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 to having similar abilities and experience.
The cohort model has also been incorporated whole heartedly in our parish religious education programs, and by default, into our adult formation processes. And while there is some validity to this model, time and experience has taught us that it’s not that simple nor effective, especially when looking at the unique needs and conditions of faith formation versus education.
The challenge of a cohort model
For many years the adult initiation process followed such a cohort model. Seekers come to us and at the “beginning of the year” where we would group them into a cohort based not so much on their needs but on when they joined our process.
I remember the anxiety we all felt on our team when we moved to a year-round model. We would fret endlessly about how we were going to keep certain cohorts together or the need to separate those in the catechumenate from those going through the period of mystagogy. We stressed over the difficulty it would cause by having to extend (or over-extend) our team so that each of these cohorts could be managed. This cohort mentality was so ingrained in our experience that we became obsessed with looking at the forest when we should have been looking at the individual trees.
Adults come to us with all their diversity—of age, of experience, of economics, of race. And while some may argue that our seekers come to us with the same need—to join the church, to be part of the Body of Christ—the reality is that everyone’s journey to that goal is different.
Some have never been baptized but may be well-catechized, while others may be baptized, but never catechized. Not only that, following a year-round catechumenate recognizes that everyone’s journey through the process is moved by the Holy Spirit, not a calendar. We are meant to take them in as the Holy Spirit calls them to us; they complete their initiation when they are ready, not when the calendar says they should be ready (remembering that not all adult initiation is tied to the Easter Vigil).
So I hear some of you crying, “This might all sound nice in theory, but from a practical standpoint, how does this actually work?”
Letting go of a regimented curriculum
The first step is to let go of our need to force everyone into a cohort, especially if you’re a smaller parish with fewer seekers. Our seekers don’t have enough “shared characteristics” to make a cohort practical. Nor is it necessary.
Adults, by their nature, are extremely adaptable in social situations. Not all our daily interactions are ruled by a cohort mentality. We live, work, and interact with other people who come from vastly different experiences and backgrounds all the time. We’re used to these differences in our daily interactions.
So why are we compelled to group adults into a cohort in a faith formation setting?
Let’s look at this from another perspective: the parish. Specifically, the parishioners. Talk about diversity! Yet somehow we manage to interact with each other while working toward the common goal of maintaining a life in Christ and the community. The epitome of the Body of Christ is different parts, unique in themselves, but still part of the whole. And in those interactions we are able to share our experiences with each other—catechizing and forming each other along the way.
It is possible, even beneficial, having everyone around the same table for catechetical sessions, no matter when they enter the process. The key to making this work remembering that our formation process should not be a regimented curriculum, but life of the parish!
The life of the parish is the key
The premier place of formation is Sunday Mass and the celebrations of the liturgical seasons. Formation also takes place in the activities of the parish community, not some specified course of study.
If Sunday Mass is our primary catechetical tool, our catechetical sessions become subordinate to that, with our sessions and topics reflecting the lived experience of everyone around the table, no matter how much time they may have had in the process. They all have something to share and we all learn from each other. That family atmosphere we think makes a cohort necessary still develops.
Think about it—family units change all the time. New members come in regularly, through new relationships, marriages, and births. Family members also depart regularly, through death, or distance. Change is a constant, but we are resilient, we adapt. Somehow it still works as we gather around the same table.
The same can be true for your catechetical sessions if you give it a chance.
Your turn
How do you help everyone “come to the table” in your parish’s catechetical ministry? What does it look like to gather seekers from different walks of life at the Sunday Mass? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Would like to hear the nuts and bolts of how you make this work.
I embrace the liturgy of the Mass being a part of the whole experience, but two things I thought of when reading this article:
1. The Mass is designed first to be participating in the Worship of our LORD in the Eucharist. So first, it isn’t necessarily designed to be a time of instruction in the details of the Faith, and 2nd a Catechumenate cannot yet participate in the Eucharist.
2. Participation in the Liturgy in a more full sense I believe requires answers to a lot of questions as to “why” are we doing this or that (every little thing we do) in Mass – not that you have to have a full understanding of every little thing, but at least enough to help you understand the correct attitude and attention at Mass – this seems to me the place for RCIA instruction.
Again, without hearing the nuts and bolts of how you all make year round work, I am not yet seeing what you are saying, but am open to it because I do like the premise of what you are saying, that people should enter the Church when they are ready – but I do believe there is also something good about making people wait, study, understand, grow in their love and Trust through submission to Christ through their love and Trust and submission to His Church.
Blessings!
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for your comments. John wrote a book about how he uses this process in his parish, which you can find here: https://teaminitiation.com/presents/best-books/yrtaccc/
Also see this book on how to use the entire parish as the curriculum: https://teaminitiation.com/presents/best-books/ypitc/
And for more free articles on this topic, see these:
https://teaminitiation.com/2021/11/uncover-the-hidden-gem-of-rcia-formation-celebrations-of-the-word/
https://teaminitiation.com/2021/11/what-are-celebrations-of-the-word-how-to-give-your-rcia-seekers-a-foretaste-of-heaven/
Good Morning, thank you for this article and for all of the teaching you do. There are places for input on how to implement the process, but not on the transition to get there. Ever since we heard Nick speak in western Michigan (about 8 yrs ago?) we have been moving to the year round formation.
But I am now very annoyed (!) at this article. We previously, in the old model, had everyone in the same room. Catechized, uncatechized, baptized, unbaptized, returning Catholics, practicing Catholics who wanted to learn, all in the same sessions. My understanding was that this was bad.
So, we moved to a three tiered model. (1) (Unbaptized/baptized)+uncatechized, (2) baptized+well-catechized, (3) baptized+medium catechized (though we don’t really have much of this last group. Maybe it’s not real).
Then, we might also have one group of the uncatechized who are getting close to Easter and another group who is just starting for, maybe, next Easter.
That’s how I’ve always done it because I thought that’s how Nick said to do it. (I might even be able to find an article about it) Now I’m seeing that we should have one group for all three types of people regardless of which year they are in. They would come and go depending on their status, of course.
Am I reading this new way right? Is it even a new way? Nick annoyed me 8 yrs ago (in the way God annoys me when he wants me to change) and it’s happening again. Help me out, please. Talk me down.
Thank you, and God bless you for all you do!
Hi Charles, Thanks for your comment. I certainly don’t mean to annoy you! But it sounds like maybe it’s more God who is annoying you than me. 🙂
In any case, here are some further thoughts. The article above was not written by me. It was written by John McGlynn. However, I don’t disagree with what John has to say. He and I are both trying to convey the same idea — the journey of faith is unique for each individual seeker, and we need to be flexible in the way we accompany seekers.
So with that principle in mind, it is not necessarily *bad* if everyone is in the same room. But we have to be careful not to treat everyone in the room in the same way. The old classroom model assumed there was a set curriculum that everyone moved through at the same pace. That model does not respect the unique action of the Holy Spirit in each seeker’s life.
The multi-tiered model that you have implemented gets closer to what I think the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults envisions. You have discerned the level of catechesis for each of your seekers and grouped them according to similar catechetical needs. Even within these groupings, however, you still need to be attentive to the unique action of the Spirit within each seeker’s heart and discern each seeker’s progress along the journey of faith.
John’s model of having everyone at the same table works well, as he says, with a smaller parish with fewer seekers. He also says, “The key to making this work remembering that our formation process should not be a regimented curriculum, but life of the parish!”
And he says, “The premier place of formation is Sunday Mass and the celebrations of the liturgical seasons. Formation also takes place in the activities of the parish community, not some specified course of study.”
So if you have everyone at the same table during a Wednesday night catechetical session, they are all going to be reflecting on different faith experiences and encounters with Christ in the Sunday liturgy and the activities of the parish. That’s very different than gathering everyone together for a set lecture on a pre-determined topic.
Regarding your question about whether this is a “new way,” it might seem like a different approach, but it’s really a different application of the same core principles we’ve been discussing. Ultimately, the best approach is the one that best serves the needs of your particular parish community. There isn’t one single correct way to implement the catechumenate process. I hope this helps clarify things. God bless you for all you do!