More than 100 parish leaders and teams from across the Diocese of Phoenix took part in a daylong seminar at Mount Claret Retreat Center in Phoenix on Jan. 25.
The event, held in conjunction with the National Community of Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), is the first of five workshops given by national consultants over the next two years as part of a grant-funded project designed to be responsive to today’s families.
The grant program encompasses 200 Catholic parishes throughout the U.S., including 19 teams from the Diocese of Phoenix.
The Phoenix Diocese’s Office of Evangelization, Discipleship and Spirituality (OEDS)
organized the bilingual seminar that was led by the NCCL’s national consultants, Denise Utter and Carla Ferrando-Bowling. The project, funded largely by the Lilly Foundation, comes at a time when focus has turned toward forming the whole family, not just children.
Two consultants are assigned to Phoenix for the next five years to support participating parishes in the diocese as they fulfill the goal identified in the name of the project: Families at the Center of Faith Formation.
“Since parents are the first transmitters of the faith, we want to help equip them for that goal, by focusing on the first two decades of their children’s lives,” said Diane Saunders, director of the OEDS.
“Many young families and young people in general are looking for meaningful and relevant ways to remain active in their Catholic faith,” she said.
“We are hopeful in the research and creative approaches the NCCL has crafted through this grant-funded project to support parishes in being responsive to the needs of families today.”
The all-day Saturday event was an opportunity for OEDS staff to work alongside those involved with families and faith formation at the parish level. The five-year, grant-funded project will engage 30,000 Catholic parents and their families by exploring how to strengthen faith transmission at home in the first two decades of life.
“It is about creating parish communities that intentionally accompany and support parents and the whole family,” Saunders said.
The 100-plus participants came from throughout the diocese, including Our Lady of the Lake in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Sacred Heart in Prescott, Ariz., and St. Mary in Kingman, Ariz., as well as other rural parishes, plus urban and suburban parishes such as St. Jerome and St. Patrick.
There were 10 cohorts in English and nine in Spanish. Vicar General and Moderator of the
Curia for the Phoenix Diocese, Fr. John Muir, was also on hand for an opening prayer and to launch the five-year journey for parish teams.
Cohorts met individually to discuss feedback they received from parents of religious education students at their respective parishes. The task was to then take that input and plan programs tailored to meet the unique needs of individual parishes.
Jose Antonio Martinez, director of the Office of Marriage, Family Life and Spirituality for the Diocese of Phoenix, took part in the seminar. The members of the Spanish-speaking group expressed optimism regarding the changes taking place at the diocesan level, he said.
“They shared their gratitude for being invited to participate and emphasized how much this unity is needed in the Church,” Martinez said. “A couple of their leaders remarked on the importance of the formation and research being provided, describing it as invaluable.”
Jay and Lupita Alvarado, from St. Mary Parish in Chandler, have two daughters in the parish religious education program. Jay, who teaches RE at St. Mary’s, attended the seminar alongside Lupita.
“I thought it was an excellent workshop,” Jay said. “We came together as a team, and it was helpful in focusing and putting everything on the table.”
That meant brainstorming and including everyone’s ideas. The process will then help them to see what resources they might need and where the gaps are so they can decide where to go from there.
Lupita said she learned the importance of being a good listener.
“I learned a lot of things,” she said. “Not just about RE but also things to apply to my life.”
