John McGlynn is the Director of Adult Faith Formation and RCIA at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church in Long Beach, California.
What is more important for your catechumens and candidates—attending a catechetical session or attending a parish event? And let me ask a follow-up question—at which occasion does catechesis happen? Let’s start with the second question because that answer is going to inform the answer to the first. Catechesis happens at both occasions. For far too …
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Making room for parish events
As we approach the fall those who are students or parents of students understand the “back to school” nature of our lives. For better or for ill, such is the rhythm for many of our parishes and ministries. For many years, and even to today, I read any number of bulletin announcements that tell us …
Is your catechumenate open all year-round? What does year-round mean?
Is it time to reconsider following cohort model in our formation processes? The Oxford dictionary defines a “cohort” as “a group of people with a shared characteristic.” It’s a model that has been used in education since the beginning—grouping children into a grade level based on age with the understanding that a similar age corelates …
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Having everyone around the same table
One thing I’ve learned in this ministry is that everyone comes to it with certain expectations. This is one of the biggest challenges when working with your initiation team in moving to a year-round process. But your team and your parish leadership are not the only ones with certain expectations. Your seekers also come to …
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Managing RCIA seekers’ expectations
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has forced us all to rethink how we deliver our adult formation and RCIA processes. With so many variables on how we can or can’t meet in person with our candidates, we’ve had to become very flexible in order to meet the needs of our seekers. But even when this crisis …
For those of you who are Star Trek fans, the term “first contact” has a special meaning—it’s that moment when the Federation (typically humans) encounter an alien race for the first time. In the Star Trek universe, how well that “first contact” goes can have repercussions for generations, be it the positive relationship that developed …
Is your RCIA open all year-round? First contact: Catechizing your parish on talking with seekers
Perhaps one of the most common questions I hear when moving to a year-round process is, do we need to break everyone up into separate groups to facilitate the preparation process? In other words, keeping together certain cohorts who may be on a similar path? Or keeping cohorts who “started” together in a separate group? …
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Having all your seekers around the same table
Let’s be honest—many of our parishes do a poor job of connecting with and communicating with their communities. Not just with regular their parishioners, but especially with those whom we want to attract and bring into our communities—our seekers, our catechumens, and our candidates. One of the inadvertent gifts of COVID-19 was bring this challenge …
Like all of you I’ve been hard at work at finding ways to keep our initiation processes going while our churches have been closed and social distancing has become the norm. But even as challenging as that can be, the greater challenge has been working with those elect and candidates who were expecting to be …
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Managing expectations in a changing world
Training is an essential part of every profession. Not only do many professions require a certificate or college degree, but many professions and trades are tested and monitored by state boards. Further, many of these professions require ongoing training or the earning of CEU’s (Continuing Education Units) in order to maintain their credentials. Why all …
