ANNOUNCEMENTS

 Most Religious Groups in USA
have lost ground, survey finds
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA Today

When it comes to religion, the USA is not the land of the freelancers.  This article appeared in the March 9, 2009 edition of USA Today.  The article was written in conjunction with the release on that same day of the new American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS).  The survey finds that, despite growth and immigration that has added nearly 50 million adults to the U.S. population, almost all religious denominations have lost ground since the first ARIS survey in 1990. 

Archdiocese of Baltimore Experiment  with Parents and Middle-schoolers

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is experimenting with a daily family-based program for parents and their middle school-aged children.  The Church has always proclaimed that parents are the primary religious educators of their young people.  Project Be honors this by assisting parents in engaging their own young people in a season of conversation about faith.  For additional information please go to Project Be.

Interview with Cincinnati Archdiocesan Youth Ministry Expert, Sean Reynolds

We thought you might be very interested in an  interview with youth ministry expert Sean Reynolds which appeared in the April 2009 U.S. Catholic magazine. Reynolds asserts that although our kids have a lot to learn about their faith, a recent survey reveals that they want to learn about it from their parents. The interview in its entirety can be found by clicking here. We also invite you to view the video “5 Questions with Sean Reynolds." The editor of U.S. Catholic, Father John Molvneux, C.M.F. would love to get some feedback from you and with your permission, we may publish some of the comments we receive in our letters-to-the editor section.  Please e-mail your comments.

Archdiocesan Adult Faith Formation Survey - 2009

In November of 1999 the bishops of the United States published a landmark document on adult faith formation entitled Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us.  The staff of the OEC is interested to what extent adult faith formation has changed since OHWB first came out.  As a way of finding out the answers and of marking the 10^th anniversary of the document, the OEC recently conducted a survey.  Perhaps you completed the survey.  In any case we promised to notify and share the results with our constituents.   The survey was conducted via SurveyMonkey.com during the month of March. The survey closed on March 20, 2009. The link to the survey was sent to all catechetical leaders and adult faith formation coordinators asking that only one survey be completed per parish. A total of 125 people began the survey and 91 actually completed the entire survey for a 72.8% completion rate. We suspect that this attrition may be due to the fact that potential respondents who wanted to see the entire survey could not do so unless they filled in the information regarding their parish name and location. We intend to publish some of the large number of fascinating stories in future issues of On the Road.

 Some highlight

• Less than one third of the parishes have a pastoral plan for AFF

• Less than 25% have a full-time AFF leader on staff

 • 92% have an RCIA coordinator

• 54% said that they have an active AFF team. This
   is an OEC policy.

 • Only 64% said that they have a website or other on
   line resources

 • 71% said that they have intergenerational
   gatherings

 • 83% reported having small faith sharing groups

• 79% said that their parish has a library/media
   center with adult-focused materials

•   68% said their parish has a budget for AFF

 • 86% said that their parish facilities were adequate
   for adult learning

 We also asked participants to indicate how the adult faith formation enterprise has developed over the past ten years since OHWB was published. The question asked whether the element in question increased, decreased, or remained the same.

• 73% said that recognition of the importance of AFF has increased

 • Nearly 74% said that the amount of AFF programming has increased

 • 74% said that the quality of AFF program offerings has increased

• 48% said that the amount of financial resources the parish devotes to AFF has increased.

• While 60% said the number of person engaged in AFF has increased, just under 42% said that the number of person trained for AFF ministry has increased. 52% said that it has remained the same.

• 65% said that the number of persons participating in AFF has increased, while 9% said that the number has dropped. 25% said that it has remained the same.

• 79% said that the cultural diversity of adults Catholics participating in AFF has remained the same.

 • 51 % said that the integration of AFF into other ministries has remained the same, while just under 48 % said that it has increased.

Question #1:  Tell us briefly how your concept of adult faith formation has changed over the past ten years.

Most respondents answered this question by describing all of the programs that have arisen in their parish over the last decade. Some identified trends, changes in staffing and priorities, and the creation of planning processes and structures. The overall impression is that there has been a surge of parish activity over the past decade designed to foster adult growth in faith. A few respondents actually answered the question, which is about their personal notions regarding AFF. Some of these said that they have seen how AFF is most effective when it is integrated into all of parish life. A great many of the responses reflect an earlier concept of adult faith formation as adult education in the faith.

• It is becoming increasingly clear that adults, as much or even more than children need ongoing and in-depth education in order to fully embrace the faith.

• My personal concept of adult faith formation has changed due to my own faith formation.  I didn’t realize how many of the practices of the Church we, as Catholic adults, don’t know.  From prayer practices, sacraments and Scripture, to the Sunday liturgy, most of us spend our lives participating just because it is what we have always done without ever considering why we do what we do.  I love sharing my ‘aha’ moments with others and watching them experience the same.

 

• Expanded my interest in Scripture study

 

• I have attended workshops on the Bishops’ documents concerning catechesis and AFF and have steadily grown in my belief that the parish’s main focus needs to be on AFF.

Question #2:  We would like to hear some stories of efforts that the parish has made to help adults grow in their faith.

• We started an Evangelist group and ‘Inviting Catholics Back’.
 
• We see much more involvement of adults since we introduced opportunities such as Christ Renews His Parish. No staff can do everything so it is good that a group of parishioners is being raised up and trained to lead as catechists in all the programs – family formation, RCIA, divorce ministry, welcoming, etc.  It is great to see different people shine in these areas.
 
• Intergenerational speakers and presenters have touched the adult population.  Participation in small communities of faith such as Why Catholic? Has also had some effect.  Catholics who have participated in RCIA as sponsors, or even observers, have experienced a heightened appreciation of Catholic Christianity.
 
• The one event that stands out in my mind is when we had our Parish Mission.  We had never had one before and the people loved it and begged for more.  It was the best attended spiritual program that we ever had.

To read more stories of parish adult faith formation efforts in the archdiocese click here