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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
_________________________________________________
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 local Information Meeting for potential candidates will
be held in
April, 2011.
•
The next three-year Lay Formation cycle will begin in the fall
of 2011 and meet in
Monona, Iowa.
•
The opening retreat for first year participants will be held at Shalom Retreat
Center in Dubuque.
•
The new three-year Lay Formation cycle which begins this fall will meet on
.
•
The cost is $375 for year one; $325 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
be 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
personal 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
to the Catholic faith.
•
If you are
so disillusioned or angry that you have rejected
regular participation in the life of the Catholic faith
community, you should re-examine 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.
_________________________________
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:
Director of Adult Formation
320 Mulberry Street, Waterloo IA 50703.
Phone: 319-234-9912
Email: <DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted 03.25.08 •
Last Update 03.06.10
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