ADULT CATECHISM, YOU BET -- THE ONLY WAY TO GO

ADULT CATECHISM FREE FOR ALL

I'll bet you never thought you'd see the day.  That is indeed a roomful of adults in a Bible/Catechism "class".  We caught them at a rather relaxed part of the session.  But believe me, they are serious.  When they are focused, they are focused and they are a deep "see" challenge for the presenter.  Without telling their names, let me just give you a description of what they represent.  One is publisher of the online magazine, ParishWorld.net; one is a social worker who has come back to the Catholic Church and is one of our very best "plants" in any religious ed group for adults;  one is a doctor (MD); one is a nurse, chaplain to one of the bigger hospitals in the region and one is a housewife.  The young person with his back to the camera is a nineteen year old who attends all the sessions with the family, three boys and one girl and the mother and father.  This is but a small representation of the entire group of 40 plus.  Here we were "learning" about the presence of Sacred Scripture in the structure of the Mass.  The bearded man who was the leader of this study is a long time Bible aficionado, spiritual force in the parish.  He is one of the five presenters who lead a session in the six weeks of this particular period.
The Adult Faith Formation program that we (Belle and Paul) have spearheaded, constructed and support is well received by the church-going faithful of the parish.  We took a survey of the parish in order to find out what adults wanted to learn about.  That was a good start.  The faithful, when invited to a series that they had requested to begin with, showed up and participated. These people will become more and more able and willing to teach their children the truths of our faith.  They tell us as much.  We are grateful to God for guiding us through the maze of material and human obstacles it took to get this up and going.  We pray  that He will help us to keep it going.  This is indubitably a good thought...or is it an idea?