On Sunday, the parish bulletin had a blurb announcing an adult faith formation class: “The Dark Night of Mother Teresa.” That got me thinking about how we go about adult faith formation in our parishes.

It is possible the Mother Teresa lecture was standing-room only. I didn’t end up going, so I don’t know. But I have been to dozens of other adult formation sessions over the years, and in most cases, there were gallons of leftover coffee that had to be thrown out. Even with the “blockbuster” topics that attract 15 or 20 people, the participants were usually the party faithful who show up for everything. What kind of topics will attract new faces to our parishes?

Is adult faith formation formative?

I did a quick Google search of some faith formation sessions currently being offered in parishes around the country. Scan the list and see if you notice anything common about them:

1. The Practice of Lectio Divina
2. The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Writings of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI
3. Bible Basics
4. Reflecting on the Bishops’ Letter: Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us
5. Sacraments in General
6. Church Ecclesiology
7. God and Revelation
8. Men’s CRHP XV Weekend
9. The Joy of Stewardship

What I notice is they all have an “inside baseball” feel to them. That is, you have to be a pretty well-formed Catholic already to even know what some of the topics are about, much less be interested in attending. As we are thinking of adult formation sessions, I wonder if we wouldn’t do better to look at our topics through the eyes of the occasional visitor. If a stranger, perhaps someone who wasn’t even Christian, comes to our parish next Sunday, what kinds of topics would attract him or her to make a return visit?

Reform your formation topics

I reworked the list above to cover the same topics, but from a different slant:

1. An Ancient Spiritual Practice that Will Change Your Life
2. The Pope, the New York Times, and the Abuse Scandal: Separating Fact from Fiction
3. Learn the Ancient Secrets of the Bible—In One Hour
4. Discover the Key Practices for a Joyful, Passionate Life
5. Is God In Your Life? How to Know for Sure
6. How to be Spiritual but Not Religious
7. Is God Speaking to You? How to Train Your Spiritual Ear
8. Male Spirituality: The Key to Becoming a Wisdom-Figure for Your Children, Your Wife, and Your Friends
9. The Gulf-Oil-Spill Crisis: What Is the Christian Response?

What do you think? Which topics sound more exciting to you? What have you done in your parish to attract new faces? Please share your ideas.

2 Responses to “How to run out of coffee at your next adult ed session”

1. Leota says:

   May 13, 2010 at 4:10 pm

   Nice job, Nick!
2. Nick Wagner says:

   May 13, 2010 at 4:18 pm

   Thanks Leota!