To be a sponsor is to make a big commitment. Believe it or not, there are many people in your parish who are looking to make a big commitment. Sometimes we undersell the commitment people have to make. All that does is say to the volunteer, “I’m not really going to ask very much of […]
20 ideas for finding RCIA sponsors
The first step in building a team is to realize the team already exists. You are not creating anything new. You are enhancing and building on what already exists. Get your RCIA book and turn to paragraph 9 (page 4 in my version). Underline this phrase, about four lines down: —”the initiation of adults is
100 ways to involve parishioners in the RCIA
QDo you have any guidelines or suggestions for recruiting inquirers? After a somewhat small group this last year, we are looking to extend our reach. AWhat your question really implies is, how do we get parishioners to be more active evangelizers? Catholics are can be a little skittish about “evangelization.” So it is always important
How do we get more people in the RCIA?
Sponsors don’t need to know everything in order to be a sponsor. This is a relief for many. But you and they do need to know a few things about being a sponsor. Here are nine must-know facts about the role of sponsor. Free download: 5 essential elements of an RCIA sponsor’s job description Click
Sponsors: Nine must-know facts
This is going to shock you. I don’t like to do it, but somebody has to tell you. There are a few of you out there who are “doing the RCIA” without having read the book! What book? The RCIA. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The book. How people learn how to do
6 reasons you need to read the RCIA
In Teaching as a Subversive Activity, Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner make some interesting observations that could very well apply to initiation catechists. For example: The trouble is that most teachers have the idea that they are in some other sort of business. Some believe, for example, that they are in the “information dissemination” business….There
I recently conducted a catechetical session for a parish that is planning to build a new baptismal font. To begin, I asked those who came—a rather large group of about ninety adults and teenagers—to recall a memorable experience of baptism they either took part in or witnessed. Everybody had one! They shared warm, enthusiastic memories
In the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, only two pages of texts are given to describe the period of mystagogy and post-baptismal catechesis. Below are the five main things you need to know about mystagogy during this period of the initiation process (from RCIA 244-247): Free download: A step-by-step guide to mystagogy
Five principles for mystagogical preaching and catechesis
During the Triduum, the question arises about when to dismiss the Elect and the catechumens. (If you are engaged in a year-round process, you will likely have both.) If parish leaders understand the liturgical role that the unbaptized have in worship, it will be clear that the Elect and the catechumens are dismissed before the
When Do You Dismiss during Triduum?
When should baptized candidates be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church? Paul Turner in When Other Christians become Catholic, says, “Whenever they are ready” (p. 161). The National Statues for the Catechumenate say, not “at the Easter Vigil lest there be any confusion of such baptized Christians with the candidates for baptism
Why Baptized Candidates Should Not be Received at the Easter Vigil
