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QUIK-CLICK GUIDE
What is Lay Formation?
What Happens in Lay Formation?
How Lay Formation Works
Does Lay
Formation Make a Difference?
Facts You Should Know About Lay Formation
Who's a Good Candidate for Lay Formation?
Lay Formation in the
Archdiocese of Dubuque
A Call to Serve
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Find Out More...
Lay Formation Information
Meeting
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
7:30-9:00pm
Central Middle School ICN Room, Waterloo
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What Is Lay Formation?
Lay Formation is the premier
formation and education experience for adult Catholics in the Archdiocese of
Dubuque. This three-year formation experience helps adults
grow in their faith, spiritually and theologically, in order to
become witnesses of Christ to one another and to the world.
Since 1980, over 1,000 women and men have participated in the Lay Formation experience.
The goal of Lay Formation was expressed by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical
letter Christifideles laici (1988):
“The fundamental
objective of the formation of the lay faithful is an
ever-clearer discovery of one's vocation and the ever-greater
willingness to live it so as to fulfill one's [life] mission.”
What Happens in Lay Formation?
Participants in the Lay Formation
experience have a unique opportunity to:
•
enrich and deepen their faith
•
enhance their spiritual growth
•
experience God's love and
compassion
•
learn to live the Gospel as a way
of life
•
form a community of faith with
other participants
•
pray with one another
•
respond to the call to be a
disciple
•
experience a deeper conversion to
Christ
•
share in the mission of the Church
to evangelize the world.
Does Lay
Formation Make a Difference?
According to a
survey of Lay Formation graduates conducted by the Lay Formation
Office in February, 2008:
•
98.6% said Lay Formation was a
positive experience...
•
96.8% said Lay Formation had a
positive impact on their faith life...
•
86% said their prayer life was
deepened by their participation in Lay
Formation...
•
96.4% said they had a deeper
understand of church because of participation in
Lay Formation...
•
95% said they are more conscious
of being a disciple of Christ in their family
because of Lay Formation...
•
93% said they are more conscious
of being a disciple of Christ in their
workplace because of Lay Formation...
•
94% said they are more conscious
of being a disciple of Christ in their local
community and nation because of Lay Formation...
•
83% said they are more conscious
of being a disciple of Christ in the world as
a result of their participation in Lay Formation.
How Lay Formation Works
The Lay Formation experience takes
place over a period of three years. Each year consists of
an opening retreat weekend and nine Saturday sessions during
October-April. Each Saturday session is held from 8:30am
to 3:15pm and consists of prayer, speakers, large and small
group discussions. Participants are asked to read assigned
material for each session and to write a short reflection on
what they have experienced.
• Year One --
“Living the Life of Faith”
helps participants recognize and be
attentive to God's presence
in everyday life.
• Year Two --
“Reflecting on the Life of
Faith”
helps participants deepen
their understanding of the Catholic
faith tradition.
• Year Three --
“Sharing the Life of Faith”
help participants respond to the
call to personal spiritual
growth and service to others, both in the church and in
the
world.
Each three-year cycle takes place
in a different regional location in the Archdiocese of Dubuque
and concludes with a Retreat and Rite of Recognition.
Candidates for the Lay Formation experience must be recommended
by their pastor.
Facts You Should Know About
Lay Formation
•
The next Information Meeting for potential candidates will be conducted on the Iowa Communications Network on Tuesday, April 15, 7:30-9:00pm. The local ICN meeting place is Central Middle School in Waterloo.
•
The next three-year Lay Formation cycle will begin in the fall
of 2008 and meet at Holy Family Parish in Mason City.
•
The opening retreat for first year participants will be held September 19-21 at Shalom Retreat Center in Dubuque.
•
The new three-year Lay Formation cycle which begins this fall will meet on
October 11,
October 25,
November 15,
December 13,
January 24, February 21, March 21, April 25 and May 2.
•
The cost is $375 for year one; $300 for years two and three. Most parishes will help Lay Formation participants with the financial cost. Candidates should visit with their pastor or the Director of Religious Education. In the Waterloo parishes, they may also contact the Director of Adult Formation at 319-234-9912.
Who’s a Good
Candidate for
Lay Formation?
Are you a good candidate for participation in the Lay Formation
experience? Here are some things to think about if you are
considering participation in Lay Formation. Before you
decide for sure, consult with family
members and friends who know you well; consult with a spiritual
guide, a parish staff member or your pastor; visit with
individuals in your parish who have participated in the Lay
Formation experience; and spend a sufficient time in prayerful
discernment.
•
Participants in Lay Formation
should not overwhelmed by personal or family responsibilities;
you should be at a point in your personal life where you are able to adjust other responsibilities to make
time for Lay Formation.
•
Individuals who
have recently participated
in a spiritual renewal experience like CEW
or Marriage Encounter, and those who
are participating regularly in a faithsharing, prayer or bible study group, or are
involved in parish leadership, service or
social justice activities, are often prime candidates for Lay
Formation.
•
So are individuals who
want to be more active in their local faith
community, but are not sure what they can do or
if they are sufficiently prepared to be a faith leader in their
parish or community.
•
Individuals who
participate in Lay Formation often experience a desire to learn and
grow in their faith which is not satisfied by the opportunities which are available on the local level.
Many experience a need to see a deeper connection between their
faith and their everyday lives in the home or in the workplace.
•
It is important that Lay
Formation participants be sufficiently reflective so that they can examine
faith experiences without fearing that
their faith is being questioned or threatened. They should be sufficiently grounded that they will
not resist the opportunity to change and
grow spiritually. Generally, participants should not be recent converts.
•
If you are
so disillusioned or
angry that you have rejected regular participation in the life of the Catholic faith
community, you should reexamine your relationship to the
Catholic community before entering the Lay Formation experience.
•
Lay Formation participants
should not have personal or ecclesial agendas rooted in a radical reformation of the Church.
•
Lay Formation participants
should be personally capable of engaging in
constructive dialog with persons whose religious experience and opinions differ from their own.
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Are You Ready to Learn and Grow?
For more information, contact
Archdiocese of Dubuque/Office of Lay
Formation
1229 Mt. Loretta Avenue, Dubuque IA 52003-8787
Phone: 800-876-3546
Email: <DBQCFL@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us>
or contact:
Adult Formation Office
320 Mulberry Street, Waterloo IA 50703.
Phone: 319-234-9912
Email: <DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted 03.25.08 •
Last Update 03.25.08
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