Seven secrets to adult faith formation
Photo from Photos.com1. Be a contextualist. Every parish is different. Every context is different no matter what the setting. Spend time getting to know the people in your parish. Talk to parishioners about the history of the community, the parish, and about the stories of the people.
2. Listen. Find ways to gather people in an informal setting and listen. Listen to the lives of the people in your parish. Interview persons in your parish in a nonthreatening atmosphere. Knowing the people personally will inevitably change your approach to faith formation.
3. Think systematically. Adult faith formation will not occur primarily in a classroom setting. Most likely, classroom settings will only reach a small portion of your adults. Parish leaders must look for connections. Where can you meet the adults in their life experiences now? How can liturgy, community, catechesis, and service integrate and become a new format for adults to reflect meaningfully on their faith and life? Know the big picture of the small parish, or the group.
4. Collaborate. Staff will be at a premium in small parishes. Rural parish leadership needs the ability to pull together members of the parish in a variety of ways to plan for parish catechesis. There is a great wisdom in the people. Draw on the wisdom of the people to plan for their faith formation in a way that meets their needs as adults. Plan with the people of the parish, not for the people in the parish.
5. Focus on parish rather than on program. Every activity that goes on in the parish can be an opportunity for faith formation. Create prayer opportunities and times for reflection for groups that meet on an ongoing basis, such as the parish council, St. Vincent de Paul Society, musicians, etc. These opportunities can be centered on a common theme for critical reflection by the parish. Each entity can be gathered together for a meal of appreciation and sharing of these reflections.
6. Don’t be afraid of the media. Quality video, reading material, and especially the Internet can provide vehicles for people to learn, to critically reflect, and to interact with others. Use these resources well.
7. Model lifelong learning. If we truly want to create a church focused on adult formation we must be adult learners ourselves. Being an adult learner will cultivate within us the qualities necessary to implement change in our parishes when needed, to look for ways to meet people in the context of their lives, and to work with the parish to form a parish learning community. It is an exciting endeavor. TP
*This article is excerpted from the January 2003 issue of Today’s Parish.
At the time she wrote this, Kathy Gallo, OSU was on the staff of St. Paul Parish in Hingham, Massachusetts.
