Jack McBride

(from Today's Parish, March 2002. Reprinted with permission of the publisher and author)

          Life is a challenge! We know that life is a wondrous gift from God, but it does involve having to figure out a lot of things. As adults, most of us could use a little help navigating life's waters. According to Craig Dykstra in Initiatives in Religion (Winter 1998) "the help most people want is a community of people in whose company they can do their own 'figuring'--honestly, truthfully, and with a sense of integrity."
          Parishes should aspire to be such communities. To borrow a phrase from Dykstra, think about your parish as a "center of meaning," an oasis where the community has figured out how to go about figuring out things—meaningful things, like relationships, marriage, parenting, spirituality, work, education…you know, living the gospel in our everyday life.
          Contributing to the development of the parish as a "center of meaning" is one of the tasks and challenges of parish adult faith formation. The goal of adult faith formation is to nurture mature faith. Mature faith trusts in god's saving grace and seeks to meet life's challenges as a gospel people who follow the way of Jesus. Mature faith works to integrate faith and life and views all of life—relationships, marriage, work, politics, family, death, joys and sorrows—as part of our faith life. Parishes committed to building themselves up as "centers of meaning" need to make adult faith formation an organizational priority. (See the U.S. bishops' pastoral plan for adult faith formation, Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, 5-6.)
          Such a commitment requires more than the good intentions of the pastor and what staff, if any, he has working with him. Shaping a parish into a "center of meaning" requires a fully functioning and well-trained adult faith formation team. The value of a well-oiled team approach has been clearly shown in the success of the RCIA, RENEW, Marriage Encounter, Catholic Family Movement, Pro Life, and Youth Ministry (OHWB, 142).
          The following ten characteristics of an adult faith formation team might be a helpful checklist for pastors, DREs, parish councils, and religious education committees as you consider either developing or strengthening your parish team.

          Ten Characteristics

1. The team is composed of between five and ten parishioners that, if possible, reflect the age, gender, and cultural diversity of the parish.
2. The team is "recognized in the parish leadership structure" and has clear lines of accountability and communication leading back to the parish council and ultimately to the pastor (OHWB, 144).
3. The team "working with the pastor and parish staff, formulates a vision of adult faith formation for the parish" (OHWB, 145). Here the team and staff are applying Stephen Covey's principle of "Start with the end in mind" (cf, Stephen Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon and Schuster, 1990). In other words, the team constructs their vision around what a parish that aspires to be a "center of meaning" would look and act like.
4. The team would identify and evaluate the many good ways that the parish is currently trying to live out the vision. The team shines a light on these efforts and offers recommendations for improvements.
5. The team identifies segments or groups in the parish and gathers the leaders to listen to their needs. The team knows that motivation to participate in learning and formation is based on adults' perceived needs and interests. Keeping in mind our notion of the parish as a "center of meaning," parish teams must listen to the stated needs of various adult groups such as young adults, singles, newly married, parents, adults with disabilities, and retired adults.
6. The team capitalizes on the many naturally occurring moments of meaning in the liturgical calendar—Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Holy Days of Obligation. Programs, events, and bulletin inserts that seize upon these moments of meaning can be powerful and timely.
7. The team "provides a diverse range of quality programming" (OHWB, 147). The team would be encouraged to study the six content areas for adult faith formation found in paragraphs 88-96 of Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us. Here, the bishops suggest the following six areas around which to plan quality programs and events: prayer, liturgical life, knowledge of the faith, moral formation, communal life, and service.
8. The team would be committed to gathering and publicizing various resources (print, video, web) that would help to form the adult seekers of meaning.
9. The team would always evaluate its efforts in light of its stated vision of adult faith formation.
10. The team would receive "both initial and ongoing formation to prepare it to accomplish its mission effectively" (OHWB, 148).

          Building vibrant and active parish "centers of meaning" is an ongoing process that involves the entire parish faith community. No one pastor, parish council president, parishioner, or DRE can go it alone. Developing a quality adult faith formation team is indeed a parish organizational priority.

So, how is your team doing?