Laypeople bring faith into their communities
The Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon is celebrating 25 years of Lay Formation.
Gisele Bauche, a member of the team that founded the program, describes lay formation as “a program where lay people can become enriched and grow in their faith life by building a strong faith community and deepening their spiritual life.”
The initiative began in 1986 when Bishop James Mahoney had a vision to educate Catholic adults in their faith.
A committee, struck to explore the establishment of a lay formation program, was composed of Bishop Gerald Weisner, Father Don Hamel, Sister Cecile Fahl and Gisele Bauche. The four met regularly to study and discuss the areas that needed to be addressed, and Bauche and Fahl paid visits to several cities where lay formation programs were already operating to determine what format would work best for the Diocese of Saskatoon. What developed was a twoyear program with a strong emphasis on living and learning in community.
Participants commit to one weekend a month, from September to June, for two years. The weekends, which are held at Queen’s House of Retreats, involve prayer, teaching and communitybuilding.
“The weekends are based on four principles,” Bauche says. “The first is community. This is Christians living together for a weekend, building relationships, friendships, trust, confidentiality, growing in faith and wanting to take their faith into their community. The relationships formed in lay formation often last a lifetime.”
The second principle is scripture, or the word, which Bauche says is building a faith that is not just knowledge but part of how one lives life.
Church is the third principle. This includes teaching on understanding liturgy, traditions, theology, prayer and spirituality.
“The fourth principle is service. Service is what you go out and do,” Bauche explains. “Some people think service means adding on something more to their already busy lives. In reality, it is living and being your faith wherever you are, in whatever job you do.”
Something that makes the Saskatoon Diocese Lay Formation program unique is the fact that it draws from a large bank of resource people for teaching and instruction rather than relying on just one or two.
“Bringing in a wide range of presenters, each with an expertise in their field, expands our horizons,” says Mona Goodman, co-ordinator of the program along with Kate O’Gorman.
Every September, a new lay formation group starts.
O’Gorman journeys with the Diocesan Eparchy Group made up of Ukrainian and Roman Catholics. Goodman journeys with the Diocese of Saskatoon and the Aboriginal Stream, which includes participants from the diocese of Keewatin-Le Pas, Prince Albert and Saskatoon.
The aboriginal stream was added in 2007 and, among other things, explores aboriginal spirituality and culture. Instruction touches on such aspects as the medicine wheel and its implications for healing, aboriginal spiri- tuality and sharing circles.
The program has two coordinators because each one journeys with a group for the full two years.
Weekend retreats begin with Friday evening prayer where Year One and Year Two groups are together. Then Year One and Year Two split off and go to their respective sessions. Topics for Year One might include understanding baptism, history and spirituality or catechism of the Catholic Church. The Year Two group might be studying the Gospel of John, sacramental sharing or justice and peace in action.
“Saturday morning always begins with 20 minutes of silence,” says Goodman. “Participants can spend it doing whatever they need to do — think, meditate, pray. The time of silence is very effective.”
In 25 years of Catholic lay formation, about 800 people aged 18 to senior, have gone through the program. There are currently 29 participants in Year One and 38 in Year Two.
The two-year program ends with a missioning celebration with the bishop, an alumni choir and family members in attendance.
“Alumni are a big part of the program,” Bauche says. “Once you’ve taken Lay Formation training, an inner connection is established because of the shared experience. There’s a strong sense of celebration, as well. We hold an alumni gathering every October.”
O’Gorman believes an important factor in the program’s success is the adult learning style, “which is more interactive than a strictly lecture format. This gets to the heart of it,” she says. “Interaction is where integration happens, where we begin to see Christ in our daily lives.”
When it comes to discerning the program’s impact, Goodman says, “One of the obvious benefits to participants is personal confidence to do what God is calling them to do. We hear of this particularly from aboriginal participants.
“In Lay Formation, we’re working toward transformation. It is a lifelong process. Lay formation is just a catalyst for a lifelong journey that becomes a lived reality.”
For more information contact layform@saskatoonrcdiocese.com.