Seventeen years ago, I left the professional ministry field and started a career in publishing. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated by the intersection between business values and spiritual values. There can be a tendency among ministry folks to stereotype business people as being completely focused on money. Recent stories about unscrupulous bankers and greedy […]
Do you run your RCIA like a business? Maybe you should
Paragraph 75 of the RCIA lists the four pillars of catechesis that we are expected to provide for the catechumens. The RCIA says they are to have a “mature” ability in each of these four areas. “Mature” means mature for a beginner in the faith. We don’t except the catechumens to have the same level
How do RCIA catechists model "service"?
Yesterday, as I celebrated Eucharist with the members of my religious community as well as friends and neighbors who regularly join us, I noticed a beautiful new family of five in the assembly. They were, I learned later, relatives of one of our sisters. The two “big sisters” were about five and eight years old
I recently had the pleasure of offering a workshop for participants in the permanent deaconate program in the Archdiocese of New York. We had a great couple of hours working on Scrutinies, and I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that many went home fired up to do more with these rites in the
Imagine a parish where every so often the pastor introduces an inquirer to the worshiping assembly saying, “This is Jose; this is Barbara. They have a desire to become part of our church.” Then the Pastor simply leaves the rest to the people in the pews. We could make a case that this is the
5 questions for every RCIA team
Last week, I met with a group of RCIA team members from parishes around the country at the Convocation of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate to discuss the question, “Whose ministry is it, anyway?” Aware that in so many situations, the RCIA process is “run” by a team of willing volunteers, we examined
Add 5,000 families to your RCIA team
I’m in Cleveland for the Fifth International Convocation of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate. We had the unofficial start this afternoon with a meeting of 60-plus Forum Team members and the Forum Board. We discussed two questions, which are derived from Jim Collin’s book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…
Cleveland rocks as RCIA leaders gather
When I train RCIA teams, especially newer teams, someone almost always asks, “How are we ever going to get ______ [Father, volunteers, the parish council, the 10 a.m. Mass community, the DRE] to agree to all this?” The question is understandable, but it is the wrong question. It is the wrong question because it implies
A powerful tool to inspire an RCIA vision
Part of being Word people is to reflect on our life and faith through the Word. These faith-sharing skills are essential for your team members who will lead dismissal sessions and other gatherings of catechumens because faith-sharing will help the catechumens connect Scripture to their daily lives. People learn best how to effectively lead faith-sharing
Faith-sharing skills for your team
What are your thoughts on allowing a husbands or wives to serve as sponsors for their spouses? I’m uncomfortable with it, but it seems as though it happens in a lot of parishes. If you allow spouse-sponsors in your parish, what has been your experience? Do you make a distinction between sponsors and godparents? That
Spouses as sponsors in the RCIA process
