Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
Educational researcher Sugata Mitra speaking at TED2013In 1999, Sugata Mitra was teaching computer programming in New Delhi. His school was right next to a slum. He wondered if the children from the slum would ever be able to learn to write computer programs. So, out of curiosity, he gave them a computer. And then he […]
An amazing lesson from Tamil-speaking children for RCIA teams
We have to wonder why this is even a question. The teaching of the church is crystal clear: In order to signify clearly the interrelation or coalescence of the three sacraments, which are required for full Christian initiation (canon 842.2), adult candidates, including children of catechetical age, are to receive baptism, confirmation and eucharist in
Can we delay confirmation of child catechumens in the RCIA?
We all know there is a shortage of priests in the United States church, right? But what is the impact of that shortage on our evangelization efforts? Of course, the fewer priests we have, the fewer evangelists we have. But the shrinking ranks of the priesthood has an even more profound effect than just the
One unexpected way the priest shortage impacts evangelization
Do people in your parish talk about Jesus? Do you talk about Jesus? I recently asked a group of Catholic leaders to tell me why they thought evangelization is important. They mentioned faith, the church, the gospel, and the paschal mystery, but no one said a word about Jesus. I know, all of the things
RCIA teams: break the “Spiral of Silence” about Jesus
“Every person has the right to hear the gospel.” —St. Paul Ronald D. Witherup makes two points about St. Paul’s bold statement to the Christians in Corinth: If hearing the gospel is a right, we have a responsibility. Not only should governments or institutions not impede evangelization; Christians cannot shirk their responsibility to evangelize. The
In this post, I’m going to describe a simple, easy-peasy way to dramatically increase the number of people you have in your RCIA process. But first, we have to do a little math. You probably know that the fastest growing religious group in the United States is the “nones.” The Pew research group regularly asks
Evangelizing the “nones”—an easy RCIA challenge
Diana Macalintal and I recently spent a couple days away to do extensive planning for TeamRCIA for the coming year. Before we left, we had a conference call with the other two team members that make up TeamRCIA—Rita Ferrone and Rita Burns Senseman. Free download: A step-by-step guide to mystagogy Regional RCIA training institutes On
If you want to effectively prepare inquirers for the Rite of Acceptance, you might need to rethink your precatechumenate process. In a previous post, we talked about why it is important to prepare the inquirers for the Rite of Acceptance. We can think of preparation in two ways. One way to prepare them is through
“Destruct” your precatechumenate to prepare RCIA inquirers
After unbaptized inquirers celebrate the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens, they are changed. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults says they are consecrated (see RCIA 41). What do catechumens do? Consecrate comes from the Latin word consecrare, which means to make sacred (com- + sacrare). To make something sacred means to
Does your RCIA process make catechumens’ hearts burn?
Perhaps it is obvious to us why the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens is important and why careful preparation for its celebration is important. But I’m not sure the “why” is so obvious to everyone else who is involved. If you are struggling because your parish’s experience of the rite has been
Rite of Acceptance…why your role is crucial. And yours. And yours…
