About 200 pastors and parish catechetical leaders from across the eight-county Diocese of Cleveland gathered on April 24 at the Holiday Inn, Independence to share thoughts and suggestions on faith formation and education.
?This has been passive in the past, but we are asking you to be ?presenters? and to be involved this year,? said Patricia Patterson, diocesan director of catechesis. She said input from those gathered would be helpful as the office looks to the future.
Frank O?Linn, interim secretary for catechetical formation and education/superintendent, told the assembly that although they are doing a good job, things always can be better. ?We?re the hands and words of Christ. We need to think about our mission with clarity.?
Bishop Nelson Perez led the gathering in midday prayer and shared some brief remarks about their role in the diocese and the Church.
?The first thing I want to say on behalf of the Church is thank you,? he said. ?You are the instrument of encounter for those you meet in your ministry.? The bishop?s comments echo one of his common themes, drawn from Pope Francis. He encourages people to be engaged, to take initiative, to accompany, to be fruitful and to be joyful missionary disciples, ?meeting people where they are with the truth of the Gospel.?
He also told the audience: ?Don?t underestimate the power of your words and the power of God working in you, through you and sometimes despite you. I?ve been sharing this message with confirmandi across the diocese.?
The bishop said there are four things for pastors and PCLs to be mindful of as they do the work of the Church: tone, spirituality, identity and growth.
?As leaders, you set a tone,? he said, sharing a story from his first assignment after ordination. He said the parish pastor could be difficult to deal with, which was disconcerting for a new priest like himself. ?I was on fire,? he said, describing how excited he was to get down to doing the Lord?s work. But unfortunately, the pastor?s tone made things challenging.
As for spirituality, the bishop said one of his pet peeves is when ministers talk about ?their volunteers.? He said the vocation or call to service in the Church is a gift. ?And what?s received as a gift must be transmitted. Catechesis is not a job, it?s a call. Jesus did not call volunteers; he didn?t set up a booth to sign people up, he called disciples,? the bishop said.
?We need to form catechists in spirituality. It?s a call of service, not a job or a slot on a schedule,? he said, stressing the important role these ministers have in the Church. ?The more he (Christ) is at the center of our lives, the more he de-centers us. It?s not about you or me, it?s about Christ. He looked into your heart and he made it burn. You need to share that.?
Bishop Perez said it?s up to catechists to seek creative ways to proclaim Christ. ?Don?t get stuck in a rut and do the same thing year after year,? he said, sharing a story about how some parishes might use the same format, including songs, for their confirmation liturgy. He mentioned one song that he said was used at almost every liturgy. ?There are other songs. You need to be creative,? he said. ?God adapted himself. He?s an incarnate being, but he became human. Talk about adaptation. God doesn?t change, but he renews all things in him.?
The bishop said catechists are always searching ?for the next thing.? He said they should use the fire in their hearts to create new paths for catechists so Christ?s message can continue to be shared.
The group spent time in discussion at each table on three tasks:
- Analyzing and determining the responsibilities and goals of parish catechetical leadership.
- Reviewing and analyzing models of catechesis for children and adolescents.
- Reviewing, analyzing and determining topics for professional development.
Time was spent sharing some of the ideas with the group. The information collected will be collated and shared, Patterson said.
Bishop Perez fielded questions afterwards. Some of the topics he addressed included considering other methods of sharing the Word with children and some elderly people who have difficulty following lengthy readings and the conflict that may exist in some parishes between the day school and the Parish School of Religion students who may use classrooms outside of school hours.
?It?s the tone that is set by the pastor,? he said regarding the day school/PSR conflict. When I was a pastor, I was ?the adult? and set the tone that the faith formation students would be in the school, which belongs to the parish. You figure it out,? he said, telling the pastors they are in charge.
In response to one pastor?s question about the balance between content and experience in catechesis, Bishop Perez talked about the shifts in religious education in the Church. He said in the 1940s and ?50s, ?it was Baltimore Catechism