Catholics learning together

Four years ago, three parishes in the Albany Diocese implemented a model of faith formation called Generations of Faith: Our Lady of Fatima in Delanson, Corpus Christi in Round Lake and Our Lady of Victory in Troy.

The model expands the traditional vision of faith formation as only classroom work for children to include adult catechesis, ongoing faith and sacramental formation of young people, and parish-wide activities.

According to Joyce Solimini, associate director of catechesis for the Albany diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, the three parishes "are seeing some really positive effects."

Success story

Rev. Paul Engel, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima parish, credits the "great energy" of the Generations of Faith committee at his parish for its success.

He told The Evangelist that participation has steadily increased because parishioners get to know one another on a one-to-one basis through Generations of Faith events, particularly a community meal.

The previous pastor, Rev. David Mickiewicz, and Angela Carraher, pastoral associate for faith formation, introduced the program in the parish. They had been looking for a format that would include formation for all age groups.

All the way

Ms. Carraher said that parish leaders knew they would have to go all the way for the effort to be a success.

"People were a little concerned the first year when we stopped faith formation classes," she recalled, "but we were all determined to make this work."

By the second year, parishioners were showing strong enthusiasm; now, she noted, "they are eager to participate."

In Round Lake

Rev. Martin Fisher, pastor of Corpus Christi parish, credits the ongoing success of Generations of Faith to three things.

"First, we decided that this would be our primary faith formation program," he explained. "Once we made that shift, we put all our energies into it.

"Second, the staff wholeheartedly embraced Generations of Faith. We all attended the training courses that were available.

"Third, all the supporting ministries in the parish have also been on board. It takes a tremendous effort on the part of both the staff and volunteers to make this work. It's almost like doing a parish mission every month. Once you've made the move to a model that works over a program that wasn't working, there's no going back."

Program in Troy

Rev. Randall Patterson, pastor of Our Lady of Victory Church, said that parishioners at the large parish decided to keep their faith formation classes intact even after they initiated Generations of Faith.

"We wanted to continue a 'side-by-side' program because we knew that the model by itself could not meet all of our faith formation requirements," he noted.

However, he added, the frequency and subject matter of classes were adjusted to correlate to the monthly Generations of Faith themes. Now, parishioners of all ages interact with one another as they participate in the same education.

Refining the process

Said Father Patterson, "We've learned that Generations of Faith functions best and is most successful when it is worked every month," rather than just several times a year.

"My hope is that this model will continue to be refined and developed to accommodate us as a parish community while incorporating celebration of the family as the 'domestic church.'

"By its very nature, Generations of Faith has the potential to take the faith experience we all know and receive as members of the Church, and bring it home within the family. This enables each member to share his or her faith experience with the other members of the family on different levels."

(Generations of Faith is now being used in approximately 25 parishes in the Albany Diocese.)

(9/28/06)