In a parish of over 2,700 families, we schedule and provide materials for:
• Sunday morning adult catechesis (between our 08:30 and 11:30 liturgy) for 75 minutes. We cover canonical books, Church history, etc. we are currently studying the documents of Vatican II. Our Deacon/JCL makes it very cl…
In a parish of over 2,700 families, we schedule and provide materials for:
• Sunday morning adult catechesis (between our 08:30 and 11:30 liturgy) for 75 minutes. We cover canonical books, Church history, etc. we are currently studying the documents of Vatican II. Our Deacon/JCL makes it very clear. We get 40 people if we are lucky. Any yes the Deacon/JCL makes clear that what we study is magisterial/Tradition with an upper case “T” - which probably limits attendance nowadays.
• Tuesday morning (2 hours) adult Bible Study/ Faith Sharing. This program “got legs” via Ascension Press’/Jeff Cavins’ “Great Adventure Journey through the Bible”. Attendance is 20 tops.
• Wednesday evening 75 minutes: Our Deacon/JCL teaches the canonical books based on the Historical-Critical Method. Less faith sharing and more intense scripture study. Attendance is typically 25-35.
So we offer a lot, and as you can see, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers (students) are few. And if (grand)parents don’t take advantage, I’m not sure parents or children will.
Of course self-learning through commentaries (remember the USCCB Catechism for ADULTS?), Googling, and self-enrichment would eliminate the ability to blame the parish for any and all shortcomings. 🤷♂️
I love this degree of ongoing faith formation by your parish!
But parishes tend to "program" to the youth and to the elderly. I'm a middle-aged male who owns a business. Anything in the morning is automatically off limits. And evenings? Hit-or-miss. No one develops programs for people like me.
I wish more parishes offered content asynchronously -- online learning modules, recorded talks, private online discussion groups, &c. But the elderly struggle with technology, so most parishes aren't willing to make the investment.
There are a lot of online/book resources available for cheap/free, I'm not sure why you would want the parish to be offering it, except to combine it with the community/social aspect. Personally, I prefer that sort of thing simply because classroom-style learning tends to irritate me, as it hardly ever goes anywhere close to my speed, but this same problem tends to show up in online learning modules and recorded talks that are purchased by parishes. If you have to sort through a lot of stuff to find something that suits anyway, and you aren't connecting with the people in your parish, why limit yourself to parish offerings?
The scheduling problem and the variety of different levels was why I was trying to go for something unorganized.
My parish has a monthly talk (short, by a layperson) followed by discussion/questions, followed by clarifications by a priest, interspersed with snacks. Announced in the bulletin & at Mass, with the topic. Attendance ranges from 10-50 people, depending on the topic. Some regulars, but they are typically not the same people. If you can't come to most, you can still come to one or two and be just fine.
The private online asynchronous discussion groups sounds great. I wish that was a widespread thing. Although I expect the moderation could be a big problem.
“Collect” is even frustratingly challenging.
In a parish of over 2,700 families, we schedule and provide materials for:
• Sunday morning adult catechesis (between our 08:30 and 11:30 liturgy) for 75 minutes. We cover canonical books, Church history, etc. we are currently studying the documents of Vatican II. Our Deacon/JCL makes it very clear. We get 40 people if we are lucky. Any yes the Deacon/JCL makes clear that what we study is magisterial/Tradition with an upper case “T” - which probably limits attendance nowadays.
• Tuesday morning (2 hours) adult Bible Study/ Faith Sharing. This program “got legs” via Ascension Press’/Jeff Cavins’ “Great Adventure Journey through the Bible”. Attendance is 20 tops.
• Wednesday evening 75 minutes: Our Deacon/JCL teaches the canonical books based on the Historical-Critical Method. Less faith sharing and more intense scripture study. Attendance is typically 25-35.
So we offer a lot, and as you can see, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers (students) are few. And if (grand)parents don’t take advantage, I’m not sure parents or children will.
Of course self-learning through commentaries (remember the USCCB Catechism for ADULTS?), Googling, and self-enrichment would eliminate the ability to blame the parish for any and all shortcomings. 🤷♂️
I love this degree of ongoing faith formation by your parish!
But parishes tend to "program" to the youth and to the elderly. I'm a middle-aged male who owns a business. Anything in the morning is automatically off limits. And evenings? Hit-or-miss. No one develops programs for people like me.
I wish more parishes offered content asynchronously -- online learning modules, recorded talks, private online discussion groups, &c. But the elderly struggle with technology, so most parishes aren't willing to make the investment.
And thus the cycle repeats itself. :(
For asynchrous learning but without group discussion & sharing, Ascension Press can be used: https://ascensionpress.com/pages/bible-studies
Similarly, Cornerstone Bible Study and Little Rock Bible Study can be adapted to asynchronous self-study:
• https://thecornerstonescripturestudy.org/about-us/
• https://litpress.org/LRSS/About-Us/Index
I have contacts at Cornerstone - if you need them PM me. Thanks
There are a lot of online/book resources available for cheap/free, I'm not sure why you would want the parish to be offering it, except to combine it with the community/social aspect. Personally, I prefer that sort of thing simply because classroom-style learning tends to irritate me, as it hardly ever goes anywhere close to my speed, but this same problem tends to show up in online learning modules and recorded talks that are purchased by parishes. If you have to sort through a lot of stuff to find something that suits anyway, and you aren't connecting with the people in your parish, why limit yourself to parish offerings?
The scheduling problem and the variety of different levels was why I was trying to go for something unorganized.
My parish has a monthly talk (short, by a layperson) followed by discussion/questions, followed by clarifications by a priest, interspersed with snacks. Announced in the bulletin & at Mass, with the topic. Attendance ranges from 10-50 people, depending on the topic. Some regulars, but they are typically not the same people. If you can't come to most, you can still come to one or two and be just fine.
The private online asynchronous discussion groups sounds great. I wish that was a widespread thing. Although I expect the moderation could be a big problem.