Core Value Area: Religious Education (Faith Formation ... · 2/6/2016 · Core Value Area: Religious Education (Faith Formation) 6.8_Religious Education_2nd edition Page 2 Page 2

Core Value Area: Religious Education (Faith Formation)

6.8_Religious Education_2nd edition

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Sec 6.8

Goals and Objectives

Goal: As members of our faith family, we each strive to grow in our knowledge of God and our

Catholic faith. It is our goal to provide religious education opportunities for all ages, which will result

in a culture of faith sharing and mutual encouragement for one another’s faith journey.

Context: Our Scriptures guide parents in the raising of children and the importance of children in God’s

Kingdom, as in the following passages: “The Lord is keeper of little ones.” (Psalm 114:6)

“Train-up a child according to the tenor of his way, and when he is old he will not

depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

“I [Yahweh] raised-up prophets from among your children.” (Amos 2:11)

“Whoever may cause [a little one] to stumble . . . it is better for him that a weighty

millstone may be hanged on his neck.” (Mt 18:6)

And also, Scripture provides a learning guide for adults:

“[Jesus] set a little child in their midst and said: unless you be converted and become

as little children, you shall not enter the Kingdom.” (Mt 18:2–3)

[regarding the essential activities of the early faith community] “And they continued

steadfastly, sharing the teaching of the apostles, fellowship, the breaking of the

bread and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

This goal and these objectives were derived from the everyday parishioner’s sense of faith and how to grow it. It should be acknowledged here that many contemporary writings have been produced by the hierarchy in the faith formation area.1 The applicable documents should be referenced in developing action plans.

Link to Family: Children + Adults = Family. We are all life-long learners

1 Adult Education: “Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us,” U.S.C.C.B.; Children and Youth: “General Directory for

Catechesis,” U.S.C.C.B.; and Sacramental Preparation: portions of “Many Gifts, One Spirit,” policies of the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Relevant Data 2

Pastor’s Comments 10

P3 Team Comments 10

Implementation Resources 14



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Sec 6.8

Objective 1: Establish staff and commission structure(s)2 for this area of ministry

Organize structures around each ministry area (children’s, youth, adult – and future young adult), so that members may have a common interest and focus. Each of these might manifest themselves as a stand-alone commission. Alternately, to the extent that there is deemed a need for coordination or to address over-arching issues, these could be multiple sub-commissions, under a single commission

Determination of structure o To be made by the participants, ratified by the Pastoral Council, and changeable at a

future point if consensus changes o Membership is to be comprised primarily of volunteers and include people with

experience in this area of ministry, as well as people who are impacted by the ministry

Objective 2: Vocations—foster both baby steps and giant leaps

In collaboration with others, help to form a parish atmosphere in which individuals may hear

God’s call in their lives, and be encouraged to pursue their calling

o Promote and facilitate the sacrament of Holy Orders (i.e., vocations to the priesthood

and the diaconate)

o Promote marriage as a vocation and its sacramental nature.

o Raise awareness of the large number of other “vocations” to which God may be calling

an individual: religious life, lay ecclesial minister, catechist, lay leadership.

o Facilitate individuals heeding God’s call toward a vocation by assuring clear access to

“next steps”

Objective 3: Collaborate with others to heighten our parish-wide atmosphere of welcoming and

diversity. Examples might include

coordinating educational content to inform parishioners around ethnically important holidays

and celebrations

scheduling and facilitating periodic “children’s Masses”

relative to sacramental preparation, developing communications and policies that bridge gaps

between cultures and foster ownership of our collective “parish culture.”

Objective 4: Collaborate with others to facilitate solutions relative to the conflict between small

children in Mass and those parishioners whose worship is disrupted as a result of children being

children.

The solutions must charitably embrace our parish’s Core Values relative to “welcoming and diversity”

and “worship and spirituality,” and acknowledge that different issues are manifested at different age-

levels. A multi-component solution is required, and might include:

2 At the point in time this objective was written, a re-organization at the staff-level was in process. An attempt was

made, therefore, to word the objective in a way that addresses any of the organizational divisions likely to provide ministry at three levels: children, youth and adults.



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Sec 6.8

providing easily accessible space for nursing mothers, which provides sound control and a degree of privacy, without fully separating the mothers from the liturgy

strengthening the awareness and year-round operation of our parish nursery so as to invite more one- to three-year-olds into that facility

Informing parents of the availability of Children’s Liturgy of the Word at some Masses, so as to guide parents in their Mass selection

providing space (other than the Narthex with its magnifying echo characteristic) as a place for young children to run off energy and for parents to go with a disruptive child

changing rules to allow/encourage snack food for young children in the worship space (i.e., Cheerios). Note: this change would have a negative impact upon those who clean the church and upon carpet maintenance

Relevant Data

Who is served by Religious Education efforts? The following chart comes from our parish database and

other sources. It shows the age distribution of parishioners, along with brackets that sociologists use to

identify “generations.” Behavioral scientists have used this bracket system to identify predisposition to a

mindset (way of thinking) formed through the circumstances of their early lives in the U.S. (i.e., the

Great Depression, the Eisenhower 1950s, 9/11, etc.). Note: these formative influences would be

strongest with native-born parishioners, and less so with the fraction who are foreign-born.

- Note: The number of children in the parish is likely understated. Identification of children within our database is dependent upon registration for sacraments, faith formation classes, and Catholic School enrollment.

Youth & Children

Approx. 1147

individuals

Seniors

Approx. 461 individuals

Generation Z

Age

Number of parishioners at each age level



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Sec 6.8

To the extent family configurations may aid in development of action steps, see section 6.3 “Welcoming

and Diversity” for parish data (i.e., number of individuals per household, number of children, number of

heads-of-households).

How are we doing in serving adults? Based upon Gallup measures, the spiritual commitment of St.

Stephens parishioners has gone down between 2010 and 2012, while awareness of how they might

grow in their faith is on par with the best parishes in the country.

Commitment measure. Most scores within the Spiritual Commitment portion of the ME25 indicate

progress between 2010 and 2012. However, the summary question shows significant loss (total of agree

+ strongly agree 2010 = 79%, 2012 = 74%): C09 “I am a person who is spiritually committed.”

Strongly

Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Agree

SSTM 2012 2% 4% 20% 33% 41%

SSTM 2010 1% 4% 16% 37% 42%

Catholic sample 1% 4% 20% 37% 38%

Awareness measure. St. Stephens parishioners understand how they can grow in their faith. The

following chart is from our ME25 results, and shows that the adult faith formation efforts of St. Stephens

are as effective as the top churches’ Gallup surveys (Catholic and Protestant, combined).

Here are three more gauges of our adult formation efforts, all from the “engagement” side of Gallup’s

ME25 parishioner responses.

March

2012

May

2010

Gallup

national

75th

%

33%

27%

33%

30%

28%

34%

31%

28%

37%

36%

32%

39%

Measure of adult

program awareness



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Sec 6.8

How do parishioners perceive a helping hand relative to helping their spiritual growth?

(E06): “There is someone in my parish that encourages my spiritual development.”

Strongly

Disagree


Agree

SSTM 2012 7% 12% 22% 29% 30%

SSTM 2010 7% 14% 23% 29% 27%


Responses to this next question are not as affirming of our parish’s culture. (E11): “In

the past twelve months, someone in my parish has talked to me about the progress of

my spiritual growth.”

Strongly

Disagree


Agree

SSTM 2012 27% 19% 18% 17% 19%

SSTM 2010 28% 22% 19% 15% 16%


Responses to the following indicate awareness (communications effectiveness), yet not

necessarily follow-through action. (E12):“In my parish, I have opportunities to learn and grow.”

Strongly

Disagree


Agree

SSTM 2012 2% 4% 16% 33% 45%

SSTM 2010 2% 5% 21% 36% 36%


How do other Religious Education efforts serve our faith community? The following pages of charts seek

to answer that question through presenting the numbers of sacrament receivers (baptism, first

Eucharist and reconciliation, confirmation and marriage), and participant numbers for our weekly

classes serving children and youth. It is thought that historical trends are likely of interest to those

formulating future steps.

This data has been extracted from our parish’s sacramental records and the parish’s annual filing with

the Archdiocese of Seattle.



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Sec 6.8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09-10 10/11 11/12

Baptisms (infants, children & adults)

Trendline

Sacramental Data

Year

Infants, children & adults

Children and

infants, only

02/03 63 55

03/04 74 71

04/05 77 58

05/06 82 72

06/07 66 59

07/08 74 69

08/09 50 50

09/10 71 65

10/11 52 48

11/12 54 51

Year

First Eucharist (children)

02/03 89

03/04 92

04/05 60

05/06 80

06/07 71

07/08 75

08/09 60

09/10 88

10/11 48

11/12 70

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09-10 10/11 11/12

First Eucharist



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Sec 6.8

Year

Youth Confirmations

02/03 35

03/04 47

04/05 52

05/06 33

06/07 40

07/08 40

08/09 48

09/10 50

10/11 60

11/12 43

Year Marriages

02/03 16

03/04 13

04/05 21

05/06 20

06/07 11

07/08 16

08/09 18

09/10 19

10/11 10

11/12 17

Note ** RCIA includes Profession of Faith, adults baptized, and adults confirmed

Year RCIA**

02/03 15

03/04 3

04/05 19

05/06 10

06/07 14

07/08 24

08/09 30

09/10 29

10/11 16

11/12 15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12

Trendline

0

5

10

15

20

25

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09-10 10/11 11/12

Marriages

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09-10 10/11 11/12

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)



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Sec 6.8

Classes

* Starting in 2010/2011, kindergarten began to be recorded with preschool, rather than grades 1–6

Year

Pre-School (+K*)

02/03 53

03/04 39

04/05 20

05/06 12

06/07 20

07/08 24

08/09 12

09/10 12

10/11* 40

11/12* 40

Year (K*) 1-

6th

02/03 400

03/04 350

04/05 317

05/06 260

06/07 280

07/08 130

08/09 166

09/10 166

10/11* 143

11/12* 145

Note: During the 2007/2008 pastoral year St. Stephens launched G.I.F.T., a multigenerational formation program which largely replaced the weekly program for children that year. Weekly classes were resumed in 2008/2009 with G.I.F.T scaled back to four sessions per year.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11* 11/12*

Pre-School (+K)*

Trendline

0

100

200

300

400

500

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11*11/12*

(Kindergarten*) 1–6th Grade



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Sec 6.8

Classes – continued

Year Grades

7-8

02/03 72

03/04 100

04/05 71

05/06 *

06/07 80

07/08 40

08/09 70

09/10 70

10/11 50

11/12 45

Year Grades

9-12

02/03 130

03/04 100

04/05 98

05/06 75

06/07 75

07/08 65

08/09 96

09/10 96

10/11 120

11/12 90

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11*11/12*

Grades 7–8

Trendline

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11*11/12*

Grades 9–12



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Sec 6.8

Catholic Elementary Schools

Year

02/03 112

03/04 115

04/05 128

05/06 130

06/07 123

07/08 144

08/09 145

09/10 147

10/11 145

11/12 150

In addition to the above, some years the parish has supported one child in another nearby Catholic

school (i.e., St. Philomena, Holy Family)

Pastor’s Comments

a. Sec 6.8.2 – Vocations – this is a key area, perhaps especially to matrimony. Holy marriages lead to

holy families. Holy families lead to holy vocations, both to celibacy and marriage.

b. Sec 6.8.11 – The CFC situation is indicative of our need in every area of parish life to provide

encouragement and formation of the non-paid laity.

- Focusing on expectations (prayer, service, giving, inviting, celebrating) will help

- Encouraging certification is also a valuable means to increase competency in our volunteers.

c. Sec 6.8.13 – Small faith-sharing groups seems essential in such a large parish.

P3 Team Comments

The following are observations offered for consideration by those synthesizing data and developing

“action” items. They are the result of the P3 Team’s attempt to discern and synthesize inputs from the

faithful as expressed through Listening Sessions (including Focus Groups, the Discernment Event, and

various staff input sessions), and three parish surveys administered over a thirty-month period.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12

Our kids @ St. Anthony School



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Sec 6.8

Overall The good news is that a wide range of religious educational opportunities exist in our parish for all ages

and that 78%3 of those surveyed are aware of them. The bad news: the number of those involved is

decreasing (at least for those programs for which we have data4), while the parish population is

increasing. This incongruence prompts questions such as:

How might our program offerings better match the needs/wants of our parishioners?

How does the quality of existing offerings affect the desired outcomes of our people?

Are existing offerings in sync with the preferred learning styles of potential participants?

Should we consider embracing social networks like Facebook and Twitter or other technologies

to provide both education and virtual community?

Are there larger cultural issues that must be addressed first (i.e,. unemployment, overwhelming

busyness of life, etc.)?

Commission Needed

Currently all work and visioning is being done by parish staff members and their “in-the-trenches” volunteers.

The now defunct Christian Faith Commission is understood to have had the following structural flaws: a membership composed of more staff members than volunteers, too broad a scope for volunteers (most have interest and competency in one, but not all of the areas—children, youth, and adult)

Spiritual Commitment Adult “spiritual commitment5” in our parish has slipped between 2010 and 2012 (five points per Gallup’s ME25 surveys). This area needs attention from many ministry areas of the parish, including religious education. Some guidance from the Gallup Organization6:

“A parish of highly engaged yet moderately committed members would do well to focus on the

basics of expectations and meeting spiritual needs in order to increase the commitment level of

its members, thereby dramatically increasing its potential.”

Along that line, our parish’s “engagement” score has grown five points to thirty-three, in just two years. So we are on the right track and have some momentum. That said, one of the expectation “basics” to consider is Mass attendance. Note on the chart (Sec 6.2, page 2) that though the number of registered households in the parish has continued to grow, average Mass attendance has remained flat. Catechist certification A certification program for catechists has been developed by the Archdiocese of Seattle’s Faith Formation Office. Individual certification requires completion of nine class units, typically over a three-

3 Total of “agree” and “strongly agree” scores of 2012 Gallup ME25 scores, statement E12

4 Our best historical data is for programs serving children and youth. Numbers for conventional class and lecture-

type adult programs are not available. 5 “Spiritual Commitment,” as used by Gallup, is an amalgam derived from parishioner responses to ME25 survey

statements C01 through C09. 6 Member Engagement Survey Report, March 2012



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Sec 6.8

to four-year period. Currently, four volunteers and four staff members are progressing toward certification. At print time, none of these has completed the entire series or received certification. Young adult ministry, status? The P3 Team is aware that some efforts have been made to form a young adults group at St. Stephens within the last three years. However, no information on the current status of those efforts has been gathered by print time. Additionally, we are aware of efforts coordinated by the Archdiocese, toward forming regional groups around a spirituality and social program called Wine and Wisdom. For clarity, Young Adults as an age group consists of eighteen to thirty-five-year-olds, either singles, or young marrieds with no children. Sacraments and Preparation Ethnic consideration— The Focus Group portion of our data gathering revealed unhappiness with sacramental preparation requirements, especially among older members of cultural groups (grandmothers). Differences in both preparatory requirements and the roles of family members relative to sacraments exist between Seattle and the native lands of many first generation parishioners. This has led to misunderstandings and stress. Children’s Programs

Small children in Mass—Complaints by worshipers relative to distractions caused by crying and

unruly behaviors of children (ages one to four). The goal is to be both welcoming to young

families, while providing other parishioners with what they need to connect with the Divine. Our

net of services for young children (Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Nursery Services, and classes

for preschool and Kindergarten) does not cover all Masses. Note also that all our Masses

attempt to serve all audiences, thus fostering the likelihood of this conflict. Further, our facilities

do not include an area for children to “run off steam” other than the Narthex, which tends to

echo noise into the worship area.

Nursery Service—Revealed from Focus Groups was the need to increase dependability and

availability of child care during all four Masses. This writing is two years after the nursery

operation was re-started with new leadership. That said, in recent months insufficient personnel

has been available. Numbers of paid workers and volunteers have come forward to maintain

services for all four Masses. Additionally, the nursery had to close during the summer due to

staff shortage.

Preschool—Also revealed during Focus Groups is a desire for a parish-based, weekday Catholic

preschool. Subsequent research has found that Enumclaw and Burien are the closest parishes

hosting a Catholic preschool. Currently a taskforce has been authorized to develop planning

(financial, academic, policies and facilities) under the vision of opening a Catholic preschool

utilizing several rooms within our facility.

Baptism downward trend—The team suggests review of our zip code’s census data for 2010 and

2000 to determine if the trend mirrors a trend in the surrounding area, or reflects something

unique happening within our community (i.e., aging parish population, standards/process to

secure baptism for infants, etc.)

Enrollment’s downward trend—Here too the P3 Team suggests review of our zip code’s census

data for 2010 and 2000 to determine if the trend mirrors a trend in the surrounding area, or

reflects something unique happening within our community (i.e., parent busyness, parent



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Sec 6.8

prioritization of religious education below sports and school activities, aging parish population,

etc.)

Youth Programs

StrengthsQuest is a program that, in the mind of the P3 Team, should be seriously considered as

a component in the Confirmation program, or as a late high school/early college bridge

program. It is a permutation of Gallup’s StrengthsFinders, specifically designed for late teens

(adds career-search component). It is backed by the Archdiocese and is being successfully

employed in other areas of the country. Feedback from Chicago is that it serves as a

communication bridge between teens and parents (parents, who have taken the Gallup

assessment and studied Living Your Strengths).

We are transitioning from a staff member for our junior high programs and a second for our

senior high, to a single staff member for both. This transition has caused stress on staff and

volunteers alike, as they adjust to this new reality.

Adult Programs

Adult learning should be understood in a wider context than a classroom lecture. Outreach

volunteers and participants in parish governance (lay leadership) are individuals seeking to

grow, as well as serve. Structuring the various “volunteer opportunities” with components of

both spiritual growth and functional training heightens service to a life-giving experience for

individuals.

Small group experiences—This is a proven venue for spiritual growth and Christian fellowship.

Current education programs for adults include: Scripture Study, Fr. Ed’s Catechism, the

Catholicism video series by Fr. Robert Barrons, RCIA, Returning Catholics, and StrengthsFinders

groups.

Additionally, one-day or multi-day events are instruments for adult formation (i.e., days of

reflection, parish missions, etc.)

Parish wants (see Data Compilation—version 3, found in section 7.1.7 )

Relationship with the Lord necessary

To grow in knowledge through

o Scripture Study

o Catechism training (desire for ‘authentic Catholic teaching’

o Faith-building and formation

To promote a culture of Faith Sharing

To be a community of individuals who encourage each other’s spiritual growth and faith

journey

Intergenerational Approach

Parents are the first teachers. Involvement of parents in the education of their children is

paramount for effective formation in faith.

o Parents’ insecurity relative to their own faith knowledge is a challenge. That said,

consider the axiom: the best way to learn is to teach. There is double benefit in



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Sec 6.8

providing parents with materials for the children’s home study and in recruiting and

training parents as volunteer catechists

o Challenge: perceived busyness and complicated priorities of young parents (see P3

Comments in sec 6.4 “Lay Involvement,” for further perspectives on this challenge)

Implementation Resources The following are data points noted by the Team and are offered here for consideration by those developing action initiatives.

Current offerings

Children’s Programs o During school year

Nursery / child care (during Sunday morning Masses) Children’s Liturgy of the Word (all Sunday Masses: 8:30 A.M., 11:00 A.M., AND

5:30P.M.) Preschool (between Sunday morning Masses) Children’s classes, grades K–4 Connections classes, grades 5 & 6

o Summer Vacation Summer Camp

Youth Programs o During school year

LifeTeen Mass each Sunday (5:30 P.M.) Junior High classes

Senior high classes

Service activities, in collaboration with Outreach (i.e. meals for homeless

shelter, backpacks for homeless, food bags for elderly)

Archiocesan weekend events: Convention, Ralley

Living Stations of the Cross (experiential faith formation)

Retreat weekends: two Junior High Quest, one Senior High Quest

Confirmation—sacramental prep

Fundraisers as formation element (‘stock sale,’ two dinners and two breakfasts)

o Summer

Yakima Mission

Stakeholder meeting (Yakima Mission report and celebration)

Adult Programs

o During school year

Catholic Scripture Study

Returning Catholics—ten-week small group experience

Fr. Ed’s Catechism & special classes

Fr. Robert Barron’s Catholicism series

RCIA

Parent-Parish Partnership evening, an annual gathering for faith development of

parents whose children are in Catholic elementary schools



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Sec 6.8

Safe Environment—predator awareness (for adult audiences)

Baptism—sacramental prep for parents and godparents

Marriage—sacramental prep

Parish mission or other adult enrichment series

o Liturgical seasons—Days of Reflection (Advent and Lent)

o Year-round

StrengthsFinders—Developed by the Gallup Organization, this consists of a

talents assessment, a four-week study group experience, and periodic pot-luck

gatherings

Safe Environment initial training for volunteers and new employees

Intergenerational Programs

o School year

First Eucharist and Reconciliation—sacramental prep

Past offering—G.I.F.T. Evenings (Generations In Faith Together) was run six to

eight times per year between 2006 and 2009. Participation ranged from 150–

500 per evening.

Current offering—A version of G.I.F.T. targeted for students in the children’s

programs and their parents has been presented two or three times per year

since fall 2009.

Data Compilations—relevant research (summarizes includes all sources, except 2012 Gallup ME25

Survey)

Youth Ministry—See sec 7.1.1

Adult faith formation—See sec 7.1.7

Children’s ministry—See sec 7.1.16

Young adults—See sec 7.1.17

Spiritual Commitment of parishioners

Sec 7.2 Gallup Survey Reporter, pages 8 &



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Sec 6.8

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