Church Ministries Program offers faith formation

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
July 31, 2003

The Church Ministries Program provided by the Diocese of Sioux City is going into another year with classes that will enhance liturgical and Scriptural knowledge for adults.

The Church Ministries Program is a series of theology courses offered in collaboration with Briar Cliff University. The program will resume on Sept. 6.

"This is for leadership persons that don't have theological background - parish council members, DREs. People helping with youth, would find these particularly helpful," said Kay Morrissey, director of faith formation for the Diocese of Sioux City.

The classes that will be offered include New Testament, Christian Morality and The Church.

The goal of the New Testament course is for people to understand the New Testament as the literary production of "messianic" Jews who believed in Jesus as the crucified and resurrected Lord. The course will focus on each Gospel and the profound theological contribution of the Pauline tradition. This course will be taught by Dr. Stephan Davis and offered during the fall term. The dates include Sept. 6 and 20, Oct. 4 and 18 and Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"The diocese has offered these on an ongoing basis in an effort to provide faith formation to anyone in the diocese that would like to take advantage of this opportunity," said Morrissey. "Briar Cliff, for their part, has been very supportive and offers three hours credit for each of the theology courses at a nominal fee. It is an excellent opportunity for people to grow in faith."

The Christian Morality course introduces students to the nature and role of the Bible as a moral resource, identifies and explains the different models of Catholic and Protestant moral theology, and uses these models to analyze contemporary moral issues. This course is also taught by Davis and offered during the winter term. The dates include Dec. 6, Jan. 17 and 31 and Feb. 7 and 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Church course will include theological, historical and pastoral investigations of the community of believers who continue to proclaim the message and pursue the mission of Jesus Christ. This course will be taught by Sister Michaela Galles, OSF and offered during the spring term. The dates include March 6 and 20, April 3 and 17 and May 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"These courses are intended for any adult Catholic who would like to take an opportunity to learn more about their faith," said Morrissey. "Scripture is always the fall course that's offered. The reality that for a lot of adult Catholics Scripture was not a prominent part of our faith formation as we came up through elementary years."

Other classes offered will be pastoral liturgy classes including Liturgical Theology and Initiation and Eucharist. Both courses will be taught by Michael Willis.

"The pastoral liturgy courses could benefit liturgy committee members, people who help with art and environment in parishes and people who work in music ministry," said Morrissey. "Anyone would find these classes helpful."

The Liturgical Theology course examines the ritual prayer of the Church and the principles that guide its celebration. This class will take place from Sept. 6 to Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with five sessions.

The Initiation and Eucharist course studies the church's initiation sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist. It traces the history of their development and examines the rites as they are presently celebrated. This course will be taught from March 6 to May 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with five sessions.

All classes will take place at Sacred Heart Parish Center in Early on Saturdays. Registration information was sent to parishes and is also available on the Diocese of Sioux City Web site at www.scdiocese.org on the faith formation link.