Formed In Faith
Sharing the Word through Faith Formation, Archdiocese of Louisville
Pope’s Encyclical on Ecology has Arrived
This article should help you to understand what is at work in the Encyclical…
Here is a link to the document Laudato Si’.
Faith Club End-of-the-Year Party
The Archdiocese of Louisville Faith Clubs ended their year with a pool party, cookout, and dance. Thank you to the Elks Lodge, Ann and Doug Pifer’s Small Christian Group, and all our Faith Club Volunteers for making the party a great success and fun for everyone!!
Today’s Church: More Catholics, fewer receiving sacraments
By Cathy Lynn Grossman
Religion News Service June 2, 2015
The global Catholic population has grown by 57 percent since 1980.
It’s up from 7.83 million in 1980 to 1.2 billion. However, this growth varies steeply by region.
Europeans are rapidly shedding the continent’s historic Catholic identity while the Global South, particularly Africa and Asia, booms with Catholics.
Europe saw only a 6 percent increase — from 271 million to more than 289 million. Meanwhile, the number of Catholics in Africa was up 238 percent, from 58.6 million in 1980 to 198 million in 2012.
But that growth is primarily due to a higher birth rate, “not to conversion or evangelization,” observed the Rev. Thomas Reese, a social scientist and columnist for the National Catholic Reporter who has seen the report.
When that birth rate levels off with economic development, Reese wondered, then what? “Some like to say the Global South is the future of the Church, but I’m not convinced,” said Reese.
Click here to read the full article.
VBS 2015
Summer is here and that means parish vacation bible school programs are in the final planning stages! Below is a list of vacation bible schools that will be occurring this summer in the Archdiocese of Louisville.
Updated 6/12/15
June Offerings
June is going to be an eventful month in Faith Formation. Listed below are just some of our happenings. To view the entire summer catalog with all our events click here.
To register for courses contact Linda McLemore, (502-448-8581, Ext. 1324), or use our new online registration.
RCIA Team Day: Coming Fully Alive: Conversion in the RCIA
Date: Saturday, June 13, 2015
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: St. Stephen Martyr Parish (Weiker Room -3105 Greenup Rd.)
Presenters: Michael Marchal
Cost: $25.00 (includes lunch) (checks payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Linda McLemore at
email lmclemore@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1324
Catechist Credit: 4.5 hours applies toward Catechetics
What do we mean by “conversion”? Can we recognize how and when it emerges? Michael Marchal will help us to identify the multiple aspects of conversion and ponder how a living faith takes root and develops. In the morning, we will explore the various components of the conversion process and examine how they are at work in our own lives and in the lives of catechumens and candidates. In the afternoon, we will examine the liturgical rites from the same conversion perspective.
An Introduction to Dei Verbum: The Vatican II Constitutional Document on Scripture
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Flaget Center
Presenter: Tom Malewitz, Theology Teacher, St. Xavier High School
Cost: $10.00 (check payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Linda McLemore at
email lmclemore@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1324
Catechist Credit: 3 hours applies toward Theology in the content area of Catholic Beliefs and Practices
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II, this session is designed especially for all religious educators, as a resource for truly understanding our call as Catholics educators in the era of the New Evangelization. The text of the constitutional documents of Vatican II has influenced our lives, but what does it say in its own words, and how do we faithfully live that in our time? This workshop is designed to lay the foundations to answer such questions and offer a deeper insight into the role of the laity in the New Evangelization.
Living the Paschal Mystery: Engaging in the Intimacy of Christ’s Love
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Flaget Center
Presenter: Tom Malewitz, Theology Teacher, St. Xavier High School
Cost: $10.00 (check payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Linda McLemore at
email lmclemore@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1324
Catechist Credit: 3 hours toward Catechetics
This course will offer topics for teachers to assist adolescents to understand and actively engage the Paschal Mystery in their lives. Primarily, geared for freshmen and sophomore “Paschal Mystery” course in the USCCB revised curriculum framework. Topics will also be able to be applied to help any teen engage in active participation in the mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ in Scripture and daily life.
Disciple Power: Nurturing Young Disciples to Live Their Faith
Date: Thursday, June 18, 2015
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Flaget Center
Presenter: Nancy Bird, RCL Benziger
Cost: $25.00 (includes lunch) (check payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Linda McLemore at
email lmclemore@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1324
Catechist Credit: 5 hours applies toward Catechetics
Youth are plugged in and powered up! What can we do to help them develop skills, practice habits and strengthen their faith to live as disciples of Jesus in today’s world? Join us for a lively and practical workshop to help your learners grow in their relationship with Jesus, accept the demands of discipleship, and choose each day to live as disciples!
Presenter: Ms. Nancy Bird is a Catechetical Consultant and Northeast USA Division Manager of the RCL-Benziger Religion Publishers (www.RCLBenziger.com ). Ms. Bird regularly leads catechetical workshops at the L.A. Religious Education Conference, the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coat Religion Conferences, and other diocesan and regional events.
Engagement and Practice: Using Technology Effectively within Religious Education
Date: Thursday, June 18, 2015
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Flaget Center
Presenter: Tom Malewitz, Theology Teacher, St. Xavier High School
Cost: $20.00 (check payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Linda McLemore at
email lmclemore@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1324
Catechist Credit: 6 hours toward Catechetics
This two-part session is designed primarily for high school educators to learn, discuss, and apply effective practices of using technology to the religious education curriculum. The first part of the session will focus on effective practices for better and more engaging student involvement in course materials, while the second part will offer educators time to design and present a short lesson for peer critique.
Catholic Social Teachings Coming Alive
Date: Monday, June 22, 2015
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Flaget Center
Presenter: Lucio Caruso, Director of Mission at Catholic Charities and Staff from Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services
Cost: $25.00 (includes lunch) (checks payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Linda McLemore at
email lmclemore@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1324
Catechist Credit: 3 hours applies toward Theology in the content area of Justice and 2 hours in Catechetics
As Pope Francis continues to call all members of the Church to be missionary disciples in the world, we as catechists have a special responsibility to prepare and form those we catechize in taking up the Pope’s challenge…
This class will provide a solid foundation for understanding Catholic Social Teaching, and explore creative methods for sharing this dynamic part of our Catholic Tradition. We will also provide an array of resources for you to easily access, and help you find ways for Catholic Social Teaching to come alive for those you teach. Best practices will also be shared with you.
Visioning Marriage and Family Today
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Flaget Center
Presenters: Sue Brodfehrer, Executive Director for Family Ministries, Archdiocese of Louisville and Maureen Larison, Consultant for Adult Formation and Initiation, Archdiocese of Louisville
Cost: $10.00 (checks payable to ALMI)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Linda McLemore at
email lmclemore@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1324
Catechist Credit: 3 hours applies toward Theology in the content area of Family Life
The session will address:
* A Christian understanding of marriage and family and what distinguishes it from society’s understanding
* Today’s challenges to marriage and family
* Our role as teachers and catechists
Catechist Retreat: The Joy of Vocation
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Time: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location: Church of the Epiphany Parish (Lighthouse)
Presenters: Ginny Schaeffer, Director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality
Cost: $25.00 (check payable to ALMI) (includes lunch)
Registration: Register prior to class to insure class availability. Contact Linda McLemore at
email lmclemore@archlou.org or (502) 448-8581 ext. 1324
Catechist Credit: 6 hours applies toward Spiritual Formation
Vocation is the place where your joy meets the world’s deep needs. -Frederick Buechner
Ministry can be filled with moments of deep gladness and satisfaction. Likewise, it can be frustrating, time and energy consuming, aggravating and not anything like we might have imagined. During moments like this, how do we not lose the joy promised by Jesus? By staying rooted in our true self and purpose. When we are rooted in the truth of self and purpose we will experience the “joy of the Lord” that gives us strength and that no one can take away.
During this retreat you will be invited to explore, to root yourself in and nurture the truth of who you are and the purpose of your life. Elements of this retreat will include song, prayer, reflection, poetry, silence and group sharing.
Ginny Schaeffer is currently the director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality, a ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, and a spiritual director. She has extensive experience directing retreats, facilitating workshops and days of prayer/reflection for a variety of groups. Ginny brings to these settings a holistic point of view, a strong sense of humor and a down-to-earth approach to spirituality. Her great joy is encouraging and empowering others to become the people they are created and to be and to live their true purpose through contemplation, prayer and a healthy Christian spirituality.
RCIA TEAM DAY JUNE 13, 2015
Coming Fully Alive: Conversion in the RCIA
June 13, 2015 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
St. Stephen Martyr, Weiker Room
3105 Greenup Road
Louisville, KY 40217
Cost: $25.00 per person (includes lunch)
What do we mean by “conversion”? Can we recognize how and when it emerges? Michael Marchal will help us to identify the multiple aspects of conversion and ponder how a living faith takes root and develops.
In the morning, we will explore the various components of the conversion process and examine how they are at work in our own lives and in the lives of catechumens and candidates. In the afternoon, we will examine the liturgical rites from the same conversion perspective.
Michael H. Marchal holds degrees from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Fordham University in New York City. He is a retired high school teacher of more than forty years, most of those at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. During that time he has been involved with worship at Bellarmine Chapel at Xavier University and has served a term on the Archdiocese of Cincinnati worship commission. He has published numerous articles on education and on liturgy and three books: Parish Funerals (Liturgy Training Publications, 1987); Adapting the Liturgy: Creative Ideas for the Church Year (Resource Publications, Inc., 1989); and The Spirit at Work: Conversion and the RCIA (World Library Publications, 2010). Michael’s hobby is cooking, and he enjoys exploring a wide range of cuisines.
To register, see the form below or contact Linda McLemore.
For additional information, please contact Maureen Grisanti Larison by email or at (502) 448-8581, ext. 1308.
Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Louisville, Office of Lifelong Formation and Education
Religiously Unaffiliated Outnumbering Catholics In Recent Poll
A Pew research study in religious practices, in the U.S. today, shows a drop off in those who self-identify as Christians, losing 8 percent since 2007 (-3.1% among Catholics). Still, Christians make up 70 percent of the country’s religious individuals. Meanwhile those that identify with no religion (the “nones”) has grown larger, eclipsing some mainstream groups such as Roman Catholics.
What’s it all mean? Listen to this short, lively interview.
The Source: Religiously Unaffiliated Outnumbering Catholics In Recent Poll
Formed In Faith 