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GENERATIONS OF FAITH 2010-2011
Faith Formation and the Family in the 21st Century
Sr. Ann Laszok, O.S.B.M.
Faith Formation is at a crossroads in our Church. Increasing secularization, pluralism of values and religions, the detraditionalizing of society as well as the destabilization of families have all impacted on our Church's membership and attendance at Liturgy, diminishing involvement of families with the parish community, and causing a decline in religious traditions and practices at home and the segregation of generations. We need to provide a new approach to faith formation that addresses the realities of today's world.
In the first half of the 20th Century, families lived within walking distance of the Church and school. However, as families moved up the socio-economic scale and moved to the suburbs, communities started down the road to isolation from their Church community. What choices do the families of the 21st Century have?
In the past, the usual focus and method of our religious education was child-centered and school-oriented - whether it be in a school or parish catechetical program - regardless of the fact that all the major catechetical documents emphasize that the focus of catechesis should be the adult learner (2). Religious education, although the primary responsibility of the parents in the early Church, was shifted to schools during the Reformation (3), and has remained the emphasis of catechesis until today (4). However, with Catholic schools closing, the parish needs to provide alternative faith formation programs. How do we catechize all the members of a parish, not just the children or specialized adult groups?
Since our usual methods of catechesis have not been sufficient to keep our members involved in Church, we need to look for innovative ways to provide for a diverse membership that is geographically scattered. The parish needs to become the extended family of yesteryear where all the members together, young and old, share their faith with each other.
The Generations of Faith Vision
The Center for Ministry Development, a Catholic organization specializing in all types of catechetical ministry training, developed a new approach to lifelong faith formation, called Generations of Faith (GOF). GOF is an innovative approach to parish faith formation that involves all generations in learning and growing together through their experience and participation in church life. This intergenerational approach to total parish catechesis
- nurtures a Catholic identity of all parishioners for a lifetime;
- re-engages all generations in participating in church life, especially Sunday Liturgy;
- equips and supports families and adults, especially parents;
- creates a pattern of family faith sharing and a Christian way of life;
- involves all of the generations in learning together;
- transforms the parish community into a community of lifelong learners.
Generations of Faith equips the parish to become a community of learning by creating lifelong faith formation that is centered in the events of church life, that embraces all ages and generations, and that promotes faith growth at home; it does this through parish preparation programs, and, most importantly, through participation in church life.
The Generations of Faith three-fold method of catechesis prepares the participants to understand the events of church life and prepares all ages to participate actively in church events: e.g. Liturgy, the Church Year feasts and seasons, the Sacraments, etc. Generations of Faith engages all ages and generations in church events, and guides them in reflecting and applying the significance and meaning of the events to their lives. It is not just catechesis; it is connected catechesis, which means that the catechetical program leads directly to participation in Church life. Learning programs draw their content from church events and lead people toward active, conscious, meaningful participation in church events.
Some of the principles of intergenerational learning that Generations of Faith is based on are:
Principle 1. Intergenerational learning programs balance affective, behavioral, and cognitive learning. Each session promotes learning in three dimensions:
1. know-what: understanding the meaning of the event and its Scriptural, doctrinal, and theological foundation
2. know-why: appreciating and valuing the meaning and significance of the event for their lives as Catholics
3. know-how: acquiring the ability to participate competently in the event and to live its meaning in their lives as Catholics
Principle 2. Intergenerational learning programs create an environment of warmth, trust, acceptance and care that promotes group participation, activities, and discussion. Group participation encourages active learning, rather than mere passive learning. Group activity engages participants in the learning process and makes them working partners with the trainer. Lecturing is held to a minimum as highly participatory methods such as role playing, simulated exercises, and case discussions are featured.
Principle 3. Intergenerational learning programs incorporate real-life application of learning by engaging people in the life of the parish community (events-centered) and helping people apply their learning to daily living as Catholics (home application). During the sessions, participants experience new ways to practice their faith, which in turn promote the transfer of learning from the session to their daily lives as individuals and families.
Principle 4. Intergenerational learning programs utilize participants' experience and prior knowledge. Participants bring relevant religious knowledge and experiences to the session. Participants need the opportunity to build upon their already-acquired knowledge, as well as to learn from each other.
Principle 5. Intergenerational learning programs focus on a moderate level of content that is recycled several times using differing learning methods throughout the session.
Principle 6. Intergenerational learning programs respect the variety of learning styles among the participants. An effective intergenerational session actively engages learners in the learning process through a variety of learning methods and activities that address the diversity of learning styles.
1. Some people learn best through direct, hands-on, concrete experiences. Intergenerational sessions engage the participants in the learning process - either by connecting with their life experience and current understanding, or by providing them with an experience. To respect this learning style, sessions utilize various methods: film; drama and role-plays; music; personal story and sharing; prayer and ritual experiences; games or simulations; and real world problems or issue solving.
2. Some people learn best through reflective observation. Intergenerational sessions engage the participants in reflecting on their personal, family, and religious experiences: what they notice about the experiences, where they find similarities and differences in people's experiences, what patterns reside in the experiences. To respect this learning style, sessions utilize methods such as these: personal reflection tools; small group sharing; compare and contrast activities; prayer activities (meditation and contemplation); and Scripture reflection activities.
3. Some people learn best through an exploration and analysis of knowledge, theories, and concepts. Intergenerational sessions engage learners in understanding the Scriptural and theological foundations of the church event or theme. To respect this learning style, sessions utilize methods such as presentations of the foundational knowledge or teachings of an event or theme through a power point presentation, lecture, video, panel presentation, or through reading and discussing Scripture or brief theological articles or syntheses.
4. Some people learn best through active experimentation with the new knowledge and practices. Intergenerational sessions engage learners in discovering ways to live out and apply their learning, especially by practicing the new learning in the session. For example, if the goal of the session is to celebrate a Church year season at home, the session includes learning activities for people to practice on a small scale the prayers, rituals, and activities that they are being given for whole season. To respect this learning style, sessions utilize methods such as the following: action plans; in-session practice activities and exercises; personal evaluation and assessment tools; and take home activities.
The Key Practices of Generations of Faith
Some of the key practices incorporated into the theory and design of Generations of Faith are:
Practice 1: Event-Centered Catechesis
Faith Formation is event-centered. The lifelong curriculum and individual learning experiences are developed around the events of our shared life as Church: Church Year feasts and seasons, sacraments and liturgy, prayer and spirituality, justice and service, and community life. These events hold tremendous educative and transformative power.
Practice 2: Lifelong and Systematic Catechesis
Faith Formation is systematic cyclic, episodic, and continuous. It is formed around the natural rhythm and pattern of the faith communityís life as experienced throughout the year. The events of church life form a spiral curriculum (think church year) that immerses people more deeply each year into the faith of the Church. The events of church life are so theologically rich that it will take years to immerse people in their meaning and practice (think of the theological themes embedded in Lent). Our catechetical task is to continually deepen their understanding and practice.
Practice 3: Emergent Catechetical Content
Faith Formation is emergent. The beliefs and practices for living as a Catholic today emerge from the life, events, and practices of the faith community. The beliefs and practices for living the Catholic faith are embedded in the events of church life. Our catechetical task is to uncover the theological and doctrinal message within the event. The "content" emerges out of the event.
Practice 4: Connected Catechesis: Prepare-Engage-Reflect/Apply Process of Learning
Faith formation prepares all ages and all generations for meaningful participation in church events through intergenerational learning, engages all ages and generations in church events, and guides them in reflecting and applying the significance and meaning of the events to their lives as Catholics. It is connected catechesis; the catechetical program leads directly to participation in Church life. Learning programs draw their content from Church events and leads people toward active, conscious, meaningful participation in Church events. The event is the centerpiece of the learning process.
Practice 5: Intergenerational Catechesis
Faith formation provides event-centered, intergenerational catechetical programs for all ages and generations in the parish community.
Practice 6: Alignment of Catechesis for All Ages
Faith Formation provides alignment of learning through common events and themes that are experienced and explored by all ages and all generations in the faith community. The key in event-centered learning is that the whole parish is focused. Everyone prepares for the same event with the same theological focus, creating parish-wide synergy.
Practice 7: Domestic Church (Home) Formation
Empowering and equipping individuals and families to live their faith at home and in the world is constitutive of lifelong faith formation. The lifelong, event-centered approach of common events and themes provides a focus and support structure to build a partnership between the home and parish. It overcomes the isolation many families and individuals feel when asked to engage in home-based activities and faith sharing. The parish-wide support structure enhances faith sharing at home because "everyone is doing it." In time, the household becomes a community of learning and practice.
In her book, Fashion Me a People, Maria Harris presents a similar, comprehensive understanding of a faith formation that is rooted in the life of the Church. She writes,
Throughout history, reaching back to Acts 2:42-47, the Church's educational ministry has been embodied and lived in five classical forms: didache, koinonia, kerygma, diakonia, leiturgia. If we would educate to all of these forms, as well as through all of them, then attending only to any one of them, simply would not do. The fullness of the pastoral vocation demands that any ecclesial education must be one that educates:
- to koinonia (community and communion) by engaging in the forms of community and communion;
- to leiturgia (worship and prayer) by engaging in the forms of prayer and worship and spirituality;
- to kerygma (proclaiming the Word of God) by attention to and practicing and incarnating the kerygma, "Jesus is Risen," in the speech of our own lives, especially the speech of advocacy;
- to diakonia (service and outreach) by attending to our own service and reaching out to others, personally and communally, locally and globally;
- to didache (teaching and learning) by attention to the most appropriate forms of teaching and learning in our own communities. Should any of these be left out as full partners in the educational work of ministry; should any of these be downplayed; should any of these be exalted to the denigration of others, we will not be able to educate fully. All are needed.
The Generations of Faith approach provides an integrated and comprehensive approach to faith formation utilizing all the above elements by centering faith formation in the events of Church.
The once a month two and half hour session is simple in concept. The gathering includes hospitality, fellowship, prayer and learning. A sample afternoon or evening session would include (times are approximate):
Part 1. Gathering (40 minutes)
- Registration and Hospitality (meal)
- Opening Prayer Service
- All Ages learning Experience
Part 2. In-Depth Learning Experiences (90 minutes)
Part 3. Sharing Learning Reflections and Home Application (10 minutes)
- Whole Group Sharing and Reflection
- Reflection-Application Strategies (Home Kit)
Part 4. Closing Prayer Service (10 minutes)
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