Adult education has been on my heart in a growing way over the last few years. Of course, if you had told me ten years ago, when I was first roped in began my volunteering as a catechist that I would be leaning toward adult education, I would have laughed so hard I would have fallen over.
“True,” I might have said, “I enjoy older kids. But adults? I don’t know enough to teach adults!”
And that would have just been the beginning of the conversation.
It didn’t take long as a catechist, back when I taught 3rd grade, to see that the connection was really with parents. My role, I quickly saw, was as more a farmer or gardner than a harvester.
I planted seeds, and I wasn’t even the primary planter. I was just helping.
That’s come home to me over the years, as I’ve worked with various age-groups (now primarily 5th grade and our 8th grade Confirmation class). Much of the time, the parents don’t know more than the kids. Many of them are almost terrified to take the reins, to teach, to take the lead.
I understand that. I do.
And it also breaks my heart.
I’ve been a catechist almost as long as I’ve been Catholic. I don’t know more than many of the people around me, but I do have this gift of teaching.
And the longer I teach, guide, and work with the kids, the more I’m convinced that we need something for adults.
But there are at least three huge hurdles, and I face them myself:
1. Lack of Time
I haven’t been to a parish Bible study or faith formation program in years. I’m in the season of small kids, and my husband works long hours.
2. Lack of Childcare
In our small parish, babysitting isn’t an option. I’m not saying it should be—coordinating childcare presents a whole other set of challenges, and I speak as one who’s tried to coordinate that for parish programs in the past).
3. Lack of Inclination
I also find that I’m done in the evenings: I don’t even want to leave the house or cut into the hour or so of awake time I might be lucky enough to get with my husband or a book.
So what can we do?
Recently, I reviewed a new Bible study program from Ascension Press over at CatholicMom.com. At the end of the post, I mentioned that if anyone was game for an online study, leave a comment.
We received so much feedback so quickly that we’re going to be organizing something to meet that need. And it made me think of the truths I’ve learned about adult catechesis in the years I’ve taught kids:
First, meet them where they are.
It might be the backyard, it might be via email, and it might be online. Everyone’s busy. In fact, saying you’re busy doesn’t even catch my attention anymore, because everyone I know is busy.
You might share a book or a talk. You might invite them to pray the rosary at a certain time tomorrow for a certain intention. You might have an online post to share.
This year, I’ve made a commitment to email every single lesson to the parents of my 5th graders the night before our class. I also make it available via a Facebook page I’ve set up for our class. And you know what? They read it. I know, because the kids have told me in various ways. I know, because although I never ever get a reply, I see the fruits of it in my class.
If the only catechesis those parents are getting is that email, then it’s better than nothing. If all they know is that their child is working on a trivia question and needs some help from them so they can get candy at the end of class, maybe it’s something they will learn too.
Second, be persistent.
Don’t give up. And don’t count low attendance as a reason to quit. If only one person attends or participates or gives you feedback, your efforts still matter.
Measuring isn’t a bad thing, but it is something that I often find discouraging, especially when I use metrics that remind me that the effort I’ve put into something far exceed the “payoff” I think I’m supposed to get.
In our parish, we’ve had a Lenten Soup Supper program for five years. It’s a simple program: a meal of soup, bread, and fruit, along with a brief program. This year, we had turnout that shocked everyone. But two years ago hardly anyone attended. Had our organizer not stuck with it, she would have never had a chance to be shocked at running out of chairs and needing another set of bowls.
Third, smile.
Why do I need a reminder to enjoy myself? Maybe it’s that I take myself too seriously. Maybe it’s that I forget that the Catholic Church gives me more reasons to smile than almost anything else in my life. (Without the Catholic Church, I wouldn’t have met my husband or had my kids, and those kids crack me up hourly.)
Our faith is JOYFUL. It’s not always fun. It’s not always happy. It’s not always feel-good. But it should inspire a smile.
And smiles are contagious. They make people want to jump in.
All that said, I’m still looking.
There are some tremendous online programs, such as Living the Beatitudes, which starts today. I suspect this is where the future of adult education lies, but I also know from personal parish experience that people are looking for that local connection and relational opportunity.
What are your thoughts?
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So much of what you said resonates with me! So many parents and even volunteer catechists are under-catechized, and, yes, it’s heart-breaking. Our parish has a moms’ group where little kids can play together and moms can talk about the Bible. It’s lasted for years and it’s great support, but the level of catechesis depends hugely on the leader. I have also hosted a book club in my home every Wednesday morning when most kids are at school. We read a spiritual book out loud so there’s no “work” to do outside of the club. It’s a huge spiritual support for me and way to connect with my friends on a regular basis. I have to say, despite the benefits of face-to-face, an online study sounds intriguing.
Karee, I have a few small groups, and you remind me that I should do a whole post about the benefits of small groups for adults. I love the idea of reading aloud as you’re together…I did that once in a group (one I’m still a part of, but we don’t so much have catechesis).
My version: “True,” I might have said, “I enjoy adults. But kids? I don’t have the patience to teach kids!”
One thing our parish tried was to offer an adult class during our Catechism timeslot. Sometimes only one parent would attend (we have about 150 kids in Wednesday evening Catechism). WE punted after that first year. What we learned was that parents were going to the nearby mall, or even nearer downtown- a chance for a little date.
In general, Catholics are simply incurious about their faith. Horses…water.
Christian, I don’t know…I find that when I get the adults engaged, they *are* interested. I think sometimes it comes back to that “no time” thing. They don’t feel like they can handle one more thing. So how do we sneak it in?
And doing it during the RE time slot is a hit or miss for us, too. For one thing, space is an issue. For another, they are GLAD to have a few “free” moments. (And…I can’t blame them. I *want* to, but I can’t!)
The local Fundiegelicals make it work, they’re probably as overscheduled as the Papists.
Sarah,
You’ve really hit on so much today. We as a parish filled with post – vatican II babies like ourselves have so many badly catechized adults with children it can seem overwhelming to find a way to reach them. Our parish has a ton of young families so our CCE programs are filled to the brim. Yet, our bible studies and other activities mostly attract the over 50 crowd. I believe it is due to many of the reasons you state above. One small way we are trying to combat it is to get information to them where they are – via Facebook. Our parish Facebook page posts not just about things going on in the parish, but really more about all things Catholic. From scripture, to Pope Francis quotes, articles about current things, snippets about feast days and lots of pictures. So many of us are so busy we don’t notice our faith in the day to day, so putting out that constant reminder (and educational info) on social media I hope is making a small difference.
In an attempt to reach other busy moms and ladies, several of us at my parish got together and are hosting a ladies (mom’s night out) bunco night. A night of social and fun in the parish hall on a Friday night. The hope is that if we can get our moms to socialize in the parish, we might be more willing to come to something “formally educational” in the future. If we decide to start a Mom’s group or Mom’s bible study they might be more comfortable making the effort to come since they would be friends with more people.
Thank you for this really important and challenging topic.
Lisa, thanks so much for these great ideas! I manage our parish FB page and maybe I should do a “Catholic” post each day in addition to the newsy/parish post I do… Hmmm. 🙂
Great post, Sarah. Yes. Busy is a problem.
I’m discovering that very small groups are the way the go. Right now I’m involved in two: a family-to-family gathering one Sunday afternoon a month, and a ladies’ book study one Friday evening a month. The Sunday thing started as a laid-back version of a Little Flowers club, and has morphed into that + Moms and Toddlers Chat Time + Boys and Men Sports Time. We schedule it for 1:30, so after Mass & lunch, but before dinner, which simplifies food logistics.
The Ladies Book club was initially a, “Should we have a mom’s night out?” and one of the moms wisely suggested we make it a Bible study. Makes such a difference, to have a planned focus on the faith — even though our conversations wander through all topics, not necessarily the planned book — rather than a generic chit-chat time. One of the rules is that you’re allowed to come even if you haven’t done the reading. Another rule is that you don’t have to come to every meeting.
The faith component made such a difference on the ladies’ group, because the husbands are good with doing single-dad that night, because they know we get so much out of it. And we moms are good with imposing a night a month of sorry-no-mom-on-duty for the same reason. Also, when one of us is in a childcare pinch, we just make arrangements with the host family to bring the littles along and let them watch a movie or something. Nursing babies-in-arm are fair game any time.
Both of these are 100% lay initiatives, no official parish sponsor (and the members are from mulitple parishes), and we just take turns hosting at our various homes.
Jen, in my personal life things very much like what you mention are what work for me. And I think this is the future of catechesis. We need to find a way to support it at a parish level…or maybe encourage it is a better way to phrase that.
This is such an important conversation. I appreciate you, Sarah, so much, for cutting through the dull philosophizing and breast-beating to encouraging possibilities, in your usual intelligent, good-humored way. I’m saving this article for a folder I’m building on hi-tech solutions to the problem of catechesis.
Love,
Lisa
Just last week I noted you have a FB acc’t….became impressed. I am a ‘cradle Catholic’, involed myself in the travel industry in the ‘travel industry’ re Pilgramages, inviting speakers of Mary…Wayne Weible where our Cathedral in Albany, NY was filled with 700, mostly adults and parents..young adults, yes. I am left overwhelmed with the life story of MICHAEL RUSSELL O’BRIEN and his visits ‘all over’, many times returning to a parish 2 and 3 times…ck his FB and mine as well..the both of us have taken time out of our ‘every day life’ for 25 years, yes 25 years gathering pilgrims for many states and in many instances staying in touch with them have found their visit(s) to Our Lady’s Shrine and Holy Ground in Medugorje truly changed their lives. In closing..I want to offer a MARIAN CONFERENCE here on the ‘right coast’..so many have existed on the ‘left coast’…I have folks as Christina Georgotas, Christine Watkins, Michael ‘O, Wayne Weible and Daniel Klimek..ALL ON FB. Off to N.D. in 3 weeks for the ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON MEDUGORJE…Christina G, Dan K and Michael ‘O are speakers. Blessings to you and family, Lisa