Catholic Diocese of Richmond / Office of Christian Formation / September 2022

Memories and Mystagogy

Remember sitting on the couch with your family squeezed up next to you, huddled over pages of your family photo albums? Or maybe sprawled on the living room floor with your cousins in the dark, hearing your great-uncle narrate the slide show of family vacations of summers past. Today that scene remains, but the photo book may be a laptop, and the projection on the screen is now images cast from your phone to your Smart TV. But in all scenarios, the activity of sharing images evokes many things in us:

Memories of events that took place…

Feelings we had at that moment…

Significant encounters with people or experiences documented…

I think we can learn a lot about the role of Mystagogy in our church by comparing it to this classic family activity.

(Read more about Mystagogy and how to use it NOW with the Rite of Acceptance.)

Click for a resource to use to prepare your seekers for the Rite of Acceptance, including a diagram of the four phases of their journey.

Learn More about Mystagogy

"Dive Deep" into the church's vision for Mystagogy in our parishes with LTP.

Register for this three part webinar series in October. Tell Sheri you are taking it and get a $25 rebate once completed.

For more information and to register,

click here!

What's in a Name?

What to know about the OCIA?

I've been getting lots of questions about the revision of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults that will hail a new title, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.

What do you need to know about it now?

That it is coming, but likely not until Fall 2023 or Winter of 2024.
This is an opportunity to evaluate the initiation process in your parish and look for ways to align it more fully with the mission of the Church to journey with adults seeking sacraments.
Will we need to change our bulletin and website to OCIA? Consider reading this article and make the change to stop using acronyms to talk about our faith, especially to non-Catholics - our primary audience in this ministry!
Want to learn a bit more? Watch this 20 minute video from Nick and Diana about the upcoming OCIA. (Join Nick in making a "pinky swear.")

For those who want to follow the revision's progress:

Sign up for TeamRCIA newsletter for articles and announcements.
Participate in their monthly webinars to prepare for the new Ordo.
Sign up for the FDLC's webinar series to prepare for the new Ordo. Some of the many sessions offered are not directly applicable to RCIA Team Members, but many are. This is a great series for our experienced RCIA Team Leaders! Available in English and Spanish. FREE.

Summer Formation for Our Teams

RCIA Leaders and Teams spent the summer learning and growing in their ministry. If you couldn't attend, there are still ways to learn!

In July, we packed the room at Roslyn and were reminded by TeamRCIA why we do RCIA - to make disciples. Many practical suggestions were given throughout the two days of how to cater to the individual journeys of our catechumens and to bring them into the parish community.

A version of this training is available through TeamRCIA on their website. If you want to participate, let Sheri know to get a $40 discount.

National Gathering on Christian Initiation also took place in July at Loyola University in Chicago. Those attending were challenged to evaluate the way they currently implement the RCIA in light of the directives of the Church and the Rites.

The NGCI is put on each year by Liturgy Training Publications (LTP) Along with this conference, they host many virtual trainings throughout the year.

Share the Good News(letter)

The RCIA Webpages have been updated.

Take a look and find resources for Team Training as well as for the catechumenate, both children and adults, English and Spanish.

Do you have others on your RCIA Team that are not receiving this newsletter? Ask around and find out.

If so, send me their name, parish and email, or forward this newsletter and have them CLICK HERE and tell me themselves.

RCIA Questions?

RCIA process, formation, preparation, children's initiation, and more - Contact Sheri Kemp, 804-622-5113,

rcia@richmonddiocese.org

Liturgical Questions? Contact the Office of Worship at 804-622-5235, worship@richmonddiocese.org

Marriage or Annulment Questions? Contact the Office of the Tribunal at 804-355-9155