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January 24, 2017, Detroit – Through her recent book, Deepening Faith: Adult Faith Formation in the Parish (Liturgical Press, 2017), Adrian Dominican Sister Janet Schaeffler, OP, hopes to help parishes in a vital area of ministry: the faith formation of adult Catholics.
In a telephone interview, Sister Janet said that the book’s aim is to address the hunger for deeper spirituality and faith formation. “A lot of people in the pews want more,” she said. “They know they need to keep growing in their faith,” but in many cases, parishes put more resources into faith formation for the children.
Deepening Faith is written for parish staff members and parishioners serving on their parish council, education commission, or adult faith formation committee. “The aim is to help parish staff and people in leadership positions in the parish plan for a vibrant adult faith formation in their parish,” Sister Janet explained.
Chapters define adult faith formation, help parishes to lay the foundation and build their programming, offer motivation for starting a program for adult Catholics, and discuss the differences between children and adults in faith formation.
A section called “Hands-on Help,” follows each chapter and offers parish leaders “concrete suggestions and ideas about what we talked about in that chapter,” Sister Janet said. Resources and a set of discussion starters are also provided to help parish leaders relate the material to their own parish.
The central message of the book, Sister Janet said, is the need for adult Catholics today to be more deeply grounded in their faith. “If we as Catholic Christians today are going to make a difference in the world and if we’re going to connect faith with our everyday life, there have to be ongoing opportunities for Catholics to explore and more deeply understand their faith and their life experiences in light of their faith.”
Sister Janet noted a diversity among Catholic adults: some hunger for greater depth in their faith formation, some remain busy in other areas of their lives and don’t see the need to grow in their faith, and others already have a deep faith but long for more.
Years ago, as a Church, Catholics might have gotten the message that all they need is 12 years in Catholic school or in religious education. “There’s nothing further from the truth,” Sister Janet said. But because some Catholics have gotten that message, parish leaders need to reach out to adult Catholics and motivate them to grow in their faith.
The needs for adult faith formation have not changed over the years, but they have intensified, Sister Janet believes. “We’re in a consumeristic society, so parishioners pick and choose what’s going to help them. We haven’t helped people to realize the place of faith and spirituality in their lives, so they’re picking and choosing and going other places.”
At the same time, in the retreats, parish missions, and workshops that Sister Janet has conducted over the years, she has encountered numerous Catholics who are strong in their faith but still want more.
“Their experiences of God are phenomenal,” she said. “Walking with them, listening to them, has helped me and made me more committed to the need to provide places for people in our parishes to talk about their God experiences. I think parishes need to be more proactive in providing safe and comfortable places for people to keep growing, to question, to talk about their experiences.”
In writing Deepening Faith, Sister Janet has drawn on her years of experience in adult faith formation, both at the diocesan and at the parish level, as well as in her workshops and retreats.
Sister Janet has written several other books, including numerous Advent reflection booklets for Twenty-third Publications and books on adult faith formation and for Catholic families and children. Most recently, she wrote Hope: An Anchor in Today’s World (Liturgical Press) and Teaching Kids to Care: Reflections, Activities, and Prayers on Practicing Virtues (Twenty-third Publications).
January 19, 2017, Adrian, Michigan – Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates were among hundreds of other concerned citizens to gather for half an hour of prayer on January 15 for peace and unity prior to the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
The simultaneous half-hour of prayer and holding of hands took place in some 22 states, as well as foreign countries such as Australia and Guam.
Adrian Dominicans witnessed in prayer and silence through “Circle the Cities with Love” in front of Madden Hall and Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan; the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph in LaGrange Park, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Key West, Florida.
Sister Kathleen Nolan, OP, director of the Congregation’s Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation, said she first heard about “Circle the Cities with Love” through one of the Justice Promoters at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). The initiative was first organized by the Congregation of St. Joseph of Cleveland, Ohio, at the time of the Democratic National Convention last summer and was resurrected in January to offer prayer for a peaceful inauguration.
Sister Kathy worked with Siena Heights University, The Sunnyside Peace and Justice Center, and the Lenawee County Interfaith Alliance to organize “Circle the Cities with Love” in Adrian. As a result, some 72 Sisters, Associates, and local residents gathered in front of Madden Hall and Siena Heights University to hold hands and pray in silence.
Sister Kathy said she felt moved to organize “Circle the Cities with Love” in Adrian because it sends a message consistent with that of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ General Council in a letter they had written to Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates after the election:
“[The Enactments of General Chapter 2016] call us to be signs of [the] life-giving work of God in our midst, especially among those who might read the results of this election as a condemnation – our Muslim brothers and sisters, our Mexican neighbors, immigrants who have long called this country home, women victimized by sexual assault, people with disabilities. … This election calls on us to reach out to friends and neighbors, who responded to the message for change but do not endorse the ugly speech of the campaigns, in our common cause to improve the lives and well-being of all our people. Let us manifest our unshakable belief in the power of peace, non-violence, and the possibility of creating resilient communities.”
“I believe in the power of prayer,” Sister Kathy said. “We are Dominicans. We are preachers, and one of the ways that we preach is with our actions.” She added “Circle the Cities with Love” was a “preaching to our community – our Adrian-Lenawee County community. We have hope for the future and we believe in the goodness of people to come together and to stand up for peace and reconciliation.”
Sister Anne Beauvais, OP – one of five Adrian Dominican Sisters to participate in “Circle the Cities with Love” in Illinois – also saw her prayer and participation as a way to preach peace. “I was very proud to be there,” she said. “It felt like we were giving witness to something we believe in.”
Sister Anne saw a special relevance in the timing of the event. “With all the terrible rhetoric you see around us … we could pray that people will accept this and make the best of the situation,” she said. “It was a sign of unity, that we could get the best outcome possible.”
Along with some 50 to 60 people who stood in prayer in front of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Sister Anne said, the chapel was filled with Sisters who could not stand outside but who prayed in unity with the others.
Sister Patricia Erickson, OP, said she heard about “Circle the Cities with Love” from Sister Kathy and discovered that the event was being held near her, in Key West, Florida. The group consisted only of Sister Pat and the convener and her spouse who gathered in front of the Key West court house.
“Standing in silence heightened my sense of hearing … the myriad languages spoken by people passing in front of us, the roosters crowing, the bells on the bike Lorries, the children playing on the lawn in front of the court house,” Sister Pat said. “As I stood there, I looked at every person passing by, thinking what a wonderful world this would be if there was true peace and respect for everyone.”
Other women religious also took part in “Circle the Cities with Love.” Adrian Dominican Sister Durstyne Farnan, OP, peace and justice director for the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, helped to organize “Circle the Cities with Love” for that community.
Feature photo: Some of the 72 participants in Adrian’s Circle the Cities with Love pray in silence in front of Madden Hall at the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse.