By EmmaLee Italia | Contributing Editor
Adult Faith Formation Ministry Training sessions begin again this month, providing skill building for those who wish to start or strengthen the ministry in their parish.
With the support of their parish pastor, parish groups are encouraged to attend the three sessions together, which take place March 16, April 13 and May 4 in the Diocesan Chancery, 701 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville. All sessions are from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Registration is required by March 12.
The March 16 session is titled “Jumpstarting Adult Faith Formation in Your Parish”; April 13, “Nuts and Bolts of Developing a Parish Adult Formation Ministry,” and May 4, “Creating and Facilitating Small Faith Communities.”
The sessions were developed methodically as building blocks for AFF Ministry, teaching people “the why, or context; the how, or nuts and bolts – how do you design a plan; and where it works most effectively – in small communities, where ministry can last through the ebbs and flows,” said Laura Rivas, associate director of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese.
This type of training is most effective, Rivas emphasized, if parishes send groups of key leaders to attend together, “because in ministry, we work with a lot of lay volunteers, and if they attend together they can come to a consensus – they’re all receiving this formation, and then they feel empowered with what they’ve learned.”
These are the third set of AFF ministry training sessions the Diocese has offered, with two prior opportunities in spring and fall of 2018.
“This time around, we’re being a little more intentional about how they’re putting that training into practice,” Rivas explained. “So we’re going to be asking them to start developing some concrete steps of action, and how they’re going to implement that in their respective parishes.”
Few parishes have a dedicated ministry coordinator whose sole responsibility is adult faith formation; rather, Rivas said, pastoral associates or directors of religious education will often have AFF rolled into their responsibilities.
“This is one blip on their job description… you’re working with adults 24-7, but the resources are [mainly] allocated to children and youth … and sacramental preparation – which is all good,” she acknowledged. “Parishes realize the only way they’re going to be effective in the near future is getting groups started… we’re trying to create partners in ministry.”
The program is designed to foster a sense of reliability and responsibility, Rivas sense of reliability and responsibility, Rivas explained.
“But in order for that to happen … it’s about giving them the skill sets and the training, and then the opportunity to put that into practice, with the proper mentoring,” she said. “That allows individuals to take ownership of that particular program…. We’re training them to start thinking about parish needs.”
The AFF ministry training was a response to “Together in Mission,” a 2017 diocesan conference and infographic designed by the Department of Evangelization and Family Life, which breaks down the stages of faith formation across the life span. Since each age group has different needs, the parish is encouraged to respond to those needs with different opportunities for participation in the life of the parish and ministry.
“A parish could be saying, ‘We don’t have a bereavement ministry,’ or ‘we don’t have people working with our young adults,’” Rivas said. “We’re using this ‘Together in Mission’ tool as a means for participants to evaluate what they are doing in their parish.”
This three-part training series can give participants a general overview and a lot of good resources to get started, with follow-up training planned for June.
“It starts the conversation,” she emphasized. “People said, ‘This is what I needed – I felt more confident afterward.’ Now, they’re running the [AFF] program in their parish.”
Forty out of 99 diocesan parishes have completed the AFF training program since spring 2018 – and past participants were asking for further sessions, Rivas noted.
Cost to attend all three sessions is $40 per person; coffee and water will be provided. Participants can register online at dioceseoftrenton.org/events/adult-faith-formation-ministry-training-spring-2019.