Faith formation training flows out of Fall Gathering

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
September 14, 2006

STORM LAKE - Last month about 50 people attended the day-long Fall Gathering faith formation opportunity held at the KC Hall in Storm Lake.

"We did expand the audience this year, typically it's for DREs and youth ministers but this year we opened it to pastoral ministers, RCIA teams and people involved with adult formation," noted Bev Hurni, director of adult and family ministries.

At least two parishes brought teams of people.

Bill Huebsch, a theologian from Minnesota who has worked in Catholic publishing since 1995, was the presenter. He holds a bachelor's degree in religious studies and a master's in theological studies from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

"His main thrust was that catechist formation has to be a priority for parish life," he said. "He stressed the importance of training Catholics the Catechism, which includes parents, Catholic school teachers and any kind of leadership team whether it's for adults or children. They must all be well formed in the Catechism."

In the morning session, the presenter spoke about the need for effective catechesis.

Huebsch told them that much damage is done when catechists answer questions merely by what they think the church teaches. Wrong information can create major problems with the potential of lifelong impact. He also stressed the fact that along with accurate information the way in which it is presented - with enthusiasm for the faith and respect for other people - is another crucial element of effective catechesis.

The presenter spoke of church documents that center on the principle that all catechesis must be Christ-centered where people are invited into a relationship with Christ.

In the afternoon session, Huebsch gave them some tips as to what can be done for faith formation.

He told them about Into the Fields, a catechist formation program that uses the Growing Faith Project that features a wide variety of topics for adult faith formation with a spirituality component. Into the Fields has added components for teaching that address such things as how to use Scripture effectively and other tools.

Into the Fields is published by Twenty Third Publications, in which Huebsch is the general editor. The speaker mentioned that another good tool for formation is Echoes of Voice, a video series that is available in the diocesan media center.

"In the end, he said, 'I don't care if you use this program or that program, but do something,'" noted Hurni.

The Fall Gathering and the presenter received high marks by attendees. For those that took the time to fill out an evaluation, in rating the speaker, 28 responded excellent, four responded very good and one responded good.

"People were impressed by how Bill was authentic, dynamic and they said he had a good use of examples and humor," she said. "They found him to be both practical and inspirational."

Given the positive response of the presentation and realizing the true need of faith formation particularly for catechists, the diocese is bringing in a representative of Twenty Third Publications, George Barrett, to provide information about Into the Fields. This program has the imprimatur of Bishop Dennis Schnurr of the Diocese of Duluth, Minn.

On Sept. 22 at the KC Hall in Storm Lake, Barrett will offer an awareness session in the morning for anyone who wants to learn more about the formation program and then the afternoon session will feature facilitator training for those planning to use Into the Fields as a means of catechist formation.

"We wanted to offer another awareness session because perhaps there are other DRES and we want the school personnel to understand that every catechist needs to be well versed and well informed," noted Kevin Vickery, diocesan superintendent of schools.

He pointed out that all Catholic school teachers, whether they teach the formal religion curriculum or not, are catechists. With that in mind, he would like to see school personnel take advantage of this training as well as catechetical leaders from parishes.

Vickery acknowledged that some parishes and schools already have faith formation programs in place, but those without one or without an effective one, he sees this as a format that is convenient and usable in a local setting.

When using Into the Fields, it is recommended that the catechists and others seeking faith formation meet for a session in their local parish and/or school once a month.

"It can be a combined group - religious education catechists and Catholic school personnel. It could also be the RCIA team and the whole, general adult population of the parish," she said.

This is co-sponsored by the Christian, Formation and Worship Offices of the diocese. Several members of the diocesan staff plan to take part in the facilitator training so that they can train others as facilitators.

Persons interested in learning more information about the Sept. 22 awareness and facilitator training session should contact Judy Forrest at (712) 233-7520. If you plan to attend, contact Forrest by Sept. 18 in order for an accurate lunch count. There is no cost for this training session.