Parish Vision 2009 - Pastoral Web viewRead this section first. You may wish to reproduce this part...

From the BishopsWho are the first teachers of the Church.

We, as the Catholic bishops, call the Church in our country to a renewed commitment to adult faith formation, positioning it at the

heart of our catechetical vision and practice. We pledge to support adult faith formation without weakening our commitment to our other essential educational ministries. This pastoral plan guides the implementation of

this pledge and commitment.Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, #6

Let us strengthen our commitment and intensify our efforts to help the adults in our

communities be touched and transformed by the life-giving message of Jesus, to explore its meaning, experience its power, and live in its light as faithful adult disciples today. Let us do our part with creativity and

vigor, our hearts aflame with love to empower adults to know and live the message of Jesus.

This is the Lord’s work. In the power of the

Dreams & Visions Pastoral Planning │ PastoralPlanning.com │ Permission is granted to reproduce this for your own use. │

Spirit it will not fail but will bear lasting fruit for the life of the world.

Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, #183


Table of Contents5

Overview of this Process and the Steps for PlanningRead this section first. You may wish to reproduce this part of the packet for

other leaders in the parish, or even to post it to your parish web site.

Feel free to change the terminology and steps to suit your own needs.

10Taking Inventory of the Parish

The Bishops of the Church have asked us parish leadersto begin by listening carefully to all those whom we serve,

and to ask specific questions of them in order to serve them more fruitfully.This parish inventory process is comprised of a changeable master list

and a series of worksheets, one for each constituent group in the parish, in addition to blank worksheets.

56Evaluation Form

Reproducible. Useful for events of any kind.It’s always important to ask for feedback from the people you serve.

Formation Initiatives for Use in Planning58

Mini-CoursesThis segment provides a list of the various Mini-Courses which you may plan

to offer within your parish. These can be used with RCIA, Youth Ministry, Small Church Communities, or any form of adult education.

63Questions of the Week & Parish Based Retreats Explained

A key part of any plan will be opening up a process for sharing faith and encountering Christ. These notes will help you do that. Reproduce them and

share them widely within the parish.


IntroductionDreams and Visions Planning is designed to help your parish prepare to do effective lifelong faith formation. This packet of tools will help you implement the plan laid out by the U.S. Bishops for every parish in the American church, but it applies equally well to parishes around the world. This plan was spelled out in a key Statement, published in 1999 for the new millennium, Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us (quoted above).

In our planning to implement Our Hearts Were Burning, we want to adhere closely to the core work of the church, which is, in a nutshell,

To help people deepen their communion with Christ by offering them opportunities at the parish which give rise to the possibility of ever more intimacy with him,

and to help people grow & sustain the excitement of that conversion within their parish, through our sacramental life and intentional formation opportunities

which lead to works of justice & charity, not on the part of the parish as a whole, but on the part of individual believers gathered in Christ’s name

and which also lead to a community life of daily prayer

and to the desire on the part of believers to invite others to deeper communion as well, which then begins this circle again.

As the Bishops point out in their Statement, “adult faith formation, by which people consciously grow in the life of Christ through experience, reflection, prayer, and study, must be the central task in the catechetical enterprise” (italics are theirs). Such adult catechesis, they go on to say, should become “the axis around which revolves the catechesis of childhood and adolescence as well as that of old age” (paragraph #5).


From the Bishops’ leadership expressed in this Statement, arises this tool to assist in writing a pastoral plan for your parish which helps implement this vision. Dreams and Visions Planning provides a planning process and framework which is completely adaptable to your own specific setting. We hope it serves you well!


OverviewThis Planning Process is based on the Bishops’ statement: Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us. For a copy of this statement and the leader’s guide which accompanies it, go to the USCCB web site, following this link: http://www.usccbpublishing.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=182

This tool is designed to be used in the parish planning and budgeting process. Most parishes begin their fiscal year on July 1 which means the planning should be done in the months of March through June. But planning should be ongoing and can begin at any time.

Some of the steps in this planning process overlap with each other. Pastoral planning for lifelong formation, as we just said, really does not end, but is an on-going process within the parish.

We suggest that as a parish leader, you begin by reading through this entire planning process yourself. As you will see, the steps outlined here follow the order suggested by the Bishops in Our Hearts Were Burning, and the strategies for the OHWB Plan which are detailed in Dreams and Visions.

For more help, read and absorb Dreams and Visions: pastoral planning for lifelong faith formation (available from the web site mentioned in the footer).

Once you have a grasp of what this planning process entails, we suggest you draw together key leaders and schedule a “reading group.” Select a good resource on lifelong faith formation and read it together, pausing after each chapter to meet and discuss the ramifications for your parish. We do realize that reading has gone somewhat ‘out

of style’ in our day and age, but don’t be tempted to skip this step. It’s vitally important than your team build a foundation of understanding before it trys to build a structure upon it. Without this foundation, you may have only a

flash in the pan, an initiative that lasts only one season or one year, rather than a parish-changing shift to become an adult parish.


http://www.usccbpublishing.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=182

The Steps in the Planning ProcessThe details of this process are spelled out in Dreams and Visions

Step 1. Make a firm decision. This key step in the planning process lands, eventually, on the desk of the Pastor and his Pastoral Team, whether paid or volunteer.

In this decision making period, let prayer guide you to listen to your own inner prompting from the Holy Spirit, and to hear the Spirit speaking in your community.

2. There must be a coordinator. Whether paid or volunteer, someone must be identified who can help coordinate the process of lifelong formation.

To see a job description and get a sense of the sort of person who would be needed for this coordinating role, see pages 135-139 of Dreams and Visions. In smaller parishes, this person will most likely be a key volunteer.

3. Study your options. Become familiar with the methods for lifelong faith formation which are available to you today. These have changed and improved tremendously in recent years. Among the options, old or new, you will find:

o Coaching parents to form their own children is now a real option for us. We need no longer substitute parish volunteers or school teachers for the work which properly belongs to parents and guardians.

o The use of Mini-Courses for youth, Confirmation, young adult, RCIA, small church communities, and adult formation of every kind is now very possible. Such Mini-Courses are popular and effective.

o Lifelong formation is our clear aim now. We agree across the Church that faith formation does not end with elementary or primary school.

o It is now possible for every parish to include in its plan a series of opportunities throughout each year by which people can deepen their own intimacy with Christ and their love for the Church.

o And others.

4. The Central Task in Planning: Undertake a parish inventory, using the forms provided later in these planning process notes.

List each constituency in the parish by name. We have started this process for you with the worksheet below, but it is changeable. Add,


delete, & modify to suit your situation. Be exhaustive in this list and don’t skip anyone.Then, using the forms found below, begin to listen to each group and ask about their current experience of parish life – and how that can be made more full. Interview and ask about each group’s experience of parish life. What’s working for them? What’s not? What could be added or changed to assist them to have a deeper faith experience? Let this inventory-review-planning process drive your work as Pastoral Planners for lifelong faith formation. When you finish this step, you basically have your plan in hand.

5. Start holding regular team meetings to formalize the planning process.

The agenda for these team meetings is outlined in Dreams and Visions, chapter 8, pages 141-149.Their purpose is to begin on-going parish oversight of all faith formation, at every age and stage of life.This team – the pastor – the pastoral staff – and the lifelong formation coordinator -- must all work in synchronization with each other. This is true especially in smaller parishes where the staff is

o all volunteer, o possibly paid a small stipend, o or shared by more than one parish.

Again, in many parishes, this team becomes the Parish Pastoral Council.

6. Prepare a short, written plan outline.The pastoral plan document itself may be only a series of brief papers, each describing an initiative which you plan to undertake. For each initiative, include the following:

o your goal in launching this initiativeo persons providing the ministryo persons receiving the ministryo a description of the actual initiative itself: What will happen?o and budget.

Each individual formation initiative should lead to catechesis for one of the various groups within the parish, as described in the inventory process in step #4 above.For example, you may decide to enhance what you offer to couples or single parents who present a child for baptism. The initiative that you launch for this particular group should be written up in a brief paper, following the outline above. It need not be overly complicated. As this


initiative takes it place among others you are launching in the parish, you should also make sure it

o Has the oversight of parish leaders, staff, and pastoro Is in coordination with initiatives being offered to other groups.

7. Evaluate with all affected groups and persons as you go.As Catholics, we honor how well people receive what we do in ministry. Initiatives that are well received by those affected are enhanced and repeated. Initiatives that are poorly attended and received are rethought and reformed. In pastoral planning, this idea is very important. We live in a society today (whether you like it or not) that is post-modern, high technology, fast-moving, rich in diversity, and plural in belief systems. The initiatives we develop for lifelong formation must respect and address this social environment in order to be effective.One key dimension of this, therefore, is evaluation. In this step of the process, we learn to constantly and openly evaluate how people are hearing and receiving our message. An evaluation form which can be reproduced is at the end of Dreams and Visions Planning.

8. Launch one initiative at a time, overlapping the steps of the planning process and continuing down through the years as you slowly become an adult parish.

Pastoral Planning for lifelong faith formation does not result in ring binders full of statistics and graphs. We aren’t looking to write a lengthy, wordy explanation of our plan. Instead, we want the outcome of our planning to be a series of rather brief initiatives, as described in #8 above. What you write might fit more appropriately into manila folders (OK, maybe a small ring binder would be handy!).The launch of the plan overlaps the planning itself. You may launch one initiative, such as the Question of the Week, for example, while continuing to plan for larger events, such as parent coaching or faith gatherings. See pages 152 and 153 in Dreams and Visions for more on this.

9. Keep doing this: team meetings, evaluation, attention to opportunities, implementing various initiatives when ready, more team meetings.

Keep in mind the big picture: you are planning a way of parish life that allows you to “become an adult church.” This will mean a gradual unfolding of various initiatives that shift our horizons and boundaries as a parish.


o Where once we were concerned mainly with children, now we will focus equally on youth, young adults, and adults. In fact, the children’s program becomes the springboard to a parish-wide formation process.

o Where once parents dropped their kids at the door and went off to run errands or return home while others taught their children, now parents will park, come inside from time to time, and take a vital role in the formation of their children.

o Where once adult formation was seen as a series of speakers who addressed various topics of faith, now we will lace parish and daily life with multiple opportunities to add formation using Mini-Courses which attract them because of the topic and scope. Many of these offerings will be based in small community life within the parish.

o Where once our budgets, facilities, and personnel were mainly focused on the sacramental and educational needs of children, now we will widen the circles of formation to include everyone.

o Where once people thought at some point after Confirmation or thereabouts, that they had “graduated” from religious education, now gradually everyone will come to see formation in faith as a lifelong enterprise, shared with the whole parish.


Parish Inventory WorksheetsOverview

Use these worksheets to o identify what you currently offer each groupo how is what you currently offer being received by each groupo consider your options for each groupo think about what resources may work as you enhance your

lifelong formation process in each group, including people, money, and materials

o and lay out a short term plan for each groupMethod

List all the various groups that exist within your parish that may have needs for faith formation. Match these to the worksheets found on the following pages.

o Just below you’ll find a master worksheet on which you can tabulate results.

o You’ll also find a specific worksheet for each of twenty or so typical groups within a parish community. If you have other groups than these, use the blank template to create more worksheets.

Give each member of your planning team a set of worksheets and ask each to spend time talking and listening to each group being considered.You may ask your team to do this working in pairs to get better insight and judgment.

o They meet with each group,o Ask the questions on the worksheet or others you may have,o And develop a sense of how this particular group’s needs are

being met. When team members have done the listening and prepared their various worksheets, gather and share insights and ideas.

o The pastor and coordinator should certainly be part of this.o In larger parishes, invite any staff or key volunteers who work

with the various groups to be part of this discussiono In smaller parishes, pay attention to special needs of groups that

may be very small – one or two persons in some small parishes.We recommend that your planning team review the entire parish (all groups) within a relatively brief period of time

o to allow them to “see the whole picture”o and to use the same basic method for every group.o As you go through these exercises, keep a brief record on

the Master Worksheet. Transfer information from the


worksheets to that Master sheet. This will produce a brief, written record of the entire plan which can easily be shared with others in the parish. Or you may wish to create a large chart for your parish lobby or meeting room on which you enter this information.


Lifelong Faith FormationMaster Worksheet

(Adapt these worksheets to suit your parish needs.)

Parish GroupWhat kind of

formation do we offer them at the

present time?

How is what we offer them being

received and utilized by them

now?1 Parents or guardians who

have kids in religious ed2 Parents or guardians who

have kids in the parish school

3 Those returning to the church after being away for a while

4 Candidates for full communion

5 Parish council members and members of various committees

6 Catechists, school teachers, and other staff of those programs

7 Lectors and liturgical ministers

8 Those with special needs or disabilities

9 High school youth you are not part of any formal program

10

Confirmation students – the plan for after confirmation

11

Students on campuses within or near the parish

12

Young adults, out of high school but not in college or the military


13

Families presenting a child for baptism

14

Couples asking to be married and in their prep year

15

The general adults of the parish


16

Small Christian communities and folks looking for support after RENEW

17

Maturing adults, including those who live in assisted care facilities

18

Immigrants who don’t speak English very well

19

Others

20

Others


Step Two: What We Plan to Do

Parish GroupWhat do we

plan to offer this group?

What resources and costs will be

involved?1 Parents or guardians who have

kids in religious ed2 Parents or guardians who have

kids in the parish school3 Those returning to the church

after being away for a while4 Candidates for full communion

5 Parish council members and members of various committees

6 Catechists, school teachers, and other staff of those programs

7 Lectors and liturgical ministers

8 Those with special needs or disabilities

9 High school youth you are not part of any formal program

10

Confirmation students – the plan for after confirmation

11

Students on campuses within or near the parish

12

Young adults, out of high school but not in college or the military

13

Families presenting a child for baptism

14

Couples asking to be married and in their prep year

15

The general adults of the parish

16

Small Christian communities and folks looking for support after RENEW

1 Maturing adults, including those who live in assisted care


7 facilities

18

Immigrants who don’t speak English very well

19

Others

20

Others


Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #AThe Children of the ParishThe basis of your plan

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to the children of the parish in religious ed or the school over the past two years? List them here. Include here the pre-school children as well.

A. Leading to deeper communion with Christ

B. Leading to a greater understanding of the Catholic faith?

2 Response. How did members of this group receive and make use of what you offered? % really liked what you offered and wanted more!

% mainly tolerated what you offered and were happy to see it end

% really disliked it and seemed not to find it helpful

What part of your past offerings seemed to work best? What would you repeat?


How many?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want these children to get from faith formation? How will you plan to make it a lifelong journey of faith for them?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for the children do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.

A. Leading to deeper communion with Christ:

B. Leading to a greater understanding of the Catholic faith?This is where their current textbooks will come in.

4 Resources & First Steps.A. Study the unit themes of your children’s textbook series. List them on a separate sheet of paper, using the planning form on page 58 of these notes. These become the themes of your parish year of formation. See Dreams and Visions, chapter 6, especially pages 81-89, to understand more fully how a spiral scope and sequence serves lifelong faith formation.

B. Who will plan the curriculum aspects of your adult and young adult


plans?


Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #1Parents with Children in Religious Ed

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to coach parents with kids in religious ed over the past two years? List them here. How did these offerings connect to the themes and topics of the children’s texts?








How many?

What prevented parents from making more use of your offerings?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want these parents to get from faith formation? What do you want them to take home with their kids?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for the parents do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.



4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take to improve how you coach parents?

B. What faith formation resources will you use to take those first steps? What will match their children’s texts?

C. What will this cost? Where will it come from in the budget?


D. Who will provide or manage this new initiative?

Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #2Parents with Children in the School

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to parents with kids in your school over the past two years? List them here. How did these offerings connect to the themes and topics of the children’s texts?






What part of your past offerings seemed to work best? What would you


How many?

repeat?

What obstacles did you face with these parents?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want these parents to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for these parents do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.



4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with the parents of your school children?

B. What faith formation resources will you use to take those first steps? What would match the children’s texts?




Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #3People who’ve been away from the Church for a while but want to return

1 History. What specific opportunities for welcoming or faith formation have you offered to those many folks who are away from the church but ready to make a return, over the past two years? What “avenue back” have you created for them? List them here.








How many?

What do you think keeps people from trying to return to parish life?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want folks who’ve been away from the parish to get from faith formation? How would you reach them?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for this group do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable. Because this group comprises nearly 70% of most parishes, pay special attention to it.



4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with this group? (See chapter 5 of Dreams & Visions)

B. What faith formation resources will you use to take those first steps?




Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #4Candidates for full communion

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to candidates for full communion over the past two years? How do you distinguish between candidates with no background and those who have been active in the parish for a long time?








How many?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want candidates for full communion to get from faith formation? Are you asking more of them than of the existing members of the parish? How can you balance that?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for this group do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.



4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with this group to enhance what you offer?





Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #5Parish council members and other leaders

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to your parish leaders over the past two years? List them here.

A. Leading to deeper communion with ChristParish leaders should be among the first within the parish to be on a lifelong journey of faith, moving ever more deeply into the heart of the Lord.






How many?


How can you balance the time involved here – time for meetings and time for formation?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want parish leaders to get from faith formation? Why does this seem important?In the long term:

In the short term:




4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with your parish leaders?





Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #6Catechists and School Teachers

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to parish catechists or school teachers in the past two years? List them here. For more on this, see Dreams and Visions, pages 99-106.

A. Leading to deeper communion with ChristIn pastoral planning for lifelong formation, we strongly urge you to organize communities of catechists in deep formation – including all those in catechetical ministries.




How many?




3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want members of this group to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for this group do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable. For more on this, see Into the Fields Facilitator Guide, pages 272 and following.



4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with this group?

B. What faith formation resources will you use to take those first steps?See Echoes of Faith and Into the Fields literature for more information.




Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #7Lectors and other liturgical ministers

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to lectors and other liturgical ministers in the past two years? List them here.





How many?




What obstacles have you faced in providing this formation?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want your liturgical ministers to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for liturgical ministers do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.



4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with this group or how will you enhance current plans?




D. Who will provide or manage this new initiative?Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #8Those with special needs or disabilities

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to people with disabilities or special needs in the past two years? List them here.





How many?





In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for folks with special needs or disabilities do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.








Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #9High school youth not in other programs

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to high school youth who are not in Confirmation prep or other programs over in the past two years? List them here.

A. Leading to deeper communion with Christ?




How many?




What challenges do you face with this group?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want young members of your parish to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for high school students do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.








Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #10Confirmation candidates

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to your confirmation candidates in the past two years? What steps have you taken to make sure that the Rite of Confirmation doesn’t become “graduation” from religious education?



Response. How did members of this group receive and make use of what you offered?


How many?

2 % really liked what you offered and wanted more!




3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want your confirmation candidates to get from faith formation? How can you help them get started on a lifelong journey of faith?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for confirmation candidates do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.

A. Leading to deeper communion with Christ:Pay attention here also to what happens after the Rite is celebrated.

B. Leading to a greater understanding of the Catholic faith?Again, pay attention here also to what happens after the Rite is celebrated.

4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with this group or what steps can you take to enhance and improve this?



See The Growing Faith Project for more information.



Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #11Students on local vo-tech or college campuses with no campus ministry

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to local students at vo-techs or colleges in the past two years? List them here.



Response. How did members of this group receive and make use of what you offered?


How many?

2 % really liked what you offered and wanted more!




3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want these local students to get from faith formation? How can you find them and serve them?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for local students do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.





B. What faith formation resources will you use to take those first steps?See The Growing Faith Project for more information.



Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #12Young adults who are out of high school but not in college or the military

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to young adults in the past two years? List them here.




How many?






In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for young adults do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.








Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #13Families presenting a child for baptism

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to parents who bring a child for baptism in the past two years? List them here. How well do you know these parents? What percent are active in the parish on a regular basis?




How many?





How do you evaluate what you offer these parents?

3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want parents with baptism-age children to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for these parents do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.

A. Leading to deeper communion with Christ:See Dreams and Visions, chapter 5 for some ideas.



4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with this group, or how will you enhance what you offer now?




Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #14Couples asking to be married

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to couples preparing for marriage in the past two years? List them here. How well do you know these couples? How many are active in the parish? What percent are ecumenical couples?




How many?





3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want young preparing for marriage to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for couples preparing for marriage do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.




4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with this group, or how will you enhance what you offer now?




Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #15Adults who do not have children in faith formation or the school

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to general adults in the past two years? List them here.




How many?





3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want the general adult population of the parish to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for general adults do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.





B. What faith formation resources will you use to take those first steps?See The Growing Faith Project for more information here.



Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #16Small Christian Communities

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to small communities in the past two years? List them here.




How many?





3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want members of small communities to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for small communities do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.




4 Resources & First Steps.A. What first steps will you take with this group, or how will you enhance what you do now?




Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #17Maturing adults – those in retirement years or nearly so

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to maturing adults (or senior adults) in the past two years? List them here. Differentiate here between maturing adults who are active in retirement, and those who are confined to care facilities or their homes.




How many?





3 Planning. What outcome do you want? What do you want maturing adults to get from faith formation?In the long term:

In the short term:

If you were planning “from scratch” what elements or characteristics of a faith formation process (see Dreams and Visions, pages 145-146) for maturing adults do you think would be ideal? Mark those that you also think are practical and doable.








Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #18Immigrants who don’t speak English very well yet

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to people who don’t speak English well in the past two years? List them here.



How many?







In the short term:









Parish Groups Planning Worksheet Worksheet #19Fill in other group name

1 History. What specific opportunities for faith formation have you offered to people in this group in the past two years? List them here.



How many?







In the short term:









Conclusion of the first phase of

Dreams and Visions PlanningWhat you have done so far

The work done so far is tremendous!You’re formed a team of key leaders and staff – and focused them on the faith formation needs of the whole community! Wow! That alone is a huge step.You’ve shifted the horizons of the parish so that you are now planning seriously to become an “adult church.”You’ve begun a series of critical conversations among your leaders about how to begin to make this shift a parish-wide reality.


You’ve visited nearly every constituency in the parish – every group that has needs for faith formation – which turns out to be everyone! You’re moving on the pathway to catechesis for the whole community.You’ve no doubt noticed that you already have a lot of good ministry going on in the parish! Build on that for the future.And you’ve begin to lay out some first steps and resources to get the ball rolling.

Remember what we said in Dreams and Visions about how to launch your plan? It’s on pages 152-154. We launch pastoral plans like this “one beach ball at a time.” This means, you launch the plan one initiative at a time, one small step at a time, continually over the months and yeaers.

We do not get to the “end” of the planning process, write up all our notes, file them in ring binders, and announce the “start” of the plan with a major public launch. That tends to be disruptive in parish life! And counter-productive.

The parish plan is already well underway with many great initiatives, as your inventory process showed. But there are enhancements and sometimes grand new ideas which emerge from the planning process. These we launch slowly, one at a time, when we are ready.

What you have not done so farYou have not finished this planning process yet!

o In fact, it really never comes to an end because as soon as you have launched some initiatives, it’s time to evaluate them

o And there is an on-going need to visit and re-visit the various groups that make up the parish

o And to pay attention to new groups that may emerge – such as new immigrants, or new ministry needs that arise.


o So keep your team meetings going, and continue to study and evaluate; continue to grow and expand your lifelong formation process.

You have not launched the whole plan – and you never will! This process of launching one initiative after the other just keeps going on, as we said above.


1. How well did this experience connect to your daily life?circle one please

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ----not very well ------------ poorly-----------------------pretty well-------------------very well!---------excellently------

Please explain:

2. How did this experience help you grow in your faith and connection to the parish and the church?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ----not very well ------------ poorly-----------------------pretty well-------------------very well!---------excellently------

Please explain:

3. What could we have done better in your opinion?

4. What other kinds of faith formation would you like to see for the future here in our parish?

5. Who else would you like to invite to take part in lifelong faith formation?


As much as possible, complete these sentences. Share this with your family or friends, or with members of your small group table.

1. I agree that…

or disagree that…

2. I have a question about…

3. I wonder whether…

4. I make a connection between this topic and an earlier one…

5. Now that we know…it should affect our life as Christians because…


Mini-Courses for Adult and Youth Formation

1. The Growing Faith Project is a reflection on and summary of the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in plain English. It has a Nihil Obstat and an Imprimatur. It is presented in 48 8-page full color booklets, each with original artwork illustrating the material. The sequence of booklets moves from the first article of the CCC to the last. Growing Faith es disponible en español también; se llama Creciendo en la Fe. It is a very strong resource for small group sharing and has built in reflections and exercises for group use.

Growing Faith is also organized into Mini-Courses for small group use. These Mini-Courses are now in wide use for Confirmation programs, Youth Ministry, RCIA, Small communities, and Adult Formation.

Each Mini-Course comes with a terrific Study Guide (which is free with your order and is reproducible). The Study Guides introduce a method called "Learn and Teach" in which the participants must learn the material so well that they can turn around and teach their peers about it. Working in small groups like this, the whole program succeeds and creates faith that lasts a lifetime! This alone is worth the price of the resource. To review the Mini-Courses, visit the Growing Faith home page and click to open the sample: http://pastoralplanning.com/GrowingFaith/GFhome.html.

A Mini-Course Marketing Kit comes free-with-order for each Mini-Course and includes: (1) a ready-to-use flier (fill in your own parish info and print), (2) a full color, one page summary sheet which can be printed as a poster, be posted to your parish web site or be used in the bulletin, and (3) a series


http://pastoralplanning.com/GrowingFaith/GFhome.html

of four bulletin announcements, which could also be used as a single letter from you to your people.

Here’s a list of the Growing Faith Mini-Courses.


Mini-Course 1. The Nature of God and FaithWhat is God like?How do we describe the Trinity?How does Revelation occur and how is it passed

from generation to generation?How did God create heaven and earth?What is grace and how do we get it?What is the end of life like?

5 Booklets: #s 2, 4, 6, 7, & 8

Mini-Course 2. Growing Our FaithWhat do humans want?How are we made in God’s image?Why do we sin?How are we made whole and free?How do we make a response in faith?How do we live our faith in everyday life?What is human freedom?

5 Booklets: #s 1, 5, 9, 10, & 16

Mini-Course 3. The Person of Jesus Christ Who is Jesus Christ?What did Jesus teach?How do we relate with Mary, his Mother?Why did he suffer?What happened at the Resurrection?How does he live on in the Church?How do we reach out in prayer?

5 Booklets: #s 11, 12, 13, 14, &15

Mini-Course 4 has been discontinued.

Mini-Course 5. Introduction to the Nature of the Church How is revelation passed on to us?Who is the church?What is the communion of saints?How does the church pray?How do we designate leaders?What is the Magisterium?

5 Booklets: #s 3, 17, 18, 19, & 20

Mini-Course 6. Introduction to the Liturgy and Sacraments How does the Church pray?What are the sacraments?How is the liturgy the “source and summit” of life?How do the sacraments shape our lives as Catholics?


What are the essential words and actions of the sacraments?9 Booklets: #s 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, & 29

Mini-Course 7. Introduction to Catholic Social and Moral TeachingsWhat makes us free?What is right and what is wrong?How do we cultivate virtuous living?How do we live together peacefully?What are our social and moral teachings?

7 Booklets: #s 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, & 36

Mini-Course 8. Living the Commandments What does each of the commandments ask of us?How did Jesus bring them to fulfillment?How do Christians follow the commandments?How does the church help us live as Christ teaches?What are the key dimensions of each command?

7 Booklets: #s 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, & 43

Mini-Course 9. Christian Prayer What is prayer?How do we pray?How do we deal with distractions to prayer?What are the wellsprings of prayer?How did Jesus pray?

5 Booklets: #s 44, 45, 46, 47, & 48

Mini-Course 10. A Thorough Survey of CatholicismNote: This is the only Mini-Course which repeats booklets from a previous Mini-Course. And while this is a “survey” of Catholicism, the only truly exhaustive treatment of Catholicism would be a Course using all 48 booklets contained in the 8 previous Mini-Courses.

Our inborn hunger for God Our need for the Church How God speaks through Scripture The love of the Trinity Why we sometimes turn away from God The life and teachings of Christ The Holy Spirit How the Church prays together Morality and conscience The Magisterium and the Ten Commandments Christian Prayer

12 Booklets #s 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 16, 22, 31, 36, & 44


Possible Formation Initiative for Your Parish

The Question of the Week& Breaking Open the Word

A whole week of reflection on Sunday’s Readings:parish-wide faith-sharing based on breaking open the Word!

Bill Huebsch

Why not organize a week-long period of reflection on the Word of God shared at Sunday Mass?

The idea is this. What we do at Mass can become mere routine if it’s celebrated frequently and without enough post-celebration reflection. But if we pause afterward to reflect on what just happened, we consolidate it all and allow it to enter more deeply into our inner life, our

soul, our sense of the holy. In the church, we refer to this process of pausing to peer into the events of liturgy and life by a name: mystagogy.

By pausing even a little to turn our minds back to what just happened, we will notice a line from the homily, a phrase in one of the prayers, the experience of receiving communion which touched us. We will recall a hymn melody, or a whiff of candle wax which caught our imagination in a particular way. Likewise the readings from Scripture: how did they resonate within us? How did they touch our hearts?

If all we do is “attend” Mass and then run off to a busy week without pausing, we do not allow the Word of God to penetrate us. A week of faith-sharing on these readings, though, will change everything!

So, just as we do in the catechumenate, why not invite the entire parish to spend the week following the liturgy, breaking open the Word?

It’s a two-question process. The first question leads the person of faith to look into the text itself. Ask questions such as these to initiate step one of the process:

o What word or phrase struck me as I heard the reading?


o What idea or image came to mind?o What story did I hear being told, in my own words?o What really touched me in this reading?

The second question leads the person of faith to look into his or her life, through the lens of the reading. For this part of the process, it helps a great deal to provide a reflection question which gets people started reading and listening to the Scriptures more intently.

We often refer to this as the “question of the week.” This question flows from the Sunday readings. Follow these guidelines when developing this question:

o It should be a question that leads to “theological reflection” without being too theological itself.

o It should not be a “yes” or “no” question, but one that draws the user deeper into the Gospel and his or her own life.

o It should be a question that asks for a personal response. It’s not a discussion about the faith but a sharing of one’s own faith and belief.

o It should be a question that is age appropriate - but still has teeth!o Excellent questions for your use can be found at

www.harcourtreligion.com by clicking on the icon at the bottom of the home page which leads to “lifelong faith formation.”

Then in the week following this Sunday, This two-question process is used throughout the parish for faith-sharing at the beginning of each gathering:

o when the staff gathers for it’s weekly meetingo when the finance committee gets together on Tuesday nighto before every session of religious education during the weeko when the money counters do their work on Monday morningo when the classes meet in schoolo when families are driving home, having supper, or finding a few

moments to talk. Everyone who gathers in the parish shares faith flowing from the previous Sunday’s liturgy.

This begins the catechetical process for everyone in the parish and at the same time it extends the liturgical experience into the following week.

Our own sharing about how the Gospel touches our lives, serves to teach others in profound ways. It does what no book or sermon or adult education class could ever do. It’s “natural adult education” and it’s the firm basis for every thing else that’s done in whole community catechesis. In a sense, this is the catechetical work for the whole community.


http://www.harcourtreligion.com/

Possible Formation Initiative for Your Parish

Why Retreats Are Important for

ChristiansDoorway to the Sacred

Bill Huebsch

Throughout the church’s long history people have always made retreats.Sometimes the retreat is a silent weekend,

with a few presentations and spiritual direction.Other times it’s a more shared experience,

comparing notes and stories with others.Sometimes the retreat lasts an entire week, or even a whole month.Other times it’s shorter:

one day or several evenings in a row.Whatever the format, content or schedule may be, though,

the purpose of the retreat is always the same:To come closer to the heart of the Lord,

to pause and allow Christ to grow within,to intentionally build an inner life in the Spirit.

And the outcome of the retreat is also plain:deeper communion with Christ and an ever deeper turning of one’s

heartto live with Christ on a daily basis.

The bringing into one’s own life, one’s relationships and household,the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth:

forgiveness, generosity, hospitality, love for the materially poor,awareness of God’s Reign, and a heart for justice and peace.

Turning to Christ in this way is natural for us humans.It’s not so much an ideal outside of ourselves

as an inner hunger and drive, an integral part of who we areat our very core.

We have, you might say, an inborn hunger for God.A retreat is a time to allow the divine force


to well up within us, to fill us with love and power,to grant us the intuition of presence.

A retreat is, in short, the pathway to conversion.


The first stepIn whole community catechesis, conversion of this sort is the first step.Good catechesis occurs only when we first turn our hearts to Christ,

first experience conversion and prepare for a life long processof this turning.

For parents, isn’t this important if you hope your childrenwill follow you in the faith?

Don’t you yourselves first need to know Christ so that your householdcan be aglow with divine love?

For young adults, isn’t this conversion process that will lead to a more mature faith as you grow in life experience?

For parish leaders, without having Christ at the centerof all that happens within the community, how can you hope for

success?What business are you in if not this?For parish staff, isn’t it true that repeatedly turning your heart,

repeatedly pausing to soak in the divine presence, is essential to your ministry?Aren’t you, above all, called to deep life in Christ, to a daily walk with the Lord?For senior members of the parish community, what better time than now

to deepen your own faith, and to invite others to follow you?For those who are struggling with your faith, why not pause like this

and allow Christ to enter your heart?There is no other real source of happiness and peace.

Faith sharing, we have said earlier, is one key avenue to conversion.When we share our faith with others, even if we are doubtful or unsure,

it somehow becomes more real for ourselves.When we share our faith, we ourselves grow and so do those around us.This sharing, with a close friend, around the circle of companions,

and in larger groups as well, leads us to discover Christwho is already present.

Christ himself lived and worked with such companions.His own spiritual life was marked by faith sharing.

He shared his own faith in a loving God,his own belief in forgiveness, his own trust in the divine hand,his own needs for friendship, assurance, and a shared life.

Contrary to popular Western belief, Jesus was not a loner.He was not some lonely cowboy-like figure

who road the back roads of Galilee without need of companions.Rather, he revealed to us God who is love, love in the first person:

intimacy, companionship, and community.


And the “community of God” -- the Trinity,is the clearest revelation that we need each other.

We need companions for the journey, others whose hearts we knowand whose voices we trust.

Not much timeAt the parish level, life moves fast.The schedules are packed and there isn’t time for much fooling around

with things that aren’t in that schedule.Faith sharing is one of the things most often put off by parish staff.“There just isn’t time,” is the excuse.But, of course, this undermines the very purpose of the parish.Its first and foremost role is to provide a place where people can meet Christ

in the life of the community.Toward that end, parishes provide Sunday Mass

Catechesis,the Catechumenate,other Sacramental Celebrations,Pastoral Care,work for Justice and Peace.

But it’s possible to so fill parish life with activities of these kindsthat Christ himself gets overlooked.

It’s possible to be so concerned with “getting it all done”that we fail to do the most important thing:

to be companions with each other,to share faith in Christ, and to grow in God’s love.

One excellent way to change that is to organize a series of retreatsheld at the parish itself.

The best way toward this end seems to be a retreat that is:held at times when people are freeshort enough to be doablelong enough to have an effectinexpensive enough not to break the budgetsimple enough to be run by the parish itselfand often enough to provide many with its benefits.

Such a retreat can happen with two evenings - Thursday and Friday -and one morning - the next day, Saturday.

A once-a-month schedule of these provides a steady flow in parish life.It allows many people each year to deepen their commitment to Christ

and the Church.And it allows many others to enter into ministry

on behalf of those making the retreats.


A profound effectDeveloping a parish level retreat program has a profound and dramatic effect

on the life of the whole community.Such retreats have a three-fold effect.First, those making the retreat really do experience a renewed life in Christ.They get the tools they need for on-going conversion

and the companions they need to make that work.This tends to make them more active in parish life,

more willing to contribute money for common needs,and more effective in their ministry roles.

Second, parish leaders and staff people are confronted constantly by this core mission: helping folks meet and know Christ.

This core mission is never far from consciousness:it’s front and center all the time.

And it leads to improved Sunday Assemblies,a more engaged parish community overall,and an excitement and energy

often lacking as parishes todaycope with overwork and understaffing.

Third, since the first ones we recruit for these retreatsare the parish leaders themselves,the whole tone of the parish shifts gears.

The work of the pastor and staff is made so much easierwhen hundreds of people turn their heartsbecause a spirituality anchors itself

in the heart of the parish.This spirituality drives evangelization,

outreach,pastoral care for the sick and imprisoned,stewardship,work for justice in the neighborhoods,and catechesis.


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