Holy Redeemer Adult Faith Formation Opportunities

The Hearts Aflame Faith Catechist Formation Program provides both initial and comprehensive formation for parish catechists and elementary school teachers of religion. Archdiocesan certification is awarded to those who satisfy the requirements of the Hearts Aflame Program.

The Hearts Aflame Program also benefits those who are preparing to serve as permanent deacons, youth ministers and Ministers of Religious Education (MREs), and it provides interested adults with opportunities to grow in their faith and knowledge. Hearts Aflame is structured around four categories of courses:

Recruitment, Discernment and Preparation Component (RDP)
Core Courses
Specialization Courses
Enrichment Courses

The Recruitment, Discernment and Preparation Component (RDP) is a basic level of catechist formation that has been designed to be implemented in the parish or school and provides a strong spiritual component that will help potential or new catechists discern if they have been called to the ministry of catechesis. The RDP also provides basic training in such areas as lesson planning, prayer in the classroom, classroom management and creating sacred learning space.

Core Courses are open to all interested adults, and are requirements for Archdiocesan Catechist Certification. A small fee is charged to cover costs. For more information about catechist formation and certification see: http://www.adw.org/education/pdf/ORE1.pdf

. The Core Courses are offered throughout the Archdiocese by skilled instructors; current offerings are listed on the Archdiocesan events calendar.

Specialization Courses (Ministry of Catechesis) are offered by the Office for Religious Education and it is a catechist certification requirement for parish catechists and elementary school teachers of religion. The ten-hour, four-session course addresses the following topics: History and Explanation of Catechesis, Person of the Catechist, About the Learner and Classroom Applications.

TASTE is a Catholic Women’s Program that stands for Taste And See Take... Eat. The Program is designed for the Catholic woman wanting to learn more about their faith AND more about their Church. The TASTE Program is designed to take the average Catholic woman and walk her through all the gifts, graces and unbelievable blessings God has promised. Each week a lesson is prepared for participants to fall completely in love with Jesus and what He did and left for them. TASTE is for ALL Catholic women and those thinking or wanting to find out more about being Catholic. You do not need to belong to a certain diocese or church to attend. All classes are held on Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church (in Pallotti’s Chapel in front of the Eucharist!), 114 St. Mary’s Place Laurel, Maryland 20707. Suggested donation: $5.00/week. No one will be denied or looked down upon if this is not possible. For more information, see: TASTE.

The Washington Theological Union is a Roman Catholic School of Theology and Ministry. It provides a variety of opportunities that enable individuals to broaden and/or deepen their understanding of Christianity. These opportunities include not only theological courses, but also workshops, lectures and symposium offered throughout the year in a variety of subjects, topics or themes. These opportunities are available to Union graduates, clergy, members of religious communities, lay ministers and others seeking knowledge, an exchange of ideas, a multi-faceted experience of theology. For more details see: Washington Theological Union.

The Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) is a growing initiative to offer adult religious education and faith formation anytime and anywhere via the internet. The goal is to support the church’s professional ministry of religious education and faith formation in cyberspace. The VLCFF is coordinated and sponsored by the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives (IPI) at the University of Dayton - a Catholic Marianist Institution. Its mission is to mobilize the resources of the University of Dayton for partnerships with the Church that create and implement innovative pastoral initiatives designed to meet the needs of the Church and to articulate faith within the context of contemporary culture. Areas covered include: Catechesis; Catholic Doctrine; Church History; Communication; Ecclesiology; Liturgy, Sacraments, Prayer; Marianist Studies; Morality; Scripture; and Social Justice. For more information, see: VLCFF.

Kay Murdy – author, columnist and speaker – offers meditations on the daily Mass readings of the Catholic Church, Feasts and Memorials of Saints, Liturgy, Prayer, Bible Study & more. Kay has a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies from Mount St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles, CA. She is a Master Catechist, founding member of the teaching and coordinating team of the Catholic Bible Institute co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Archdiocese, CA and Loyola Marymount University. Kay gives lectures, workshops and retreats on scripture, spirituality and liturgy. She has written five books on prayer and scripture and has a monthly column in Ministry and Liturgy Magazine. Her book, A Closer Walk with Jesus: Daily Meditations for Lent, was published in November 2010 by Resource Pub. Inc.

The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology is a non-profit research and educational institute that promotes life-transforming Scripture study in the Catholic tradition. The Center serves clergy and laity, students and scholars, with research and study tools — from books and publications to multimedia and on-line programming. For a listing of current online Bible study courses see: http://www.salvationhistory.com/studies/courses/online/.

This free Catholic online resource for the study of Sacred Scripture offers:

In-depth Bible studies in the living tradition of the Catholic Church
Accessing ancient and contemporary commentaries
Historical and archaeological information
Catechism of the Catholic Church references

The purpose of catholicbiblestudyonline.com (CBSO for short) is to devote an hour of time to fellowship with other Catholic Christians from around the world. This page is devoted to the wonderful teachings of the Catholic faith and to the followers of Christ’s church here on Earth. The format for this Bible Study podcast consists of a 15 minute (or longer) recordings from the great teachers of our faith. The podcast recordings will consist of talks by Father Larry Richards, Scott Hahn, Kimberly Hahn, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and many, many more. During the talk you are invited to join in on the chat discussion that will take place in the CBSO chat room as well as on the blog page. The chat site is for believers of the Catholic faith and for those who have an open mind and heart to what is being discussed.

FrPope.com is a website featuring recordings of Fr. Charles Pope’s teachings as well as some of his written materials explaining the Catholic faith. Fr. Pope has a series of documents that serve as an overview and introduction to the Catholic faith on his Faith Alive page. Fr. Pope recently preached a multi-part “mission” (that’s the Catholic word for what Baptists would call a “revival meeting”) at St. Mary of the Mills in Laurel, Maryland. The talk titles were Power in the Passion, Lessons of Liturgy, What Chapter Are You On?, Heading for Holiness, and Start Being Serious. A listing of the available recordings (MP3 audio files) can be found at: http://frpope.com/audio/recordings.php.

Theology on Tap is a program of the Office of Young Adult Ministry. (Archdiocese of Washington, DC) that reaches out to young adults who want to explore the role of faith in their daily lives. In this casual atmosphere, you’ll hear straight talk and honest answers to your deepest questions about faith, love, work and other real life experiences. Theology on Tap provides an opportunity to not only learn about the Catholic faith but also meet like-minded people and make new friends. Theology on Tap is open to all young adults, regardless of religious affiliation.

The evening begins with a happy hour from 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. to provide a chance to mix and mingle with other young adults from across the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The talk starts at 7:00 p.m. and is followed by a Q&A session with the featured speaker. For dates, topics and speakers, check out their events page.

Father Robert Barron is a sought-after speaker on the spiritual life-from prestigious universities to YouTube to national conferences and private retreats. The prominent theologian and podcasting priest is one of the world’s great and most innovative teachers of Catholicism. His global media ministry called Word On Fire has a simple but revolutionary mission – to evangelize the culture. Fr. Barron also has published numerous books, essays and DVDs. He lectures extensively in the United States and abroad, including the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Fr. Barron has been called “one of the Chicago Archdiocese’s greatest gifts” (Open Book, Amy Welborn). Fr. Barron is a Catholic evangelist and reaches millions of people through Word On Fire by utilizing advanced and emerging technologies. WordOnFire.org, Fr. Barron’s website, launched in 1999 draws over 300,000 visitors a year from every continent. Fr. Barron posts weekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 300 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.