Adult Faith Formation Program

Adult Faith Formation is a series of programs, classes, and events offered throughout the course of the year that allows adults to come together to pray, reflect, and share with one another so as to enhance their personal and communal faith development. Current program outline is available at the right. They require Adobe Reader to open (.pdf files).

ADULT FAITH FORMATION

“Be proud of your Catholic faith. Find ways to learn and grow in understanding of our history and the teachings of the Church. Participate in adult formation in your parish and share all that you learn with others” (Catholics Come Home – Chicago)

Although summer is coming to an end and we will be celebrating Labor Day next weekend, it is time to look to a new season of adult faith formation. This year we will not start our Thursday morning and evening sessions until October. We are doing this for two reasons: Shir Hadash’s celebration of the High Holydays beginning 9/8 with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur on 9/18 the following week; and Mary Ann and I will be in Germany mid-month attending the Oberammergau Passion Play…a little combined travel and  adult faith formation for us.

Our 2011 Fall offering (beginning October 7) on Thursday mornings at 9:15 and again in the evening at 7:00PM  is going to continue along the lines Fr. Tom started last year with “The Birth of Monotheism”. This year we’re going to use a video “A History of God” for five sessions to look at the development of monotheism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This video is based on a book of the same name by Karen Armstrong. The book will be a supplement only and not required for the sessions. In 2012 the goal is of have a guest presenter who will give us a more in depth look at our world religions. All are welcome whether you attended last year or not.

Once again we are going to highlight a different aspect of Advent-Christmas by looking at the music of the seasons and the related scriptures on which this music is based. This is a work-in-progress with Jessica so you’ll be hearing more about this in a few months.

There will also be another Catholics Come Home venture during the Advent-Christmas season with new materials on TV, the internet, and YouTube. The invitation is a live and well.

In short Ordinary Time (January-February, 2011), we will be looking at the parables of Matthew this year using Fr. John R. Donohue, SJ, book The Gospel in Parable. This is the second year of our three year sequence which began with the study of the parables of Luke. In 2012 we will complete the book looking at the parables of Mark.

Our stated plan is to again have a joint parish mission with St. Norbert’s. We are in the process of our preliminary planning so more to come as we get closer.

During the Seasons of Lent and Easter, we will continue our three-year study of The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, as recommended by the Bishops in their Pastoral-“Our Hearts were Burning Within Us “, with Sections II and IV on the sacraments and prayer respectively. Again, all are welcome whether you attended last year or not.

We have also set a date for another Day of Reflection for the women of our parish: Saturday, October 30 to be held at Techny with guest speaker Barbara Flynn who co-authored Midwives of an Unnamed Future: Spirituality for Women in Times of Unprecedented Change (with Mary Ruth Broz…our speaker last Spring).  We will again have copies of the book on sale. Mark your calendars now!!

The men’s silent retreat out at Bellermine Retreat Center will again be scheduled for the early Spring.

We have also been invited again to be one of the two host parishes for our Vicariate’s adult confirmation program. We will be hosting these on Tuesday evening at 7:00PM in October and November with the Sacrament of Confirmation being celebrated by Bishop Kane later in that month.