 July 2001
To train or not to train?
Undercurrents from the
Annual Meeting
To our web site guests from beyond the
region: please excuse me while I take a few moments this month for some
"in house" concerns. We will return to our regular programming
next time!
The twenty-five people
gathered around the table at our June 21 Annual Meeting were very positive
about events offered by the Center this year, and had great suggestions
about next year's proposals. This month I'd like to outline some ideas
about our central task of training that seemed to carry the meeting,
along with my reaction to them.
Idea #1: The March
Formation Day is great -- keep it going!
There was unanimous
support and acclaim (and I have felt it wherever I have visited throughout
the year) for the regional Formation Day that I started three years ago.
The event has grown from about 100 participants the first year, to over
300 this past year. People voiced support for continuing and expanding
this event, adding tracks for both beginners and more experienced
volunteers, and maybe even tracks for other groups, like pastoral
councils.
Part of the momentum for
this event seems to have been a regional pride and identity attached to
it. It is great that we can bring a quality event such as this to the
region, that we can provide training beyond the beltway that generates
energy and excitement for ministry. The word seems to be spreading each
year.
Idea #2: Having
formation on site in our parish or school was less successful. Should we
continue doing it?
Last year's Catechist
Formation Plan required each parish and school to provide a minimum of 6
hours of training on site each year, and where appropriate to invite
people from neighboring parishes to come. The Echoes of Faith video-assisted
program was recommended as a tool to easily provide this training.
Participants at the Annual
Meeting noted that attendance at formation events offered at their parish
was sparse. Some parishes had to cancel their scheduled courses.
Catechists didn't seem too eager to take part, and there was some talk
that perhaps they didn't commit to the trainings where Echoes was
used because it was "just a video". Meeting goers voiced support
for the idea of continuing the Catechist Formation Plan, but some
suggested that it isn't feasible to hold trainings at the parish or
school.
Idea #3: Pooling our
resources for regional offerings by the Center during the year makes more
sense than trying to offer training as a solitary parish or school.
In discussing the Catechist Formation Plan,
participants at the meeting were much more enthusiastic about the Center's
formation offerings than their own. Some felt that they could not get
enough people to come to training on site to make it worthwhile to
plan.
Some meeting participants were of the
opinion that training of volunteers was not really necessary at all, since
their catechists have such good resources to use.
My reaction to these
ideas:
I am delighted that the
regional formation day has been so successful. It has gone far to promote
an emerging self-identity in the Region, and has generated some enthusiasm
for ministry. I am all for continuing this program. And yet....
A cautious voice inside of
me is sounding a warning. An undercurrent that seemed to be moving between
ideas 1 and 2 at our meeting was that we will get more "bang for the
buck" if we focus our energies upon the formation day, and not
struggle so hard to do formation in our own parishes.
There are a couple of
problems with this approach:
1. The Formation Day is a
novelty in Central Maryland right now, but may quickly lose that novelty. It
is impossible to say if this Saturday model will continue to be
successful, but I am certain that, even as early as next year, interest in
the program will "peak", and attendance may well begin to level off.
2. The Formation Day offers
some great starters, but doesn't provide substantial formation. There
are simply not enough contact hours to get too deep on any topic. The most
that we can hope to generate from this day is a "taste" of formation,
instilling a hunger for more enrichment opportunities.
Even with a very successful
Formation Day, we are left with the daunting agenda of how to provide substantial
training for our volunteers.
How about Idea #3, then?
Why not just focus our energies upon the Formation Day, plus other
regional offerings throughout the year? Why should parishes or schools bother
to offering their own training?
The Challenge
I am certain that everybody knows the first
part of my response to these issues, but I am not so sure that everyone believes
it:
We have no choice: we must provide
substantial catechist formation. We have a sacred duty to do all we
can to ensure that authentic, holistic, and quality catechesis is provided
in our parishes and schools. This is particularly important with volunteer
catechists, who often have no teaching experience or training before they
come to us. However, Catholic schools teachers often have as little theological
training as volunteer catechists. They, too, need extensive formation to
be able to teach religion in the name of the Church.
Despite the struggles and challenges, this
is a task we must do. And we must do it with commitment and vigor!
Shoddy catechesis by well-intentioned but untrained people is boring at
best. At the worst, it can so demoralize our people that they ultimately
leave the Church! I have heard many stories of people who have gone to
another community because of a poor catechist or the catechetical program.
I have also heard your stories and struggles with volunteers.
Sometimes this is their problem...sometimes it is ours.
The second part of my response was the
guiding wisdom for last year's Catechist Formation Plan:
People are most likely to attend
training that is provided at their own parish or school. Despite
the mixed reviews, I think another year of the plan is worth a try.
Getting people to "plug in" to formation will require a
lot of cheerleading on your part. It will also be most effective if you
integrate training into your regular schedule. Plan formation
opportunities as inservice during regular class hours. Apply for clock
hours for other events that you do, like Lenten retreats, missions, or
sessions for adult or families.
Do it because you must, because it
is essential to the teaching ministry of the Church. But why not renew
your commitment to catechist formation because you want to? Make
your parish or school an even better inspiration to people who are
considering whether or not to follow Jesus as disciples along the Way!
Chris Weber
Director
Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland.
Copyright © 2001 by the Catholic Education
Ministries Center of Central Maryland, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. All rights reserved.
Comments about this
article? Great ideas that you want to share? Send me your remarks via Email...
|
