The responsibility for transmitting the truth, power, beauty, and joy of our faith belongs to all members of the Church, along with the priests, deacons, and religious. It is a blessing to have received the faith and we must embrace it as our own. Now is the time to deepen the knowledge of our faith, regardless of our age, to find new perspectives so we can share our talents and live as true disciples. This priority focuses on ways to foster adult formation in the faith and to actively involve adults in the life and mission of the parish.

• Become Stronger in Faith.Adulthood is the time in which each disciple lives out his or her own vocation. When they live the faith and interiorize the Gospel according to the specific demands of their own vocation and state in life, all the members of the Body of Christ work together to give glory to the Father.

• Celebrate Joyfully in Hope. As we mature and the passing nature of this world becomes clearer to us, our minds focus more clearly on the things of Heaven.
Thus, grounded in faith and nourished by the Sacraments, we aim to embrace ever more ardently the hope held out for us in Heaven.

• Serve in Charity. The blessings of adulthood move us to gratitude for God’s gifts and to a joyful imitation of God’s generosity. Thus, adults in the Church are called to share in the Church’s work of charity and evangelization through their generosity with the time, the talents, and the treasure with which God has blessed them.

OVERALL GOALS:

1. Creating avenues to awaken the need to learn the faith among adults.
2. Promoting environments and communities where laity can strengthen their faith and receive training to become leaders, so that they may respond to the call to evangelize.
3. Educating adults in Christian stewardship, so that they may respond to God’s invitation to participate in the Church’s mission by sharing their time, talent, and treasure.
4. Assisting DRE’s in their task of offering formation, training, and tools for their many volunteer catechists and recruiting new ones.
5. Ensuring that religion teachers are receiving on-going formation and are continuously renewed in their mission of inspiring their students to live the faith.

1. Creating a Diocesan Committee for Adult Formation as an instrument to organize and evaluate progress of diocesan-wide initiatives.
2. Organizing the Saint Augustine Lecture Series, diocesan-wide seminars, talks, interactive exchanges and discussions that enhance the faith formation of adults, providing opportunities to reach out to Catholics and non-Catholics. Particular effort should be made to invite those, who for various reasons, are no longer involved in the life of the Church. 1
3. Offering resources on the diocesan website and programs for adult formation and lay leadership that can be implemented in the parishes and organize a pool of speakers to offer talks in the different vicariates, through the Office for Pastoral Services.
4. Offering diocesan stewardship support for parishes through the Development Office, in order to educate parishioners in the joy of sharing their time, talent, and treasure with the Lord.
5. Enhancing the St. Cyril of Jerusalem formation program, offering more courses and seminars for laity, teachers and catechists and online courses for their formation. 2
6. Fostering the philosophical and theological formation of lay leaders through the workshops organized by CLDB, offering tools for their ministry, and encouraging them to further their education and to obtain advanced degrees.
7. Offering workshops and on-going formation for teachers in Catholic schools through the Office for Education.
8. Teaching about the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic health care services by offering lectures and multimedia resources.

   
   

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   1 Cf. related strategy in the priority the Liturgy, diocesan strategy no. 3.
   2 Cf. related strategy in the priority Cultivating Family and Life, diocesan strategy no. 3.

1. Offering seminars and discussion groups aimed at educating parishioners on how to live their faith in today’s world, addressing topics that correspond to their needs and interests. 3
2. Encouraging parishioners to further their faith formation through programs offered in the Diocese, such as Saint Cyril of Jerusalem School, Education Parish Service (EPS), and selected courses and resources at local Catholic universities.
3. Encouraging laity to become involved in small communities of faith, where they can deepen and share the faith, and prepare themselves to evangelize; support authentic ecclesial movements 4 and the charism they bring to the parish.
4. Personally inviting parishioners to become actively involved in the mission of the parish as council members, catechists, and social outreach volunteers, evangelizing beyond the parish boundaries. Offering lay leadership training programs with the guidance and assistance of the Office for Pastoral Services.
5. Fostering faith formation activities that especially respond to the interests of young adults and the needs of single lay people.
6. Involving all the parish community to reach out with a welcoming spirit and invite new members to the RCIA process.
7. Where applicable, creating a Stewardship Committee that will educate about the principles of sharing time, talent, and treasure for the evangelizing mission of the Church, fostering a spirit of welcome, generosity, and service.
8. Offering formation and spiritual enrichment to the catechists and lay leaders serving in the parish, so as to supplement the formation offered by the Diocesan offices.
   
   

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   3 Cf. related strategy in the priority the Liturgy, parish strategy no. 7.
   4 An ecclesial movement is “A concrete ecclesial entity, in which primarily lay people participate, with an itinerary of faith and Christian testimony that founds its own pedagogical method on a charism given to the person of the founder in determined circumstances and modes.” JOHN PAUL II, Message for the World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, May 27, 1998. In the diocese of Bridgeport, there are several ecclesial movements and new communities such as Cursillo Movement, Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Christian Life Movement, Neo-Catechumenal Way and others.

1. Offering opportunities for parents to deepen their faith by organizing discussion groups, seminars, and spiritual activities, so that they may lead their children in their faith formation. 5
2. Providing opportunities for ongoing catechesis and spiritual formation for faculty members. 6
3. After completing the required Saint Cyril courses offered by the diocese, encouraging teachers to continue their on-going formation process by expanding their knowledge through other available formation opportunities.
4. Encouraging faculty to obtain advanced degrees in their fields of specialization.
   
   

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   5 Cf. related strategies in the priority Cultivating Family and Life, diocesan strategies nos. 2, 4.
   6 Cf. NDC, p. 231.