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Anslinger’s address on implementing whole community catechesis followed last year’s lecture by Bill Huebsch, author of the book, Whole Community Catechesis in Plain English, and she noted her objective was to show how to put the building blocks of what had been learned last year into place in attendees’ parishes. “I like to think of whole community catechesis as a path to living discipleship, and these elements that we’re going to look at are the vehicles that take us on that road,” she said.
Anslinger noted that when she first arrived at her parish of 3,100 families nine years before, it had been in the midst of a very painful transition. The pastor, who had arrived the year before, asked her to help out as interim music director for a few months. This wound up turning into three years, with Anslinger being hired the second year as DRE.
“It was a parish that was terribly divided into factions,” she said. “They were deeply in debt, they had no plan for getting out of debt, they were really not doing anything in the way of adult faith formation, there was a very small youth ministry program, they were rewriting Mass on a weekly basis, and it was a very difficult place to be — not very pleasant at all. … So one of the things that I bring you is some experience of making some pretty major shifts in the ways that our community looked at catechesis and looked at itself as a community and a church.”
She noted that the parish is located in a transient community, with people being transferred every few years, but that people now make it a point to move back into the parish later on because of the strong feeling of “family” that has been built among parishioners.
Anslinger pointed out the question that must be asked is, “‘How are we growing disciples?’ Because that’s what this is all about. It’s about living discipleship; it’s about helping people grow in their relationship to Christ in a way that’s going to transform their lives.” She added, “And because all of these people as individuals are transformed, the community is transformed.”
Taking the catechumenists and the RCIA program as a model, they first addressed helping people make a connection with the Sunday Eucharist. The idea they came up with was called “For the Ride Home” and consisted of a few sentences on the week’s readings in the bulletin, along with questions family members could discuss together.
“We have to engage our adults,” she said. “If catechesis is centered around children only, we’re missing huge chunks of faith that we need to be about.” She urged not giving up if initial attendance is low for planned events and to start with parish groups and organizations that are already in place, such as PTOs or altar societies. Her parish actually started a new group, “Grace-full Women,” modeled after a nearby Methodist church’s women’s Bible study group. Ninety women showed up for the initial meeting, and a later one saw 75 show up for a special Sunday afternoon version in a driving blizzard. “Those are engaged adults,” said Anslinger.
Another event the parish initiated was a Parish Family Formation Night, which primarily centered around the celebration of the Mass, the sacraments and the seasons of the liturgical year. One night was titled “Vessels, Vestments, Symbols and Signs,” which she described as “a liturgical show and tell.” About 500 people showed up for this and were divided into three rotating groups — one at the altar, one at the font and one in the sacristy — with leaders explaining everything from the ambo to the oils. Another night went through the entire liturgical year, with stations set up on how to make family Advent calendars, decorate a Lenten alm’s box, and the like.
Two different forms of assembly were used. In the parallel assembly, children and parents would start together, but then break off into age-related groups, coming together again at the end. Intergenerational assemblies had parents and children learning at the same time, with care taken to make the “bytes” small enough to keep the children engaged. As the parish has become more involved in these programs, Anslinger has found she no longer has to do all the leading, but steps back and assists as needed, “empowering parishioners to do what they can do.”
Over the years they’ve learned that keeping things simple is paramount and it is also wise to be sure event announcements are worded in such a way that people know what to expect. The same style of event does not work for everyone and people should be able to pick and choose what works for them. “One size does not fit all,” Anslinger said. “We had to find ways of encouraging people to fall in love with Christ all over again — or maybe for the first time. And then we had to find ways to help them to nurture that friendship.”
She noted that Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, the bishops’ document on adult faith formation, offers wonderful insights. She also pointed out that the directive for adult faith formation to be “comprehensive and systematic” doesn’t mean doing it all every year. Her parish has worked out a five-year sequence for their adult formation program. Anslinger ended the morning session by asking participants to share with each other what parts of whole family catechesis formation might already be in place in their parish communities. Afternoon sessions elaborated further on this. |