OCIA

Getting Started FAQ’s

The USCCB website has the answers to some very basic RCIA questions.  As you recruit and train RCIA team members, pass along this link! FAQ From usccb:       http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/who-we-teach/rite-of-christian-initiation-of-adults/index.cfm And don’t forget to make sure each member of your team has a copy of the document,  Rite of Christian Initiation for …

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Recruiting Team Members

by Lorraine Miller

God calls each of us by name. (Is. 43:1)

The most effective way to recruit team members is to personally invite them. This presumes you know the community well enough and the particular gifts of its members. If you do not, then it is helpful to consult with those who do. Consider the qualities that are important for an effective team. RCIA team members should be people who can keep confidences, are flexible, prayerful, enthusiastic, team players, and have a passion for our faith.

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RCIA Self Assessment Tool

RCIA How Are We Doing A Self Assessment Tool  published by RCL/Benziger is a great resource for RCIA teams.  The set of reproducible blackline masters provide an overview of each period and rite followed by relevant evaluation questions that help RCIA leaders and teams to identify strengths and weaknesses in specific areas.  The well …

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Back to Basics

Sometimes we need to go back to basics.  This article talks about three fundamental things to consider when working with the RCIA. Three Tips for Working with the RCIA

Sorting Fish: A Task at the Beginning (Part 3)

Baptized Christians.  Debbie and Ernest are both baptized Christians.  Debbie is a young professional, single and searching for “something more” in her life.  Although baptized in the Methodist church as an infant, her family was not active in any church.  She has had no formal religious training.  Because of some conversations with a Roman Catholic colleague, she is interested in Catholicism.

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Sorting Fish: A Task at the Beginning (Part 2)

Sorting Fish

The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus’s parable about the reign of heaven being “like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind” (13:47).  I suggest that a parish evangelizing outreach is like a net that may collect “fish” of every kind:  unbaptized adults and children of catechetical age, baptized uncatechized Christians, baptized catechized Christians, baptized Catholics needing Confirmation and Eucharist, baptized Catholics needing only Confirmation, fully initiated Catholics who have been alienated from the Church and seek to return, and Catholics seeking an update. 

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