As a way to move to a year-round process, I recommended last time that you should throw out your syllabus. And while I feel there’s good reasons for doing this, it does create something of a problem: What do I do now? How do I convey to our catechumens and candidates everything they need to […]
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Let the liturgical seasons be your guide (Part 1)
After team formation, the next step to moving to a year round process is simple: Throw out your syllabus. Hear me out on this one… Have you noticed there’s not much out there when it comes to an “off the shelf” program for the RCIA? There’s a reason for that… but more on that in
Is your RCIA open all year-round? Throw out your syllabus!
“What do you wan to be when you grow up?” It’s a pretty common question we face when we’re kids, and typically our answers are based on what we’re familiar with (or what we’ve seen on TV). And even as we get older our educational and career choices are still based on our own experience.
Moving to a year-round RCIA process: It starts with team formation
Recently, I met with about 120 RCIA leaders from the dioceses of Belleville, IL, Springfield, IL, Springfield-Cape Girardeau, MO, and the archdiocese of St. Louis. Our agenda was to discuss the vision of the restored catechumenate and how that vision unfolds all year round; it cannot be confined to a few months of the liturgical
How to Rekindle Your “Desire for the Infinite” in Ministry
Change can be hard. As human beings we are, by nature, resistant to change…especially when we think what we have right now is just fine as it is. But God and his creation are not static. Our relationship with God is dynamic…living, breathing, and constantly evolving, and sometimes that means altering course to keep moving
Is your RCIA open all year-round? It’s easier than you think
This year, you will be confronted with a challenge. I know this because it happens all the time in catechumenate ministry. You will encounter a new person — someone who is searching or hurting. Someone who is in need of God’s love. But this won’t be the “usual” seeker who shows up ready to begin
The RCIA Team Member You Need to Recruit This Year
Most of the pastors I meet are either participants in our live training events, or they are participants on our TeamRCIA website. So they are clearly already deeply involved in the RCIA process in their parishes. However, not every parish is blessed with a pastor who is so deeply connected with the initiation ministry of
Six ways to involve your pastor in your RCIA process
If someone asks you about becoming Catholic this summer, don’t tell them to come back in September. You can start catechizing them right away, even if you don’t have a year-round process. Here are 20 ideas to get you started. 20 ways to catechize this summer — even if you don’t have a year-round catechumenate.
20 ways to catechize this summer — even if you don’t have a year-round catechumenate
When I first leaned about the RCIA in the 1980s, it was a brand new rite in the church. What caught my attention right away was the dismissal of the catechumens. I didn’t know anything about the theology of the dismissal or even much about catechumens. But I did know about Catholics. Right away, I
How to make parish renewal a byproduct of RCIA
If you want to move to a year-round catechumenate but you think it will be too much work or you don’t know where to start, start with baby steps. You don’t have to do everything all at once. For example, I was at Mass at a parish outside my diocese on a July Sunday. At
Your first small step toward a year-round RCIA process
