Into the Fields

Into the Fields
Catechist and Teacher Formation
Core Religious Community Formation

Resources offered
on this site

                 Forming and Shaping a Parish-based
                              Religious Community
               See the step by step process outlined below!

Introduction
The Challenge Before Us

In “the old days,” we had the sisters and brothers in our schools. We had
a strong cadre of diocesan priests in our seminaries and rectories. We
had traveling missionaries and summer vacation Bible school with religious
women. In dozens of other ways, the Church benefited from the presence
of dedicated priests and members of religious communities.

When we built our Catholic schools or started our parish ministry
programs, the atmosphere and spirit of those parishes & schools was
largely established by the presence of abundant diocesan priests plus
religious communities of sisters or brothers. They prayed together daily
in their communities. They lived the vowed life. And the spirit of their
shared life and communities spread into their daily work in our Catholic
parishes and schools. The formation which the priests, sisters and
brothers received was thus transferred into their ministry among us.

And even when priests or members of religious communities left their
vows, many times they remained active in the Church and active in our
parishes. Their powerful presence continued!

What made our parishes and schools so “Catholic” in nature was not their
names (St. Mark’s or St. Anne’s), but the strong, lived faith of that parish
staff or school faculty.

But today the situation has changed. Our parishes and schools are
staffed mainly by us lay persons, who come and go from daily life very
differently than the priests, sisters and brothers did. We simply are not in
regular formation, and we aren’t bringing the charism and spirit of seminary
formation or a religious congregation into the hallways and classrooms of
our schools or into the youth ministry, RCIA, religious ed, liturgical, or
pastoral care ministries of the parish.

Oh, indeed, a small number of priests, sisters and brothers remain with us
in our ministry today, but that small number only serves to illustrate our
need to do deep, profound formation for lay people who take on leadership
in the Church.

It isn’t that our lay staff is unfaithful, or of poor heart, or even that the lay
staff isn’t capable. Goodness knows that lay people bring new gifts and are
often well educated and prepared. But without the on-going formation
provided by religious life, it’s very hard for our parishes and schools
to maintain that deep, profound, Catholic character and atmosphere.

The solution:
Form a “core religious community” in the parish
The solution: form religious communities right within our parishes, of lay
people, together with priests and sisters. These communities would be
quite open, with people making short term commitments to be more fully
engaged with their spiritual journeys. They would form at the heart of the
parish, providing a powerful engine from which will flow a deep spiritual
center for parish life. This center is the key. It’s the powerhouse that will
sustain lifelong formation for the whole community.

I mean, let’s face it. When you come right down to it, parishes are in fact
religious communities, aren’t they? We all take “vows” at baptism. And we
are all called to life the life of faith, formation, and generous giving which
our priests, sisters, and brothers have always shown us. If certain
members of each parish felt the call to a deeper religious life whether
married or not, and they came together twice a month for various kinds of
formation, would that not create a powerful central heart of faith which
would spread and grow within the community?

But how would we do this? What would it look like? How could we provide
such deep formation at the parish? Here are some ideas and steps to
consider in forming such communities within your parish:

1. Use this plan as a blueprint, but not as a strict outline. Each parish will
have a different experience, based on local customs, cultures, and needs.

2. Begin by choosing a leader. This could be the pastor. Or it could be a
Sister or Brother. Or it could be a former member of a religious community.
Or it could be a lay person whose had some level of previous formation.
This leader will
 Work with the pastor and staff of the parish or school
 Convene the community and provide leadership to it
 Facilitate the formation process using Into the Fields or another process
 Create a community calendar of retreats, prayer opportunities, Into the
Fields formation sessions, and so forth
 Guard to be certain that the mission of this community is outward, not
inward

3. The commitment each participant is asked to make is simple:
 Enter for as long as you are able, but we ask for a two year commitment
 Bring your heart and faith with you to this process
 Be a public servant of the parish
 Agree to the deep formation process including retreats, Into the Fields
formation, prayer, spiritual reading, and community life

4. Be careful not to create a “closed” community, or a clique within the
parish. The purpose of this community is to invite forward certain leaders
to create a prayerful, powerful presence within the parish, from which will
flow a series of initiatives for lifelong faith formation for the entire parish!

The name of your community is important. If your parish is called St.
Mark’s, then name your community St. Mark’s Core Religious
Community (CRC). It’s important to locate the core religious community at
the center of the parish itself, not outside it. Therefore,
 The schedule of prayer for the CRC should often be open to anyone from
the parish who wishes to take part
 But sometimes it must be an activity of the CRC itself.
 The annual retreats of the CRC (using the Living Christ format) may be
open to anyone from the parish
 But sometimes it’s good to gather as a community without others
present for the purpose of formation
 The key is that this CRC be at the heart of the parish. It does not have
property, rules, or any life outside of the central needs of the parish. It’s
purpose is to serve the parish.

Care must be taken not to assume or imply that only the members of this
core religious community are “in Christ.” In fact, many households and
people within the parish are fully faithful. The vocation to be part of the
core religious community is a special vocation which not everyone who is
faithful will have.

5. Into the Fields. This CRC will need some kind of “formation process”
into which parish leaders could enter together, to grow in their faith. Such
a process should
 Offer guided entry into deep spiritual exercises (such as those developed
by Ignatius Loyola for his Jesuit community members). Such exercises
would lead people through an ever-deeper process of immersion in the life
of Christ.
 Be a process based on sharing the journey of faith. Only when we share
this journey do we form community and grow ourselves.
 Provide participants with a full review of all Catholic teaching – but with a
focus on integrating Catholic theology and spirituality deeply into our lives
so that we can pass it on to others “naturally.”
 And practice the very skills we need to transfer this to classrooms, the
RCIA, youth ministry, and lifelong formation for the whole parish.

With this challenge in mind, we have developed a resource that is powerful
and effective – and affordable. With a grant from the Augustinians of the
Assumption (the religious congregation which owns Twenty-Third
Publications) we drew together a team to study this and develop a
formation process for parish and school faculties and staff, one that is
transferable to our ministries.

Into the Fields includes those elements of religious formation that most
help the faculty members shape an atmosphere and spirit of Catholicism –
• the powerful presence of Christ,
• the sense of the sacramental,
• a love for the poor,
• a strong understanding of the spiritual life,
• a full review of the content of our Faith,
• respect for Catholic authority,
This is a parish or school-based process. As people step forward to commit
themselves to a deeper religious life, they are not asked to travel many
miles to diocesan centers for formation. They gather instead with a
facilitator (we provide the manuals for this!) right there in the parish.

6. Living Christ Retreats
Throughout history, Christians have made retreats. Every bishop, priest,
sister, or brother in the Church is expected to make at least one annual
retreat. They have been a vital part of deep formation since the 2nd
Century.

It goes without saying then, that if we lay people are going to form a Core
Religious Community within the parish, we must ourselves make an annual
retreat. For this purpose, we suggest the Living Christ retreat (available at
this web site, PastoralPlanning.com and fully reproducible – click on retreats
on the home page).

7. Public installation at Mass. To us it seems natural that those who step
forward to join this CRC should be publicly installed, using a short Rite on
Sunday mornings. Such a public installation provides for (1) the catechesis
of the entire parish as they see certain people step forward to join the
Core Religious Community, and (2) the formation of the persons
themselves who take this solemn step.

For a rite with which to install community members, and for many other
details about this process, click here for the full set of notes on these Core
Communities.

Powerful and Effective Formation
If we aren't ourselves in deep communion with Christ and knowledgeable
about our faith, how can we pass it on to others?

Pastoral Planning
A step-by-step guide:
Dreams & Visions:
Pastoral Planning
for Lifelong Faith Formation
A new book which includes a
chapter outlining those
all-important Planning Team
Meetings.

Training
How to teach your parish
about lifelong formation
including excellent PowerPoint
presentations to download and
use, complete with presentation
notes.

Implementation
How to state and sustain faith
sharing throughout the parish using
the
Question of the Week
With free prayer sheets.

Prayer Services
to accompany faith sharing.
You can download and use these
in 5 minutes!

Outlines for adult
or intergenerational
Faith Gatherings
linked to your children's textbook
series.

Outlines for adult
B ible Studies
which are in plain English!
Download each session and get all
you need in one item.

Complete plans for
Parish Based Retreats
in several practical scheduling
formats.

Background Material
All the current books
you need to better understand
lifelong formation, plus free articles
you can download, copy, and use.

Vatican II
Lots of strong resources
to help you teach about the
Council.
We are approaching the 50th
Anniversary of the date on which
John XXIII called Vatican II: Jan
25, 1959.

To purchase
Into the Fields

click HERE.