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Parishes improve faith formation Last month, Called to be Church core teams began discussing life-long faith formation of adults: young and old; single, married or divorced; and all levels of education. The Colonie/Loudonville cluster -- St. Clare's and Our Lady of Mercy parishes in Colonie, St. Pius X and St. Francis de Sales in Loudonville, and St. Ambrose in Latham -- decided that this important topic needed to be dealt with outside of the monthly planning sessions. According to Frank Pugliano, a core team member from St. Pius, the parishes "will meet with teenagers who don't go to liturgies regularly and ask them why not. Instead of thinking we know the answers, [we'll] ask them." Family's role The discussion of adult faith formation began with talk about the participants' own experiences, which they all agreed started with their families. Many of them noted that they had faith-filled role models "in front of them all day," referring to the sisters and priests who taught in Catholic schools. That, said Mr. Pugliano, affected their adult participation in the Church. "We had a very good foundation, but that dynamic no longer seems to exist," he said. Missing persons A common concern of the cluster is the lessening presence of young adults at liturgies and parish activities. Many people wondered, "Where do these people go?" Mr. Pugliano said. An announcement in one recent St. Clare's bulletin encouraged young adults to speak out on the issues as the planning process continues. "All of us seem to be voicing the same concerns," he said. "Those of us who are older aren't going to be around in 15-20 years, and we're very concerned" about the future of the Church. Parish's role While asserting that "each person bears the responsibility of their own faith development," Mr. Pugliano added that "the parish has to do something." He recommends that parishes invite the participation of younger adults, noting that he "became a lector and Eucharistic minister because somebody asked me. That's the kind of thing we need to be doing." As another pro-active step, he cited St. Pius' hosting "Pasta, Public Policy and You," evenings when a speaker related to public policy issues, like the death penalty and stem-cell research, is invited to a community dinner. He would also like greater focus on community-building through social get-togethers with "no particular agenda other than getting people together. The younger people need to know that they're not in this alone and that we're there to help them." Doing more Jonathan Sosek, faith formation director at St. Francis de Sales parish, admitted that "we don't have too much [faith formation for adults] to speak of -- which, I'm afraid is all too common." The parish does host a book discussion group during Advent and Lent, and a speaker series. For such programs to be successful, he noted, they have to fit into adults' schedules and not impinge on family events. Before Called to be Church, Mr. Pugliano said that the word "evangelization" was always "a buzzword. The point that struck me was that it's my responsibility to evangelize. As we go forward, this kind of thing is going to factor in. We can put together all the programs we want, but what it still comes down to is one-on-one. Once you have a stake in your parish, it becomes more important to you." (6/28/07) |