UP FRONT
Catechesis for the Whole Parish: A Both/And Approach
Kathy Hendricks |  Summer 2009

Parish evangelization and catechesis can include both intergenerational approaches that encourage parents to pass the faith to their children and age-appropriate classes for children and adults.

On a blustery afternoon in November, parishioners of all ages start to fill the parish hall. The regular catechetical sessions for children, youth, and adults have been suspended for the weekend in order to accommodate an Advent event for the whole parish. For weeks prior to the event—one of six that take place throughout the year—the event planners promoted the program widely. A special invitation was extended to newcomers. It is all part of a plan by the pastoral staff to catechize around the seasons of the liturgical year and to involve parents in their own faith formation as well as that of their children.

The event begins with a meal that includes a main dish prepared by the Senior High youth group. Afterward, participants engage in a short exercise in which they name some of their favorite pre-Christmas activities and join in the opening prayer, led by the pastor. The event co-leaders offer a brief presentation on the meaning of Advent as a time to recall the birth of Jesus as well as a time to look ahead with hope for the full coming of Christ in glory. Each table group is then given a handout and set of simple instructions for exploring a different aspect of Advent’s meaning. Once they have finished the activity, each table shares the results of its conversation and creativity. Following a short break, each individual household creates an Advent calendar as a way to develop an at-home plan for prayer throughout the season. The event concludes with a ritual in which the small groups share the prayers they have written as part of the first activity and the Advent wreath is lit. Leaders wrap up the afternoon by distributing a handout containing readings and reflections for the season of Advent.

Expanding the Model of Whole Community Catechesis

Whole community catechesis is a way to address the role of the community in being both the agent for catechesis and its recipient. It can be characterized as a framework that

• emphasizes the essential connection between catechesis and the Sunday Eucharist
  
• supports the family’s central role in passing on the faith to children in informal ways
  
• strengthens the parish’s role in providing systematic catechesis for all ages
  
• promotes catechesis as a lifelong process

The Advent scenario described above is an example of one way the process works. Rather than being the exclusive approach to catechesis, however, it is part of a larger picture—one that continues to value the place for and importance of age-appropriate catechesis for children, youth, and adults. The scenario is also an encapsulation of a program of whole community catechesis called Gather in My Name, published in both English and Spanish by William H. Sadlier, Inc. It is available for downloading at no cost from the Web site, www.webelieveweb.com. As lead writer of the program, I would like to draw upon it as both a model for whole community catechesis and as a vehicle for exploring how intergenerational events can be incorporated into catechetical programs for each age and stage of faith development.

A Welcoming Model of Catechesis

One of the reasons pastoral leaders often use to explain the need to change, alter, or eliminate children’s catechetical programs is the all-too-familiar “drop-off dilemma.” What parish has not struggled with the frustration of parents who enroll their child in religious education class and then fail to attend Mass or participate in any other aspect of parish life? Often left out of the discussion, however, is the question of why parents choose to stay uninvolved. Is it simply that religious classes for children are inadequate or is there a broader, more complex explanation? I would argue for the latter. After all, at least these parents take the time and energy to sign their children up and to ensure that they attend the parish program, even if sporadically.

There are a number of reasons why these same parents may be lax in their participation. It could be a lack of interest or commitment to their faith. It could also be attributed to an experience of alienation, boredom, or feeling out of place. The problem then is not one of catechesis but of evangelization.

Sister Susan Wolf is the executive director of the Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association in Washington, D.C. In an article for Catechetical Leader magazine, Wolf points out that parents who send their children to Catholic schools and catechetical programs but who do not attend Mass may simply feel unwelcome. “We cannot expect catechists or any other ministers to be effectively evangelizing in a culture that does not overtly communicate ‘welcome’” (January/February 2009).

Intergenerational gatherings can be an effective way to build a welcoming culture in a parish. In the Advent scenario, for example, care is taken by the planners to reach out to newcomers and welcome them to the event. Elements such as a meal, icebreakers, and small-group conversation all contribute to an environment of hospitality in a low-key setting. Such events are ideal not only for including newcomers but also households who might not otherwise participate in a parish program. The inclusion of the Senior High youth in preparing the meal is another example of welcoming a particular group into engagement with the larger community. These approaches also develop what Wolf calls “an evangelizing perspective” among those who are regular participants. If the experience is a positive one, attendees are then more likely to be drawn into deeper participation in the life of the parish, especially if care is given to expand that perspective into all catechetical, liturgical, and pastoral ministries.

Building a Bridge to the Larger Community

The rationale for whole community catechesis comes from the General Directory for Catechesis (GDC), which stresses that catechesis, as the responsibility of the entire Christian community, takes place within “… the rich context of relationships.” As such, this type of catechesis is a valuable way to achieve the full vision of catechetical ministry through models that are cross-generational and enlivened with an evangelizing spirit. Such catechesis takes place, however, not in a few events or gatherings but as part of a larger pastoral process in an ongoing fashion. As stated in the National Directory for Catechesis (NDC), “…the parish serves as an effective catechetical agent precisely to the extent that it is a clear, living, and authentic sacrament of Christ… Where a parish is lifeless and stagnant, it undermines both evangelization and catechesis.”

The community’s power to catechize was brought home to me several years ago when I was serving as parish life coordinator for Pax Christi parish in Littleton, Colorado. The parish had a strong track record for involving its many young families in ministerial and outreach programs. This even included the building of the parish chapel, which was constructed out of straw bales and then covered with stucco. At the start of the process, households were invited to take part in putting the straw bales into place. Eight months later, as parishioners entered the chapel before Mass, a ten-year-old boy stopped and looked around with a sense of accomplishment. “Man,” he said, “I remember when we built this place.”

Each Gather in My Name event includes a thematic activity in which the participants build something for the larger community. For Advent, it is the assembly of a large wreath, and for Ordinary Time it is the construction of a labyrinth. Participants at the Easter event create an indoor garden. Follow-up material for each one provides ideas for offering parishioners who did not attend the event ways to participate. These range from posting the resource handout on the parish Web site to inviting individuals and groups to take part in or add to the event’s finished product. In this way, catechesis extends beyond a single gathering and into the whole parish for the remainder of the liturgical season.

In like manner, reflection on the event can be drawn into other catechetical and pastoral programs and ministries. Catechists or Catholic school teachers could take their groups to experience the labyrinth and then reflect on what it means to walk with the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry. Small faith communities and parish committees could use the Advent prayer services as part of their gathering time. Youth groups could add their own observations to the Easter garden and offer to pray throughout the season for those who have just been baptized or confirmed. There is ample opportunity for intergenerational events to be a gateway for deeper, more expansive catechesis within the framework of age-appropriate catechesis. It is a mystagogical approach that gives children, youth, and adults the opportunity to broaden their understanding of Christian belief and practice in ways that meet their needs at what the GDC calls the “various stages in the journey of faith.”

Effective evangelization builds bridges in an intentional manner in order to create a community of caring and mutual respect. Within the process of catechesis, these bridges extend from smaller groups—whether the classroom, the family, the parish council, or the weekly Bible study—to the larger community. The parish becomes a vibrant place where the Christian faith is received, expressed, nourished, and deepened in such a way that all of us can look around with a sense of awe and note our parts in building the reign of God.

The Domestic Church: Locus of Catechesis

While the first activity in the Gather in My Name events focuses on creating something for the parish community, the second one gives the participants something to bring back home. The affirmation of the family as the “locus” of faith and respect for the parents as primary in the faith development of their children have been two of the most important developments in the church’s catechetical renewal within the past four decades. Faith formation in the home, however, differs from the systematic catechesis that take place at a parish. As the GDC says, “It is, indeed, a Christian education more witnessed to than taught, more occasional than systematic, more ongoing and daily than structured into periods.”

Lee Hlavacek is the director of religious education for Curé of Ars Parish in Merrick, N.Y. With over 1,000 children enrolled in weekly religious education classes and ninety catechists to oversee, she has taken a strong family approach to her role as catechetical leader. When asked for her take on the “drop-off dilemma,” she responds that it is the responsibility of the parish to engage the parents in ways that are hospitable and affirming. Hlavacek draws upon Gather in My Name as a resource for prayer, discussion, and interactive processes that involve parents and grandparents in what she calls “empowerment sessions.” “It’s all about partnering in faith,” she says, and she notes that whole community catechesis as a single approach is inadequate to meet the diverse needs, interests, concerns, and stages of development that are present in families. “We have to meet parents where they are and then invite them to go deeper. It means being consistent and passionate about catechesis as an ongoing reality.”

Hlavacek’s approach highlights one of the most overlooked benefits of catechetical programs for children and youth, which is the potential for catechists and teachers to reach out to parents and families. Sister Susan Wolf notes that catechists do much more than “teach religion.” In her experience, “they… went the extra mile to show love and care and often were the bridge that brought inactive members back to the church.” The role of the catechist, as defined in the GDC, is one of mediator: “[The catechist] facilitates communication between the people and the mystery of God, between subjects amongst themselves, as well as with the community.” When it comes to parents, beleaguered by their hectic schedules and anxiety over their children’s welfare, such mediation is a true godsend.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Keeping the Options Open

All Gather in My Name events have an “Option 2.” While the first option is a fully intergenerational model that keeps the group together for the entire two-hour event, the second option provides for grade level or cluster group break-outs. There are several advantages to such an approach. It provides dedicated time with adults and thus affirms the emphasis on faith formation as a lifelong process. It also allows for age-appropriate exploration of a topic or theme. The Gather in My Name grade level break-outs for pre-school through middle school students are also keyed to their We Believe and Creemos catechetical textbooks. In this way an event can serve as an occasional substitute for the regular religious education program without disrupting its flow.

Flexible models also open the door to other possibilities. The Advent event, for example, could easily be modified for use with a smaller configuration of participants or for a more narrowly defined community, such as a youth retreat, Catholic school experience, or catechumenal session. In this way, catechesis turns into an experience for the entire parish without losing touch with the smaller communities it comprises.

A Both/And Model of Catechesis

While I was involved in research for my book The How-To’s of Intergenerational Catechesis, I talked to catechetical leaders who regretted jumping into models of whole community catechesis too quickly, too radically, or too unilaterally. Doing so created resistance, and sometimes rebellion, among staff, parents, and parishioners at large. When asked to share their “best practices,” most responded by advising others to take the time to consult lavishly and to take small steps in starting out. They also detailed the challenges of adopting such a model. These included its time-intensive collaboration, the danger of excluding people and shortchanging a catechetical vision by utilizing a single model, the need for committed volunteers and a supportive pastor, and the logistical requirements, such as adequate gathering space or a kitchen for preparing communal meals.

Catechesis for the whole parish is a model that meets each of these challenges. Rather than having to decide between an exclusively “whole community” model or an age-appropriate/peer level one, both options remain open. One enhances the other as a way to realistically meet the catechetical needs of the entire parish while also providing dedicated catechesis for specific age groups at their particular level of understanding and experience.

The General Directory for Catechesis concludes with a powerful reminder: “Neither catechesis nor evangelization is possible without the action of God working through his Spirit.” It is clear that there are numerous possibilities as well as pitfalls inherent in a whole community approach to catechesis. When we adopt a catechetical vision that welcomes those on the periphery, that builds bridges to a larger community, that honors the domestic church, and that remains flexible and open to possibility and a strong catechetical vision, we can rest assured that God’s grace will work through our efforts. In turn, we will find that great things can and do take shape.

Kathy Hendricks has served as a catechetical and pastoral leader for parishes and dioceses in Colorado and Alaska. She is lead writer for Gather in My Name, published by William H. Sadlier.