Parishes trying out new model: Teaching everyone about faith

For 17 parishes in the Albany Diocese, this year's faith formation experience is going to be different.

They are implementing a model that will take students out of the classroom to join their parents, grandparents and other adult parishioners for an experience called "whole community catechesis." For these parishes, the new model focuses around weekly liturgies and the church's changing liturgical seasons.

This process is not new to the Diocese; it is called Generations of Faith.

In line with bishops

According to Joyce Solimini, associate director of sacramental and intergenerational catechesis at the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis (OEC), the model has been implemented through youth ministry and family-oriented formation programs for the past several years.

The OEC has been promoting the model in an effort to more clearly align parishes with the vision that the U.S. bishops set forth in "Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the U.S."

"Whole parish faith formation links generations by allowing everyone in the parish community to learn and experience their faith at the same time," Mrs. Solimini said.

The method is an alternative to the "school-house model" of faith formation, she said, which tends to separate people into age groups, resulting in a "drive-by, drop-off" mentality for parents.

Delanson example

For parishioners at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Delanson, the planning process began last year when the faith formation committee searched for a way to combine adult catechesis with the religious education of children. Some members of the church attended a workshop offered by the OEC at which Generations of Faith was presented.

Angela Caraher, the pastoral associate for faith formation at Our Lady of Fatima, said, "It seemed to be tailored right to our parish needs. It looked like an easy fit for us."

First, the parish phased out the classroom model by integrating adult catechesis with the same ideas that younger Catholics were involved with. While the kids were learning about Advent, for example, the adults were reading information on how to have a meaningful celebration of the season at home.

"We chose the title, 'Journey to Holiness,' for our first year," Ms. Caraher explained.

New year

Beginning their program this fall with the recent Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, Delanson parishioners will travel through the liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. The program will culminate in May with the Feast of Corpus Christi.

"We will meet once a month, and households will be given preparation packets to read and follow through that month," Ms. Caraher explained.

"The hope is that each household -- whether that is one person, a couple, a single parent with children or an entire family -- will become involved in the formation for that event. The model provides ways they can learn about that feast or season through activities like prayer or a meal, and celebration at home and together with others in church."

More to come

Mrs. Solimini said that an orientation session about Generations of Faith last year attracted 28 parishes; 17 of those signed on to the project, which includes a three-year plan for faith formation for all ages. At the end of three years, parishes will participate in an evaluation.

"The liturgical year is a rich source for catechesis around Scripture, doctrine, prayer, worship, sacraments, moral living and social justice," she said. "Its beauty is that it comes around again and again, so that in each year additional rich themes are presented.

"Using this model will, hopefully, encourage people to grow in faith their whole life long, encourage regular Sunday worship, and build vibrant parishes and communities where our Catholic faith is alive," she said.

(For information on Generations of Faith, call Joyce Solimini at 453-6630.)

(9/18/03) [[In-content Ad]]