Adult Faith Formation

Catholic Adult Faith Essentials

Are you someone who has just started listening, or is regularly listening, to Fr Mike Schmitz’ daily podcast, “The Catechism in a Year”? Do you have questions about some of Fr. Mike’s presentations, or would you like more discussion about them? Do you want to learn more about the contents of the Catechism in a comfortable adult group setting? This series of presentations may be just what you and others have been asking for. You can attend just one, or all the presentations—each one has different content.

Join Jack and Karen Henz—our parish’s husband and wife catechist team: Certified Catechist Trainers and Graduates of Kino Catechetical Institute—to learn more about your Catholic faith!

This series of ten, six-hour classes, approved by the Diocese of Phoenix, give an overview of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and includes discussion. They are the same classes taught at the Kino Institute in the Diocese of Phoenix offices. Participation in, and completion of all ten, will lead to “Catechist Certification” with the Diocese of Phoenix.

• The first class will meet Sat, Sep 9, 8:30am-3:00pm, and is completed on Sat, Sep 16, 8:30-11:30am.
• Each month, a different section from each of the 4 “Pillars” of the Catechism will be discussed. Classes are only held on one or two Saturdays a month; most meet 8:30am-12:30pm, Sep 2023 to May 2024. A schedule of dates will be provided at the first class.
• Classes meet in the upper classrooms 7-8-9 (Next to the Faith Formation Office)
• Lecture format, with many handouts are provided. No Homework is required!

Essentials of the Catholic Faith classes are for:

• All Catholic adults who are interested in learning more about their faith, growing closer to Jesus and who may be seeking answers to questions they have been asked by others. This more than an ‘Introduction to Catholicism’ for those wanting to become Catholic in an RCIA/OCIA program.
• Those who want a refresher on some aspects of Catholic teaching or practices found in the Catechism, because they volunteer in parish ministries such as youth religious education, middle and high school ministries, sacramental preparation, Eucharistic ministry, Prison Ministry, OCIA/ RCIA, Adult Faith Formation, and/ or Bible Studies, etc.
• Those who want to earn a ‘Catechist Certificate” with the Diocese of Phoenix, or are seeking recertification hours for their current Catechist Certification.

Although there is no charge for this class, Pre-Registration by Thursday before each class is required, in order to have a sufficient number of photocopied handouts for everyone attending. We may not have sufficient copies for drop-ins.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Franciscan at Home

The Catechetical Institute Franciscan University (FUCI), of Steubenville, OH, developed an online, adult Catholic education learning program accessed through a personal account with password, on their website:  FranciscanAtHome.com.

Steve Greene, Director of the Kino Institute, is the Administrative Leader for the Diocese of Phoenix and Karen & Jack Henz are the program leaders for Corpus Christi Parish; additional leaders will be added.

There are no individual or parish fees associated with using the website’s Workshops or Tracks.

The program embraces adult learning, which focuses on viewing a number of short videos and completing associated tasks - not tests - completed at a pace appropriate to a group or individual, without any fixed completion date. The Franciscan University Workshop presenter is the subject matter expert. Facilitators of group learning do not require any special training or credentialing.

WHO may access this resource?

Bishop Olmsted authorized payment of the annual enrollment fee for the entire Diocese of Phoenix. He encouraged everyone to participate and grow in faith.

Any clergy, parishioner or family member, employee or volunteer in any parish, school, or organization in the Diocese of Phoenix is eligible to enroll and take any Workshop/ Track.

Individuals need to create their own, personal login account. Click blue button below to get started.

WHY did the Diocese of Phoenix enroll every parish in the Program?

Potential application of the program in parishes for:

• Bible Study groups
• Home-based, small Christian communities
• Spirituality groups, liturgical teams, men’s and women’s adult-study groups, or any ministry seeking focused presentations from a spiritually and doctrinally-sound expert
• Parent faith formation groups meeting at the same time as grade school faith formation classes
• Individual learning for faith formation
• Individual or group learning for recertification of Catechists and Master Catechists/Catechist Trainers

The program provides a large number of excellent, Catholic-based, continuing education opportunities in specific learning areas. Many of the topics are unique and readily available because it was developed and maintained by Franciscan University at Steubenville. Workshop presenters are leading experts with advanced degrees in all areas of spiritualty and Catholic teaching.

The program provides standardized learning modules – Workshops - as well as Certificates of accomplishment after completion of a full Track of required and elective Workshops. Individuals may choose to complete one or more Workshops in a variety of unassociated topics, or, they can focus on specific Workshops that lead to completion of a Track and Certificate. There is no limit to the number of Workshops or Tracks an individual or group may complete. Some of the workshops & tracks are also available in Spanish.

WHAT is available?

The current database includes 170+ Workshops (English and Spanish) and 16 Tracks (13 English, 3 Spanish). Some of the Workshop Topics in the searchable database include:

• Spirituality in general, and ministering to specific age groups such as children, youth, or adults
• The structure and purpose of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, catechetical topics and the Sacraments, catechetical methodologies
• Mentoring and leadership, parenting skills
• Focuses on special ministries such as for those who are Hispanic
• Many additional Workshops are in development.

Each Workshop:

• Takes approximately 2 1/2 to 4 hours to complete (video viewing & completion of tasks).
• Has one or more pages of downloadable, PDF Handouts. Each Workshop also requires the completion of a workshop content evaluation at its conclusion.
• For those maintaining certification as catechists, etc., three hours of Kino-approved continuing education are given for each completed Workshop following the FUCI guidelines for completing the described tasks.
• The Workshops may be completed with or without an assigned “Mentor”. There is a need to establish a team of “Mentors” at Corpus Christi to work with learners.  That process is being developed over the next couple of months.  More to come later.

Each Track:

• Requires completion of a specific number of required and elective “Workshops” as defined by FUCI. After completion of a “Track”, FUCI will issue a certificate.
• The “Diocese of Phoenix Track” leads to certification of a “Catechist Trainer/Master Catechist” for those who are Kino Graduates or who have a Master’s or Bachelor’s of Theology or Philosophy from a Catholic university or college. At this time, the Diocese of Phoenix recognizes only this track as a condition for a specific Diocese role/title.