About 20 years ago, Anne McLean found herself regularly responding to questions about the Catholic faith from other school parents. This challenged her to do something concrete that would support these parents in their faith journey.
Anne put herself in the shoes of a non-Catholic, or non-practising Catholic, parent with a child going to a Catholic school. She realised the language and liturgical practices associated with the religious education and experience of children in Catholic schools could be quite daunting for these parents.
How could they answer their children’s questions about God or the Catholic faith when they knew so little about it themselves? Anne also realised these mums and dads did not want to be embarrassed about seeking answers from classroom teachers or parish staff.
Anne, who lives in Mudgee, NSW and is mum to 10 children, reached out to newly arrived Josephite Sister, Alice Sullivan, who had been appointed as the parish pastoral associate. Sr Alice also agreed something should be done to assist these parents. So, in a very humble and practical manner, they invited parents to come along for a “cuppa” and to discuss any questions they had about the Catholic faith. And the parents, usually mums, did come.
By the early 2000s it became clear these gatherings had great merit, so Anne and Sr Alice decided to formalise the program. They documented it clearly, listing resources, helpful hints and even a recipe for the all-important “cuppa and cake” ritual. One of the participants, Anne Flynn, was so taken by the program, she offered her services as a graphic designer to give the publication a more professional feel. With the support of local Bishop Michael McKenna, the resource was published and officially launched in 2012.
While the program is structured into four sessions, Sr Alice suggests there is also great flexibility to accommodate the needs of the participants. The four sessions cover:
1. Who we are and why we are here
2. A walk through the Church building
3. Praying with your children
4. Ritual of empowerment and encouragement
Stacey Jones, from Bathurst, participated in the program, and notes:
“I had so many questions about the faith, but I didn’t really feel comfortable speaking to someone I didn’t know. But meeting with Sr Alice in my child’s school provided an informal and safe environment, where I felt at ease to ask any questions I had.”
More than 600 copies of the program have been distributed to parishes and communities around Australia. Now in its third reprint, Sr Alice and Anne find themselves being invited to speak about the resource and to assist with the formation of other facilitators in parishes and dioceses across the country.
Conversations about Catholics was acknowledged in the Building Stronger Parishes research as a powerful pre-catechumenate or evangelisation program.[1]
Sr Alice said it is not surprising that Pope Francis has called for “serious and vital liturgical formation” in his recent Apostolic Letter, Desiderio Desideravi.[2] Sr Alice senses that many parents have little to no knowledge of the Catholic liturgy – its language and its meaning, so anything that can be done to assist this will be a positive move.
Conversations about Catholics provides those tentative first formation steps, an invitation even, to parents who are showing genuine signs of interest in the Catholic faith. These parents aren’t looking for complicated, tertiary-level theological studies, but rather something that meets their immediate need of helping their children discover more about the faith.
When asked about the future of the resource, Sr Alice and Anne enthusiastically agreed they have plenty of energy to help form leaders in the use of this program. However, the impact of COVID-19 and the busy working lives of parents requires a fresh look at introducing different ways the program could be offered. For example, Sr Alice is quite open to the idea of meeting with small groups of parents at the local café on the weekend or wherever younger parents like to gather.
A genuine desire to see parents learn more about Jesus and the Catholic faith has driven this project. The passion and enthusiasm of Anne and Sr Alice has led some participants to return to the practice of the faith, and others to become Catholic through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process.
Having started as a simple and practical way of connecting people with the Catholic faith, Conversations about Catholics is still proving to be a very useful tool in a parish’s evangelisation strategy.
If you are interested in discovering more about this resource, the details can be found below.
Conversations about Catholics
Please visit our website here
Or, contact Sr Alice Sullivan
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
0428 741 342
Image: Supplied
Words: Sharon Brewer
[1] Dantis, Trudy. Building Stronger Parishes: Report 2: Mission, Outreach and Evangelisation, ACBC: 2015.
[2] Pope Francis, Desiderio Desideravi: On the Liturgical Formation of the People of God, promulgated 29 June, 2022, St John Lateran, Rome.