Faith Formation Night for the Parish

 Pictured here is one of our Adult Faith Formation Teams at work.  Has your parish got one? 

Here's how you can get one started in your parish:  Sponsor a Come and See NIght that will be put on by members of the Diocesan Faith Formation Commission and this office.  The idea behind the Come and See Night is to invite parishioners to a night at the parish to learn about the new diocesan initiative in making parishes centers for ongoing lifelong faith formation.  Those who are interested and able to form an Adult Faith Formation team in accordance with the USSCB's Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States will be invited to volunteer to serve.  The parish will then determine the makeup of their team.

The diocesan team will give a dynamic one hour power point presentation that lays out the case for adult faith formation given by the bishops of the U.S.C.C.B. in their publication, Our Heart Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States and the implementation planning given in our recently published diocesan plan (Adult Faith Formation: Pastoral Plan for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph). 

This has been accomplished in sixteen of our parishes to include their team training with more parishes on our schedule over the next two months.  In our first experience, the 23 people who came out for the Come and See asked questions for an additional 30 minutes after our joint presentation before they were ready to commit to serving on the parish team.  When the pastor asked for commitments, twelve parishioners stepped up. The team received training from this office over a five week period, a total of 10 hours and received a generous package of adult faith formation audio-visual programs and library resources valued at $2400.00 (the contents of this package included the latest DVD Great Adventure Bible studies, ACM materials for RCIA/RCIC, Joy-Filled Marriage DVD's and much more).

The parish now has a functioning adult faith formation who plan, in close concert with the pastor and parish staff, to offer a diverse range of quality programming for parish adult faith formation.  They begin by assessing the needs of their parish.  Working with the pastor and parish staff the team fosters adult growth in spiritual formation, assesses the impact of faith opportunities offered,  and formulates a vision over time of adult faith formation for the parish. 

The team itself will see to its continuing formation so that it can accomplish its mission effectively and be authentic witnesses to the rest of the parish. They are a functioning small Christian community working for the good of the parish and recruiting the service of others to assist their efforts in the parish.

To date we have trained 16 AFF teams and are planning to train two more in September and October.  Reserve a date for your parish soon.

Email sasso@diocesekcsj.org or phone (816) 714-2308.  I would be happy to put you in touch with pastors who have already had their teams trained and/or schedule your parish Come and See night.