Mary Kay Arroyo and the initiation team at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bradenton, Florida, have responded to the shelter-in-place regulations by connecting with their seekers through video chats. We asked Mary Kay to share with us how it’s going, and she sent us this video.
Has your team tried some innovative tech solutions for staying connected with your seekers? Send us a brief video to let us know what you have tried and how it is working out. We’d love to hear from you. You can e-mail us at nick@teaminitiation.com.
Read more about other formation strategies during the pandemic here:
Great to read creative ways to continue to Minister to our Elect and Candidates! We need to be creative in our gatherings with prayer and content. Our daily readings and breaking open the word are perfect for this time of crisis for everyone!
We’re Zooming along at St Joseph Basilica (Alameda CA) with “breaking open the Word” after the livestreamed Mass on Sundays, and Catechumenate, Purification & Enlightenment, and Inquiry sessions on weeknights. Thank God we have a young person on our Catechumenate team to do the techie stuff . He has even added powerpoints during catechesis so there’s a mix of imagery, text, and each others’ faces. We make sure to call on each participant by name so they all have a chance to share, since eye-contact doesn’t really work in virtual life. We’re fortunate the parish has been offering various online Scripture reflections and prayer experiences which they can also attend. It’s clear to see they really appreciate these opportunities (as does the team!) It’s so good to be able to see each others faces, or at least hear their voice for those few lacking devices with cameras.