The results of the TeamRCIA survey on how and when you schedule your RCIA process are in. More than 300 people responded to the survey, and we are very grateful for your participation. Your RCIA team is ahead of the curve I want to say at the top that I do not believe these results […]
Does your RCIA process go year-round? Survey results
When we think about moving from a school-year type RCIA program to an ongoing, year-round conversion process, the shift can seem overwhelming. In this post, I want to dispel that notion. Here are two things to keep in mind: We can take an initial step that doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Take a baby step.
Silence—an unlikely step in moving to a year-round RCIA
So far, about 250 of you have filled out the TeamRCIA survey on how you schedule your ongoing RCIA process. We’ll give a detailed report a little later, but for now, I want to let you know that the majority of you are engaging inquirers and catechumens in a conversion process throughout the year, including
The secret to year-round RCIA — even if you don’t have enough help
In this article, I want to offer you a challenge. If you are currently running a time-limited RCIA, I want to challenge you to take one baby step toward an ongoing, year-round catechumenate process. Why is a year-round process important? There are a lot of reasons why a year-round process is important, but I’m going
One baby step toward a year-round RCIA process
Let’s try a thought exercise. Pretend for a moment that you are God on the day before Creation. What is going through your mind? Are you perhaps lonely and dreaming of what it would be like to have companions? If you had companions, what would they be like? What would they do? How would you
RCIA catechists: Are you good stewards of imagination?
How skilled is your RCIA team at evangelization? Many teams don’t think about it much. Most of us have a few weeks of the year that we identify as the “precatechumenate,” but that often seems more like interviews or classes than evangelization. Here is what the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults says our teams
Three extremely easy evangelization skills every RCIA team can master
As we approach the beginning of Lent, it is a good time to think about how we teach the catechumens to pray. The best way, of course, is by example. So here is a list of suggestions for deepening our prayer lives this Lent. Pray at a set time Make an appointment with yourself to
17 best prayer practices for RCIA team members
Without looking it up, can you tell me what your parish mission statement is? If you can, can all the members of the parish council? And what about the RCIA team? And if they can, can the parents whose children are in the school or religious education process tell me? What about the neophytes in
6 essential rules for communicating a new RCIA vision
Your parish is about to change. Here’s why. This Sunday, look around at the people in the pews. Then estimate what percentage of those people will be retired in ten years. Now look for the 20- and 30-somethings. Are there enough of them present to fill the shoes of those who will be retiring? Trends
Get an RCIA vision for your parish (angelic visitation optional)
In 1983, I interviewed for my first job as a parish liturgist. The silver-haired pastor sat behind an imposing desk in his wood-paneled office. I sat on the other side of the desk in one of those chairs that you sink into and that makes it impossible for you to sit up straight. At one
Make the shift from “RCIA team” to “coalition for change”
