By Eileen Connelly, OSU

ARCHDIOCESE - Parish leaders from throughout the archdiocese had the opportunity to explore new ways to help the parents of young and school-age children become more involved in their faith and the lives of their respective parishes at two recent workshops offered by the Parent Initiative Project.

Pastors, directors of religious education, catechetical leaders, sacramental preparation coordinators and Catholic school principals were among those who attended the workshops, held at Trinity Center in Dayton May 17, and at Corpus Christi Church in Cincinnati May 24.

The Parent Initiative Project was developed in response to concerns articulated by parish leaders regarding the need for assistance in engaging and guiding young parents in their role as their children's first educators in the faith, said Claire Tenhunfeld of the archdiocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.

CT/EILEEN CONNELLY, OSU

Mary Pat Austing, director of children's formation at St. Susanna Parish in Mason, shares ideas with other parish staff members during the Parish Initiative Project workshop.

Colleen Gerke, director of faith formation at St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Liberty Township, and Roseanne Thomas, DRE at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Ft. Mitchell, Ky., shared a PowerPoint presentation they developed that is designed to invite parents to become more involved in the their children's faith formation. The 17-minute DVD is intended for use with parents who are anticipating the birth of their first child, have a child starting school or are preparing for first reconciliation or first Eucharist.

It can also be used with parents who have children entering preschool, kindergarten or the parish school of religion, at meetings of parents who use parish babysitting services, or with new parishioners or RCIA candidates with young children. The DVD pauses briefly in six places to enable the facilitator to stop the presentation and give participants the opportunity for discussion on reflective questions focusing on areas such as the holiness of God's gift of time, community, parents' hopes for their children's future and how they can pass their faith on to their children.

Mary Pat Austing, director of children's formation at St. Susanna Parish in Mason; Sue Graham, a religious educator at Ascension Parish in Kettering; and Kathy Robinson, coordinator of religious education at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parish in Bridgetown, also shared their project - a booklet designed to help organizers of parish events seek persons to share their personal stories with parents about their faith experiences. The booklet, titled "Tell Me a Story," also provides training guidelines for the speaker to comfortably witness to others.

The intent of their endeavor was to enrich programs for child and adult faith-formation to include sacramental preparation, booster and parent teacher organizations, athletic events, as well as retreats, prayer sessions and other meetings taking place in the parish setting. The benefit of having someone witness to their faith is that it "allows others to see Christ in the ordinary but graced experiences of our lives," Robinson said.

The final project was presented by Susan Gravely, DRE at St. Margaret of York in Twenty Mile Stand, and Terri Kerley, CRE at St. Columban Parish in Loveland. Kerley made note of the practice that occurs in parishes of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to begin a pastoral council, athletic boosters, PTOs, and all other adult groups and organization meetings with a period of some type of adult faith formation.

The practice was begun several years ago at the urging of Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk as a way to foster faith formation and to help focus the gathering on our faith and has come to be known as "infusion," noted Kerley. Their project was to develop a collection of "infusion" resources to help parishes provide meaningful and interesting material for their parish gatherings.

The month-by-month sessions focus on various topics and each includes a Scripture reading, a reflection piece, discussion questions and a prayer. Also featured is a series of eight sessions centered on the Catholic Church's sacramental life, along with a faith formation session on The Lord's Prayer, and two sessions focused on sports and faith, that would be especially relevant for athletic boosters, groups of couches, or others involved in supervising youth sports activities.

Workshop participants also had the opportunity to engage in discussion and share ideas about how to increase the involvement of young and school-age families in the life of the parish, and each left with the project materials to implement the new resources in their respective faith communities. As the workshop ended, Tenhunfeld encouraged those in attendance to stay in contact with the PIP committee to offer feedback, share how they have adapted the new resources at their parishes and continue to move the project forward.