Liturgy Family Large Group Small Group Individual Fill

1
Here Comes Everybody!

• Forming an Engaged Community
• Diocese of Broken Bay
• June, 2009

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What Do You Hope and Pray for When You Think of
Life in Your Diocese?
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A Vision of Community and of Catechesis

• A Vision of Parish as a Community of Believers of
  All Ages on a Lifelong Journey of Living, Growing
  Faith
• A Community that Understands that Catechesis is
  a responsibility of the entire Christian
  community, (GDC, 220)

4
In Response to Change

• Church and Culture have seen significant change
  in last 50 years
• Family
• Neighborhoods
• Rhythm of Life

5
Guiding the Vision

• The General Directory
• for Catchesis
• Signed by John Paul II, 1997
• The parish is, without doubt, the most important
  locus in which the Christian community is formed
  and expressed. (257)

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Guiding the Vision

• Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us
• U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1999
• We seek to form adults who actively cultivate a
  lively baptismal and eucharistic spirituality
  with a powerful sense of mission and apostolate.
  (introduction)

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Forming Individuals and the Community

• Two main goals
• Evangelization
• Real, Living, Growing Relationship with Christ,
  Shared with Others
• Lifelong Catechesis
• Forming Disciples Throughout a Lifetime

8
Forming Individuals and the Community

• How have you experienced a faith community as the
  locus in which Christians are formed in a lively
  baptismal and eucharistic spirituality with a
  powerful sense of mission and apostolate?

9
Forming Individuals and the Community

• Six Tasks of Catechesis
• Promoting Knowledge of the Faith
• The Meaning of the Liturgy and Sacraments
• Moral Formation in Jesus Christ
• Teaching to Pray with Christ
• Communal Life
• Missionary Spirit

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Markers Along the Way Dimensions

• Centrality of the Liturgy
• Helping people make connections between the
  prayer of the community and the rest of their
  lives

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Markers Along the Way

• Living Discipleship
• Learning While Serving, Side by Side
• Making Christian Decisions
• Advocating for Justice
• Working toward Peaceful Solutions

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Markers Along the Way

• Engaged Adults
• When Adults, including Youth, are engaged in the
  life of the parish, the result is living
  discipleship

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Markers Along the Way

• Catechesis Involves Everyone
• All grow in faith in many ways over the course of
  a lifetime.

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Markers Along the Way

• Catechumenate As Model
• Initiation is an
• on-going process

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Markers Along the Way

• Calling Forth The Gifts of All
• We come to recognize that all we have and are is
  gift from God and must be returned with grateful
  hearts

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Markers Along the Way

• Households of Faith
• Life in our faith communities must be pointed
  outward toward the world, and equipping people
  to live faith in their daily lives

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Markers Along the Way

• Evangelizing Community
• When people fall in love, they cant help but
  share their love with others

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Vehicles for the Journey

• Connection to Sunday Liturgy
• Question of the Week
• Liturgical Catechesis
• Seasonal Connections
• Connecting Liturgy with Life

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Vehicles for the Journey

• Assemblies
• Parallel Assemblies
• Intergenerational Assemblies

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Assemblies Gathering the Faithful

• Catechesis assemblies draw adults, youth and
  children together in lifelong growth
• Use spiral scope and sequence to guide topics
• Parents provided with take-home packet for
  further exploration
• Assemblies once a week, once a month, with
  household or neighborhood catechesis between
  gatherings the possibilities are unlimited!

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Parallel Assemblies

• Often Begin with Everyone Together
• Children taken to age-group activities on related
  topic or theme
• Sometimes all come back together at the end
  often parents are given description of childrens
  activities

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All Ages Assemblies

• All but the youngest (pre-school through
  Kindergarten or First Grade) remain together
• Lots of time for questions, often time for
  movement to stations of activities or
  demonstrations

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Vehicles for the Journey

• Adult Faith Formation

• Six tasks of catechesis
• Knowledge of the Faith
• Liturgical Life
• Communal Life
• Missionary Spirit
• Prayer
• Moral Formation

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Planning Adult Faith Formation

• Study catechetical principles with parishioners
  and catechists
• Prayerfully reflect upon the vision

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Vehicles for the Journey

• Adult Faith Formation
• Adults come when they understand the impact in
  their lives
• Adults want to know what will be discussed, and
  often like to know the planned format for the
  event
• One Size Does Not Fit All!

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Planning Adult Faith Formation

• Create a chart for each of the six elements
• At the top, list the following headings
• Liturgy Family Large Group
• Small Group Individual
• Fill in the chart and see what is already
  happening to support AFF and where growth can be
  facilitated

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Our Vision Shapes Our Action

• What words or phrases speak to you most
  powerfully?
• What are these excerpts inviting us to be as
  Church?
• How might these excerpts guide the work of this
  group at this time?

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Vehicles for the Journey

• Formed Through Service to Others

• Mission-oriented VBS
• Grade school age children and youth have service
  projects each year
• Youth model and encourage service
• Opportunities for families, or other adults,
  youth and children, to serve together

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Vehicles for the Journey

• Sacramental Preparation Assemblies

• The same principles apply
• Greater community involvement
• Opportunities for sharing and shared learning

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Vehicles for the Journey

• Retreat and Renewal

• What better way to jump start a relationship
  with Christ?
• Helps to infuse the community with enthusiasm for
  faith and faithful living
• Renews not just individuals but also the
  community

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Vehicles for the Journey

• Support Parents as Primary in Faith Formation of
  Children
• Combine Parish and Family Processes with
  Assemblies
• Support by Catechetical Leader or Special
  Catechetical Team

• Parish, School and Parents in Partnership

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Which Vehicles To Take?

• How Will You Enter or Continue on the Journey of
  Lifelong Faith Formation?
• Begin or Continue Reasonably!
• Begin with Elements that will most easily invite
  people to connect their experience
• Begin with a few assemblies the first year
• Just Begin!
• Continue by building on what is working

34
The Importance of the Community of Believers

• Engagement
• Engagement is a deep emotional connection to the
  parish community
• Those who are Engaged in the life of their
  congregation are much more likely to be
  spiritually committed, exhibiting the outcomes of
  life satisfaction, inviting, serving and giving.

35
The Importance of the Community of Believers

• Engaged
• Not Engaged
• Actively Disengaged

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The Importance of the Community of Believers

• Gallup Research
• The Engaged
• Are more likely to invite someone to worship or
  an event at the parish
• 64 of the Engaged
• 24 of the Not Engaged
• 5 of the Actively Disengaged

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The Importance of the Community of Believers

• The Engaged give at least two times more hours
  per week in community service
• Financial giving is nearly three times greater in
  the Engaged than in the Actively Disengaged

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Belonging to Christ

• Those who enter Jesus new covenant find
  themselves growing in a union of minds and hearts
  with others who have also responded to Gods
  call. They find their hearts and minds expanding
  to embrace all men and women, especially those in
  need, in a communion of mercy and love.

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Restoring All Things In Christ

• And what do Christians bring to the Eucharistic
  celebration and join there with Jesus offering?
  Their lives as Christian disciples their
  personal vocations and the stewardship they have
  exercised regarding them, their individual
  contributions to the great work of restoring all
  things in Christ.
• Stewardship A Disciples Response

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What is Your Experience?

• What are your initial thoughts and reactions?
• What implications do you perceive?

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Aim is Always Living Discipleship

• A relationship with God that is growing
• Regular rhythm of full, conscious and active
  participation in Eucharist and Sacraments
• Life that is shaped through prayer, reflecting
  upon the Paschal Mystery

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Aim is Always Living Discipleship

• Rooted in the word of God
• Basic understanding of, and ability to explain to
  others, essential beliefs
• Moral behavior that is shaped by faith, expressed
  in Catholic teaching
• Outpouring of service to others

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Aim is Always Living Discipleship

• Active participation in the faith community
• Including stewardship of all of life, everything
  being given by God and returned to God in
  gratitude
• A marked desire to share ones love of God and
  the way that love transforms over time

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Continuing the Journey Resources

• Forming Generous Hearts Stewardship Planning for
  Lifelong Faith Formation (Anslinger/Shepp)
• Growing an Engaged Church (Winseman)
• For samples, powerpoint slides, and more info
  www.thegenerousheart.com
• For conversation http//thegeneroushearttalk.blog
  spot.com
• For additional information and reasonably
  priced, downloadable and adjustable resources
• www.allaboutchurchengagement.com
• www.pastoralplanning.com