SALT LAKE CITY — The Diocese of Salt Lake City will host the North American Forum on the Catechumenate June 8-9 at the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper. "The North American Forum is an international network of pastoral ministers, musicians, liturgists, catechists and theologians," said Ruth Dillon, director of the Office of Liturgy for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. "The forum offers workshops and resources for people involved in the RCIA process. They will focus on the catechumenate, the Rites of Acceptance and Election and reflect on liturgical catechesis. This workshop is conducted to provide parish and diocesan ministers, clergy and lay people with a deeper understanding of the vision of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)." Clare Colella and Nick Wagner will conduct the workshop in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Colella is the director of adult initiation and adult confirmation formation at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in San Bernardino, Calif. She is a long-time Forum Initiation team coordinator member and has served on the Forum Board of Directors. Wagner has more than 25 years experience as a leader and trainer in liturgical and catechetical ministries. He is the author of numerous articles and books and also has served on the Forum Board of Directors. "I’m glad the forum will be held in Utah; the last time they were here was in 2009," said Margaret Stephan, Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish adult formation/evangelization coordinator. "I have been in ministry for more than 35 years and I have studied and experienced these rites many times, but I am going to attend the forum again because I can always find new ways to glorify God, to help others to see his great love and learn new ways to teach people the Catholic way of life. "The forum workshops are based on the rites and rituals of the Catholic Church, so instead of just telling you what the rite is about, participants role play the rites," Stephan said. "Actually doing the rites helps us implement them when we go back to our parish, and more importantly, it is formation. Doctrine is very important and key to the catechumenate section." The RCIA journey is comprised of four sections: the pre-catechumenate, the catecumenate, the elect and mystagogy. "RCIA is so important to the inquirers and catechumens because it is evangelization, but we as the community are also transformed along with the catechumens," said Stephan. Diana Hannebrink, Saint Joseph Parish RCIA coordinator, attended the forum three years ago. "Actually going through the rites helped us understand what the catechumens might experience," she said. "It was a very enlivening event for me because it changed our entire RCIA process, including letting inquirers come in at any time during the year and involving the entire assembly. We have different people in our parish explain the rites to the assembly before they happen. We tell our parishioners, ‘The catechumens want what you already have,’ which puts more value in what they are doing at Mass." For Deacon Michael Bulson of Saint Andrew Parish, the forum helped his RCIA team make an extra effort to include godparents in the rites. "I learned to start the procession outside for the Rite of Acceptance and have the catechumens process in to signify them knocking to enter a new faith," Deacon Bulson said. "The congregation saw something they hadn’t seen before and it was good for them to see there is more to Catholic ritual than just coming to Mass." The American Forum on the Catechumenate, will be held June 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and June 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Skaggs Catholic Center, 300 East 11800 South, Draper. To register, call Ruth Dillon at 801-328-8641, ext. 363, fax 801-328-9680, or email at ruth.dillon@dioslc.org. Early registration deadline is April 6; the registration deadline is May 25.
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