STRONG demand to learn more about our faith and how to share it with others has sparked Brisbane Archdiocese to launch a Centre for Catholic Formation with courses on offer from early next year.
“Most of us get our training or formation as children,” Evangelisation Brisbane’s associate director of Adult Formation, Shane Dwyer said,
“Well, where do we get it as adults in a way that is formational rather than information?”
Launching the new Centre, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, said each of the courses would “engage both the head and the heart to help participants grow their knowledge and understanding of the Church” and draw participants “into the lived experience of the faith knowing Jesus”.
During the last three years Brisbane Archdiocese has trialled a number of public courses, and with hundreds of people accessing courses in person and online, Mr Dwyer concluded there was “a strong appetite” for more systematic and comprehensive training by modules.
Brisbane’s Archdiocesan Centre for Catholic Formation will take shape in 2023 with Mr Dwyer presenting the first of four modules starting on February 20. It will run for 10 weeks and cover Theology.
Over the course of two years, other 10–week modules will cover ‘Understanding, Praying and the Scriptures,’ ‘Sacraments and their context in liturgy in the Catholic tradition’ and ‘What it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ’.
Joining Mr Dwyer as a presenter will be Dr Peter Pellicaan, executive director of Evangelisation Brisbane, as well as other guest presenters including Archbishop Coleridge and Brisbane’s Auxiliary Bishop Tim Norton.
Archbishop Coleridge described the Centre as a new approach to formation.
He said the Church expended “extravagant resources on the formation of ordained ministers, “and I’ve had no qualms about that.”
“And that’s one of the reasons why I was quite enthusiastic, not just supportive of this initiative… because it’s a fresh attempt… to expend resources to meet the cry that emerged in the consultation of the Plenary Council and to prepare for the future,” he said.
Dr Pellicaan said the whole point of the Archdiocesan Centre for Formation was to create a platform to help people have a life changing faith encounter.
“The kind of encounter that the baptised are called to with Jesus is the kind of encounter that doesn’t just bring joy for one day or one moment, but that changes someone’s life and continues to change their life,” he said.
“… a key aspect to this whole concept is not only the formation of the intellect, but also the relationship – so a focus on the experience of God, not just the knowledge.”
Mr Dwyer said the courses would appeal to “those who instinctively know there is more to the Catholic faith and are looking for an opportunity to explore this further in an environment where they can ask their questions and receive the support we all need as we journey towards God.”
The courses are also intended for adults seeking to answer the questions that come from their children and grandchildren, those who work for the Catholic Church and wish to know more about what’s at the heart of this faith, and people who minister in the Catholic Church and who are seeking formation in ministry and the mission of the Catholic Church.
“Registration does not commit the participant to all four modules. Come to the first and see what you make of it,” Mr Dwyer said.
Each of the courses will be held at the Holy Spirit Seminary, Banyo, and also at regional hubs, if there is public demand. Find out more about the Archdiocesan Centre for Formation at www.catholicformation.au
