By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The three faith formation leaders of the diocese are thinking positive.
While the coronavirus pandemic is forcing the church to reshape its faith formation programs under its weighty health and safety constraints, they are urging parishes to use this time as an “opportunity to connect your young people and their families with the parish in creative, productive ways.”
Deacon Modesto Cordero, director of the Catechumenate/Order for Christian Initiation of Adults (formerly RCIA), Jayne Mondoy, director of Religious Education/Adult Faith Formation, and Lisa Gomes, director of Youth Ministry/Young Adult Ministry, issued an eight-page memorandum on July 24 to help pastors and parish faith formation leaders navigate the COVID-19 era.
The memo defines faith formation programs as those whose primary objective is the “formation of disciples of Jesus Christ.” They include religious education, youth ministry, young adult ministry, family ministry and the catechumenate (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults).
The memo strongly suggests that this would be a good time to redirect these ministries to focus more on the family.
While parish faith formation ministries generally fashion their programs by age group, it is the family as a whole, the memo said, that must be equipped “to transmit the Christian faith in the home and out in the community.”
“As you make plans for faith formation ministries in the coming months, let us work together to form a framework that includes the whole family,” the memo states, “one that builds upon our strengths and sets a new vision for the future.”
To build this framework, the memo recommends that parishes first form a parish team to set goals and objectives.
Then comes the creative part, the “delivery.”
The diocesan faith formation team suggests three options: in-person, hybrid (online/in-person) or online only.
Each option has its limitations. The parish must decide how it will accommodate participants, catechists and leaders who are uncomfortable with returning to the classroom or program site, or those who have limited or no access to a computer or mobile device.
The parish also has to determine a schedule, staffing and budget.
The memo says to start programs when ready. There is no need to rush to open in August or September.
The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, which the diocese follows, adds its now familiar layer of disease prevention measures that must be addressed, including the wearing of face masks and social distancing.
Other things to take into consideration are procedures for arriving and leaving the program, information signs, sick participants, keeping personal items separated, and hand sanitizing,
Activities to avoid include the sharing of food, books and other materials, offsite travel and overnight retreats.
In its appendix, the memorandum has a more detailed checkoff list of about 30 mostly practical actions based on CDC instructions.
