You may be starting out in catechumenate ministry or you may have been doing this a long time, and maybe you think you don’t have enough. Maybe you don’t have: enough resources enough volunteers enough seekers enough confidence Here at TeamRCIA, the number one thing that we try to do for people like you is …
Diana and I had two experiences recently that made us think more deeply about the way we invite and welcome seekers into our communities. We were driving to Chicago, and we stopped to see the Cahokia Mounds. The Cahokia Mounds is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city that existed 1050–1350 AD. At its …
Tell the one story that RCIA seekers will remember for the rest of their lives
Mary Kay Arroyo and the initiation team at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bradenton, Florida, have responded to the shelter-in-place regulations by connecting with their seekers through video chats. We asked Mary Kay to share with us how it’s going, and she sent us this video. Has your team tried some innovative tech solutions for …
I want to tell you a story about delight. This past Christmas and New Year’s, Diana and I went to the Philippines for a family event. Our return trip included a 14-hour layover at Haneda airport in Japan. We arrived at Haneda exhausted. We made our way through security and then customs. We wearily found …
Training is an essential part of every profession. Not only do many professions require a certificate or college degree, but many professions and trades are tested and monitored by state boards. Further, many of these professions require ongoing training or the earning of CEU’s (Continuing Education Units) in order to maintain their credentials. Why all …
Dear (Arch)Bishop, We know that these days have been hard for all of us in the Church and that you have many urgent tasks before you. We also know that you care deeply about the ongoing mission of Christ that all the baptized share, and we have seen many of you and your brother bishops …
The other day I took my car into the dealer’s service shop for some regular maintenance and they provided me with a loaner car for the day. This loaner was their top-of-the-line mid-sized sedan with all the new technology. The rearview mirror had a digital compass built into the corner, and the sideview mirrors had …
“When do your classes start?” If you’re an RCIA coordinator you probably hear this question on a regular basis. Most times you hear it from seekers, but I’ve also heard it from our own parish staff. I have two problems with this question. First is the use of the word “classes.” Second is with the …
This is the time of year when we make resolutions for the future. The problem is, we are often full of good intentions and low on resolve. Lots of people say that the way to make sure we stick to our resolutions is to keep them small and simple. I’m not so sure about that. …
The RCIA teams of Western Michigan gathered recently to discuss how to get our parish communities more involved in the initiation process. Together, we created several scenarios for a seeker we might actually encounter. We looked at how we could immerse the seeker in a training process using the activities already taking place in the …
