Is the pandemic making RCIA too convenient?

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4 thoughts on “Is the pandemic making RCIA too convenient?”

  1. The other convenience we need to resist is remote (i.e. Zoom) catechumenate meetings. This will be tempting as well. Zoom may seem the answer to “meeting” with some inquirers, catechumens and candidates who would otherwise not be able to participate in sessions. But so much of the catechumenate process is about the growth of trust and support among those traveling together. It will be better to continue to find other creative ways to accommodate those who are not able to meet during regular meeting days and times. Gatherings of the candidate, the sponsor and a catechist are one way. “Where two or three gather in my name,…”

  2. GingerHerrington

    I offer RCIA for children every Saturday via Skype, but we meet in person for Mass and Class the First Saturday of every month, as well as meeting for the Rite of Election and the Rite of Scrutiny. We’ll meet again for Initiation rehearsal and for the Initiation itself. Our bishop has stated that the children in RCIA will not come in at the Easter Vigil; instead, we are bringing them into the Church on Easter Sunday. For the adults, I offer RCIA Thursday evenings via Skype and Sundays live on campus and via Skype. Participants choose one of those options; they do not have to come both Thursday and Sunday. We meet in person for their readiness assessment, for the Rite of Election, the Rite of Scrutiny, the retreat before Initiation, the Initiation rehearsal, and the Easter Vigil. Depending upon the COVID situation in Texas, we may meet in person for the Mystagogy lessons.

  3. Debra Vasquez

    We started with Zoom and met physically on-site once a month. We still had an in-person, social distanced retreat for a day. One advantage of the Zoom was a teacher who joined the Zoom as an inquirer because she had family and it was very convenient. She then made a decision to become a catechumen and is awaiting the Easter vigil sacraments. She admits she would not have attempted this if she’d had to meet on-site weekly.

    We only have 4 Elect and we are doing the Rite of Dismissal, which had not been done the last 2 years, pre-Pandemic. This has made a difference.

    Zoom has its place, especially during inclement weather. It also has been great for weekly team meetings, which would have been a challenge if we’d had to meet physically on-site.

  4. Karen M Stockton

    I am meeting in person, with pandemic protocols, with 3 seekers, one individually, and later, two sisters, one day a week. The individual started last Fall, and is baptized, but totally uncatechized. The sisters, started in January and are totally uncatechized. While these individual meetings are working for them, I see the lack of community connection that can develop if we continue much longer in this mode. RCIA becomes the old classroom model again, without identifying as a member of a community, and the community getting involved in the seeker’s journey. I have seen much written about the long-term effects of “working from home” and how work may look post-pandemic, even some talk of schools and the influence of online classes in lower education. I wonder how the convenience of all this is going to affect us post-pandemic. I have been working to implement the total parish model of RCIA, which abruptly ended with the virus. I hope to get it going again with the help of the Spirit!

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