in their document the adult catechesis behavior of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, the story is strikingly similar to Jesus' steps in catechizing the disciples at Emmaus. Among the steps, the use of bread at Emmaus and the water at the well reminds us how much God uses physical things as a medium for grace. The Sacraments prove God's love of this medium.

An illustration of this occurred for me when a 17-year-old on Confirmation retreat told me how he had written out his problems on a sheet of paper, which he tossed into the fireplace. As he watched the paper burn, he was overcome with the awareness that in the years ahead only his relationship with God would be of importance and all else in life would be as ash.

Bishops' Call for Adult Catechesis That Touches Real Life

The bishops offer specific suggestions for adult catechesis in their document. "Start by listening to adults and let the stories of their lives and the hungers of their hearts inspire pastoral care and inform catechetical programming." (Cf. GDC, nos. 189-190; Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, no. 80).

The call for the parish adult needs assessment at the heart of adult faith formation. The bishops are specific: "Respect the different learning styles and needs of participants, treating adults like adults, respecting their experience, and actively involving them in the learning process." (no. 82).

I recently sat in on the opening of a parish adult seminar on baptism. First, the priest asked the participants what they had personally experienced regarding baptism and what they felt about those experiences. Only then did he go on to his theological and scriptural description of baptism, all the while staying open to their questions and reactions. He had them start the evening by forming a circle of chairs, facilitating their sharing and sense of community, of family. Adult catechesis actively connects with adults' lives.

What remains most striking in the document descriptions regarding adult catechesis is that service to others makes catechesis happen! The bishops call for us to engage adults in the life and ministry of the community. " 'Adults do not grow in faith primarily by learning concepts, but by sharing the life of the Christian community' (ACCC, no. 28). Not that concepts are irrelevant; they are foundational. But for most people the truths of faith really come alive and bear fruit when tested and put into practice--in soup kitchens, neighborhoods, small groups, workplaces, community organizations, and family homes." (no. 83)

That certainly puts theology classes into perspective in adult catechesis. Teaching theology without connecting to the lives of the participants is just not the way Jesus catechized adults.

Applications to Other Parish Ministries

Like adult faith formation, all parish ministries dealing with adults can respond with enthusiasm to the U.S. bishops' document, Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us. Which aspects of the document in particular are relevant to other ministries?

Adult catechesis skills are of primary value. These skills include personalizing adults' relationship with God, connecting their lives to Scripture, working toward personal transformation in their attitudes and behavior, and other elements reflecting the model of Jesus' way of catechizing. Also of importance is understanding and using adult psychology, which provides insight into how adults learn and skill in identifying individual talents and sources of motivation. Other aspects of the document relevant to all ministries include adult spirituality, service and community building.

Another issue for other parish ministries dealing with adults is the U.S. bishops' desire that the entire parish work toward developing an adult faith formation paradigm. For example, how can the parish prepare elementary-age children and the teens for life-long adult faith formation? One answer lies in connecting their real-life issues with Scripture through dialogue, as you do with adults. This will effect a personal transformation in young people's loving relationship with God.

Now Trust Your Vision

In conclusion, what remains the most important issue as you start an adult faith formation program in your parish? You must trust your vision. Keep asking yourself and like-spirited souls, "What will work in this new ministry of ours?" Continually look for and experiment with answers to this question. Trust your judgment and that of the Holy Spirit who wants to guide you in the most important task of today's Church. Persistently ask for God's strength and light to guide you in your work. Speak up and share your vision. You can quickly enflame the whole parish with your passion. In the words of Paul Wilkes in Excellent Catholic Parishes (March, 2001), "What the vast majority of Catholic parishes lack is not priests or resources, but vision, energy and hope."