The year-long programme is based on the premise that ministry and service arise from a life of intentional discipleship, says Lucienne Hensel from the Church Mission team.

About the programme

Hensel says it is not an academic course. No qualifications are needed to apply.

"All you need is an open heart, a willingness to learn and a desire to serve" she says.

The adult formation programme aims to support lay people in parishes and encourage them in their parish roles.

"It is a direct response to the call for formation highlighted in the recent Archdiocesan and global synods."

The adult formation course objectives are to:

• Engage in opportunities to deepen our personal relationship with God, and to better understand our Catholic faith

• Learn basic pastoral skill such as collaborative ministry, synodal listening, safe practices

• Explore how to build parish community and develop supportive relationships in the context of small faith communities

• Explore the baptismal call to mission and evangelisation, and the challenge to be authentic witnesses in the Aotearoa New Zealand context

"Pope Francis says all the baptised are called to missionary discipleship, but many are not aware of this call" Hensel says.

"So this course aims to form disciples who have fallen in love with Christ and become 'men and women for others' ... ready to share their gifts to grow the Kingdom of God around them."

Course delivery

A variety of experts from the archdiocese will deliver the course.

Church Mission team members - including Hensel herself - and priests, religious, theologians and Launch Out graduates will share their expertise with participants.

"The programme will run from February until mid-November each year, starting with the Alpha Course followed by fortnightly evening seminars, monthly Saturday workshops and a weekend retreat mid-year" Hensel says.

"The combination of face-to-face and online learning means people wanting to participate can join in, wherever they are located in the Archdiocese."

It includes both one-on-one support and small group dynamics she says.

"When it comes to small groups, those attending online will probably be together in one or two groups depending on numbers" Hensel adds.

"My hope is that there will be a number of people doing the course, for example from the Nelson region, and these would occasionally come together for discussion and sharing."

Source

• Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington
• Supplied

Its Church Mission team offers a range of learning and development programmes.

All focus on parish formation.

In providing the programmes, the Archdiocesan Church Mission team responds to findings in the archdiocese's 2017 synod and the 2021-24 global synod.

Both synods highlighted the need for lay people's formation.

The formation opportunities for lay parishioners have had to be carefully thought through.

The archdiocese says they must be accessible and flexible while covering academic, spiritual and pastoral dimensions.

Parish formation opportunities in 2024

The Church Mission team programmes include workshops on topics such as marriage enrichment, the teachings of Pope Francis, hospitality and developing pastoral plans - among others.

The module 'Creating and Implementing a Parish Pastoral Plan' aims to help communities in the post-Covid environment, the Mission teams says.

That module also aims to help parish communities that have had to amalgamate, given that Parish Councils are feeling the need to revisit their pastoral plans or create new ones to meet parish needs better and become more mission-focused.

"Whichever course or courses people choose to attend, they can expect to receive pastoral and spiritual formation and be equipped to serve in ministry" the Mission team says.

Those running the courses are very well qualified.

Programme engagement

There are various ways to engage with the programmes.

Parish leadership teams should contact the Church Mission team directly to organise a locally-based workshop for their community.

The team also runs public workshops during the year.

For other courses - such as the "Called & Equipped" new formation programme for lay people in Parishes - the parish leadership teams recommend potential candidates from their parish communities to the Church Mission team.

The Mission team says the workshops are usually a one-evening seminar or perhaps a day with the Parish Council regarding pastoral planning.

Called & Equipped can be taken in one or two years.

The Launch Out programme usually takes five to eight years and is a major commitment.

The Mission team stresses it is important that people realise Called & Equipped and Launch Out are both complete programmes.

Success stories

The various programmes are definitely paying off for the archdiocese's Catholics.

The Mission team points to three parishes that started working through their Parish Pastoral Plans this year.

They are enthusiastically implementing a new vision for their parishes.

There are 31 Launch Out graduates and six current candidates. All graduates are engaged in active ministry.

22 of the graduates are or have been employed by the Church.

Source

• Supplied