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May 7, 2007
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Greetings and welcome to Faith
Formation Update, a free monthly e-newsletter for catechetical leaders with
a focus on parish catechesis beyond textbooks and classrooms. I'm Judith
Dunlap. In each issue I offer a brief starter and my "Every
Family" column. My co-worker and fellow religious educator Joan
McKamey offers video resources and ideas in her "Seen
and Heard" column. Our co-worker Chuck
Blankenship suggests other faith formation resources for adults from St. Anthony
Messenger Press in his column, "Sowing Sampler." Finally,
we encourage YOU to share views and program ideas about this month's topic on our online
bulletin board, "Faith Formation Forum."
Blessings on your work!
—Judith Dunlap
p.s. You're receiving this either because you
signed up, or because you're a loyal customer of St. Anthony Messenger Press. We will
never send you unwanted e-mail. There is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page.
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This will be my last column for Faith Formation Update (FFU).
I retired from St. Anthony Messenger Press (SAMP) at the end of April. Since I plan on
continuing to write and give talks and missions, hopefully, someday our paths may cross.
Jeanne Hunt will be replacing me as Catechetical Consultant for SAMP. She will be writing
the next column in July. (Faith Formation Update does not publish a June edition.)
Jeanne has 20 years of experience as a parish DRE and served for several years as associate
director of the Family Life Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. She also has national
experience in evangelization and served as Executive Director of Isaiah Ministries. She
is the author of Holy
Bells and Wonderful Smells (SAMP), a book that I have referenced several times
through the years in FFU’s family column. I am sure you will welcome her fresh
ideas and refreshing insights.
I chose one of my favorite topics for this last column—evangelization.
Evangelization is the spark that sets dormant faith on fire. It opens the heart so that
God’s love can flow freely to every part of our being. Evangelization is critical
to catechesis. If the folks we are trying to catechize haven’t been evangelized,
religion can become just another abstract, academic subject to learn about.
Evangelization begins with trust but is anchored in truth. Our truths
have to resonate with the listeners' own experienced truths. This is why developing an
atmosphere of trust, where stories can be shared, is so important, not just in the first
phase of RCIA but in almost all catechetical settings. In such a setting, we are able to
connect our stories to Scripture, which is even more important.
Evangelization takes a person from believing in God to wanting a closer,
more intimate relationship with Jesus. It is not just a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence;
evangelization and catechesis go hand-in-hand. They are both lifelong and can be self-perpetuating.
When a person is evangelized, religion becomes a personal quest, and
catechesis is seen as a joy-filled, enthusiastic venture. This is why it is part of catechetical
leaders' responsibility to make sure that the catechists with whom you work are well evangelized.
Developing a relationship of trust is the first step.
You can begin evangelizing next year’s catechists this summer.
Consider writing each of your catechists’ names on one day of your summer calendar.
This will be the day that you offer your prayers and good works for that person. Send catechists
cards letting them know you are praying for them, and are grateful for the time that they
spend and the faith that they share with the young people/teens/adults with whom they minister.
If you are still in need of catechists, assign a day to those individuals too. Once they
are on board, let them know about the day you prayed for them.
In Practical
Catechesis: Visions and Tasks for Catechetical Leaders, I offer some concrete
ways of evangelizing and preparing catechists based on how Jesus prepared his disciples,
the first catechists. (Click
here to read about nine ways of preparing catechists.)
Finally, take care of yourselves. Like everyone else, catechetical
leaders need to be continually evangelized. It is much too easy to get caught up with the
business and messiness of “being in charge” and allowing our ministry to turn
into just another job. Don’t ever try to go it alone. Find people who can evangelize
you. Go on retreat yearly and/or find a spiritual director you can trust. Most importantly,
find some God-loving folks you can meet with on a regular basis. Always remember, God loves
you more than you can possibly imagine, and you are extraordinarily important in God’s
plan.
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One of the best ways to evangelize the adults in a family
is by involving them in the evangelization of their own children. Consider gathering a
group of parents this summer to help decide how the parish can help make their youngsters
feel more comfortable at the parish and more comfortable with their faith. Remember, children
are not just the Church of the future; they are the Church today. Everything we are doing
for adults, we (parish ministers hand-in-hand with parents) should also be doing for our
children.
Begin by talking about evangelization. I wouldn’t suggest a study
of the documents, but you should certainly be aware of their contents. Discuss how the
Church as the Body of Christ should be a loving, welcoming, safe haven for adults and children
alike. Brainstorm ways your parish could be more like the inviting Christ who blessed the
children and beckoned them to come closer.
In my book Practical
Catechesis, there is a chapter that talks about evangelizing and catechizing
our children. In that chapter, I suggest looking at the way we plan Vacation Bible
School as a possible model for yearlong catechesis. Youngsters love to come to Bible
school. In that short week, they own the property, and the entire parish campus seems
to be child-friendly. (Click
here to read more about this comparison.) I end the chapter saying:
If parishes welcome and respect children, creating an atmosphere
of trust, then children will listen. If catechists and parents have reasonable expectations
and provide creative learning situations that speak to the needs of children, then they
will respond. If the Scriptures children hear preached are also demonstrated by those around
them, there is a good chance children will begin to live the Good News themselves.
Finally, I’d like to remind you all one last time of the importance
of family catechesis. Family catechesis has two locales: at the parish, catechizing families
together in family intergenerational groups; and catechesis at home, where adults and children
can learn about and share their faith together. Family catechesis is a great way of engaging
parents who will often do for their children what they would not do for themselves. And
it is the best way for children to learn—listening to and observing their parents
talk about and live a faith worth owning.
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“Shepherds don’t make sheep. Sheep make
sheep.”
“Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict
the comfortable.”
These two lessons are ones I carry within me and pull out to think
about now and then. I don’t know if the priests who shared them with me are their
original sources, but I can credit both of them for sharing much of their wisdom with me.
Both of these lessons speak about our lives as Christian disciples and our common call
to “Go…make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). They have much
to say about that word that has crept into our Catholic vocabulary in the last few decades: evangelization.
“Shepherds don’t make sheep. Sheep make sheep.” Father
John Durbin, a team member of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, shared this
during a Forum Institute last summer. He told us that he’d been waiting for years
for someone to tell him that something he’d said or done was their reason for joining
the Catholic Church. He shared this hope with a friend who told him, “Shepherds don’t
make sheep. Sheep make sheep.” While his role as pastor is very important in guiding
and sustaining the faith community, it’s more often through the witness of Catholic
family members, co-workers, neighbors and friends that people become interested in joining
the Catholic Church. Sheep make sheep. Each of us plays a key role in evangelization. It’s
part of the call of our Baptism—to live and share the faith we profess.
“Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Father
James Heft, S.M., a legendary professor in the religious studies department at the University
of Dayton, is my source of this lesson. Jesus didn’t want people to become too comfortable
or sure of themselves because of their position within the religious community or their
fulfillment of the Jewish laws. Jesus sometimes broke these laws in order to bring comfort
and healing to those who were most in need. His teachings were not just nice words that
can be ignored by true followers. The demands of discipleship will challenge us and make
us uncomfortable at times. We need to ask ourselves: With whom should I be sharing the
comfort that comes with faith in our loving God? Does sharing my faith take me out of my “comfort
zone”?
Evangelization should not be limited to a program or a short-term
effort. Evangelization should be ongoing and everyday. It’s what we do when we are
intentional about living our faith. Others should “know we are Christians by our
love.” Being a Catholic Christian is about much more than membership; it’s
about transformation—of our own lives and the world.
I’ve selected a clip from the audiopresentation compilation Richard
Rohr on Church: Collected Talks, Volume 3 to share with you. (Windows
Media | RealMedia).
This collection contains four talks by Father Richard Rohr: “Catholicism: More
Than a Head Trip”; “Authentic Religion: Membership or Transformation?”; “Faith:
Recovering the Language of Belief”; and “Gravity and Grace: Insights Into
Christian Ministry.” This clip is from “Authentic Religion: Membership or
Transformation?” It speaks to this important distinction between being a member
of the Church and being a transformed agent of transformation. Individuals and small
groups will find Father Rohr’s insights great motivation to both “comfort
the afflicted” and “make sheep.”
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“To be Christians means to be missionaries, to
be apostles,” declared John Paul II at the Fourth World Youth Day in 1989. “It
is not enough to discover Christ—you must bring him to others!”
Again and again during his pontificate, John Paul II urged all of us—the
whole Church—to repeatedly and persistently proclaim the gospel to everyone we meet.
But just what does it mean to take part in this “new evangelization”? Who
is supposed to evangelize? How does the parish fit in? Or married couples? How do we evangelize
teens? Lots of questions.
Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and director
of graduate programs at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, along with Dr. Peter Williamson,
professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, have collected articles by
more than twenty authors in a new book from Servant Books entitled John
Paul II and the New Evangelization: How You Can Bring the Good News to Others.
In this book, a wide variety of contributors try to get to the heart
of this new evangelization. Cardinal Avery Dulles describes the evangelical shift in the
Church since Vatican II; Sr. Linda Koontz provides practical tips for evangelizing the
poor; Leonard Sullivan writes about street evangelism, and Peter Herbeck describes the
use of spiritual gifts. The contributions range from the highly sophisticated theological
discussion to the down-to-earth “how to” of the everyday practitioner. Not
so much to be read in one sitting, this book is something you can savor over the weeks
of summer vacation and through quiet contemplation. Savor the message, absorb the call
and renew yourself for the “new evangelization.” It is—literally—the
key to the future of the Church.
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