The Bureau is being hosted this time by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

We are staying in a retreat centre in Lohja Vivavum on one of the country's 190,000 lakes (into which some of us have plunged during  the Finnish 'saunas' in the evenings - putting a whole new slant on the initiation experience!)    We have had a very warm welcome - in writing from the Bishop of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku, Kari Makinen, and in person, from Maria and Sennika, and a number of their Lutheran colleagues who  planned & prayed liturgy for and with us, sang songs, and BBQ's sides of salmon around a campfire - first sign of Finnish summer is when the BBQ's begin - in 4 degrees celsius, but at least the snow has melted!

Joining us on the first evening was Bishop Teemu Sippo, RC Bishop of Helsinki.  Bishop Teemu told us that the Bishops' Conference of the Nordic Countries had recently published a joint pastoral letter on the Adult Catechumenate (and Reception into Full Communion of the Catholic Church). The letter begins:

'Where is the entrance?  If someone needs to ask this question, the architect has probably made a mistake.   Entrances need to be recognisable and inviting, unless one wants to keep away uninvited guests......it is not enough that we guide them to priests or others working in pastoral tasks.  Parishioners are needed... offering a kind and friendly reception, willing to share their own faith'

Further, the letter speaks of the opportunities that the restoration of the adult catechumenate offers, not only for evangelisation of those who are searching, but for those already in the church,  causing them to reflect on their own Baptism, their own faith, their own sense of belonging, rediscovering the rich nourishment in the liturgy, and the very nature of the Church as 'missionary'.  United as a body, the Nordic Bishops are strongly encouraging all the faithful, priests, parish councils, pastoral councils, and religious orders to discuss and ponder... and one step at a time, for parishes to engage  with the different phases and rights Catechumenate (RCIA), convinced that in so doing

'the consciousness of the mission of the parish and of the whole Church would grow, and the connection between faith and life would become clearer.  The parishes would gain an attractive and radiant power... beginning the Catechumenate aids the renewal of the whole parish!'

These hopes will echo with the memories and experience of  all of us involved in RCIA, for however many months or years.  What was particularly impressive was the Bishops writing together, united in their commitment to RCIA, leading from the front!

The rest of the weekend was engaged in bureau members sharing their experiences of the catechumenate (in Europe RCIA is referred to as 'The Catechumenate').  It was interesting to note the variations in emphases/styles between the different countries, the 'old hands' and the new (including Orthodox engaged in catechumenate in Finland) The consistency emerging, as ever, in shared passion for initiation.

Challenges? For practice of RCIA and for Eurocat

• Our diversity - in culture, experience, in approaches, interpretation of the Rite, theological views
• Increasing size of Eurocat - more member countries: how to develop structures that support/develop/sustain warm friendship as well as share experience and learn from one another - finding the best process/way of facilitating the meetings to be as inclusive as possible
• How to develop/engage with the ecumenical dimension of Eurocat - ecumenical sensitivities
• Initiation as a process of  'being' and 'becoming' - the symbiosis of community/liturgy/initiation
• Context of  'church in crisis' - community initiates, and yet there is a sense/reality that communities are 'disintegrating' rather than growing?
• Seeking and sharing best practice
• Use of Lectionary

It has been a good weekend in Helsinki, connecting with the broader European picture .  Perhaps one or two European friends will join us in Manchester for our Conference 'Bridging the Gap'? (30th June - 2nd July: Book on-line at www.rcia.org.uk )   The Nordic Bishops' encouragement for (us) to be missionary and help those seeking to join us on 'the Way' offers inspiration us as we move towards our Conference together, exploring what it is to be missionary, sponsoring communities.  Places at Manchester are limited, so please do  Book now to avoid disappointment!

We’ve agreed to offer a day which is visionary and introductory and is for everyone: new teams, experienced but tired catechists, parishioners who have often wondered just what it’s all about. We’re determined to keep it grounded in the ordinariness of human experience – inviting people to tell their stories and witness to “spiritual journeys that vary according to the many forms of God’s grace.” [RCIA 5] We want it to be rooted in experience with a living Word of God that somehow conveys the passion of 1 John 1:

“Something which has existed since the beginning that we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word who is life - this is our subject.”

We asked ourselves questions such as: How do we convey the passion and enthusiasm? How do we do it? How simply can we do this? We identified a large target audience: people with responsibility for RCIA whom we want to be able to see that Yes – we can do this, it is possible; and also those with little or no experience but who’ve heard something! And in working our way through the questions we allowed ourselves the luxury of prayerful, gentle reflection time together during which we broke open the scripture of the day and learned from such figures as Lydia.[Acts 16:11 – 15]

The result is a one-day road show under the banner: R.C.I.A Northern Network called Journey in Faith: Exploring RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). The poster states that:

It is an introduction for anyone new to RCIA or for parishes wishing to refresh their team. An opportunity to glimpse a vision of the richness the RCIA journey offers, not only to new comers to the faith, but to the whole parish community. All are Welcome!

We plan four venues between now and May, 2010 with local teams fronting the road show and support from other members of the planning group as required. The first will be in the Archdiocese of Liverpool in November, closely followed by Middlesbrough then Hexham and Newcastle, Hallam and Leeds. It’s an exciting initiative, not least because it is a genuine effort to take seriously the call to work collaboratively across dioceses:

Collaborative ministry begins from a fundamental desire to work together because we are called by the Lord to be a company of disciples, not isolated individuals. [The Sign We Give 1995]

The days address key aspects of our practice of RCIA. In the morning Nicky Stevens in Tooting and Martin Jakubas in Bristol will look at the role of the assembly in RCIA:

The people of God, as represented by the local Church, should understand and show by their concern that the initiation of adults is the responsibility of all the baptised… the entire community must help the candidates and the catechumens throughout the process of initiation. (RCIA 9)

In the afternoon there will be a choice of workshops: Forming an RCIA team and Receiving the Baptised.

Booking for Tooting is open until Monday 8 June and for Bristol - Friday 12 June. Download the booking form.

The Conference was well run by the Austrian team in a good venue and a timetable that mixed input, reflection, visits and prayer, The liturgies were generally short and simple focusing on a symbol from the Rite. The use of the different languages was well handled.

The languages of the Conference were German, French and English and in our reflection group were Swedes, Lithuanians, Italians etc. It meant that communication had to be measured. One of my first insights into the theme of integration was to realise that to achieve common dialogue the native speakers might have to think a bit more before speaking and to give up some of the nuances of one's own languages so that others might understand.

For the main inputs there were summary papers as well as simultaneous translation. The various papers and reports can be found on the website of the Austrian Pastoral Institute under Eurocat. The theme of the meeting was Integration and this was explored from a number of angles: psychological, theological, and sociological. This may sound dry but each speaker illustrated their ideas from experience and were thought provoking. A significant insight for me was how the place of church and religion in society affected the understanding and practice of the catechumenate. Austria has been a Catholic country with the vast majority who are born there baptised. This means that the catechumenate is nascent and tiny. Only in Vienna diocese was there a Rite of Election and this involved 15 catechumens. Many of those who come for baptism would be immigrants. This meant that RCIA was outside the experience of the speakers; we had to do the work applying their insights to our experience. This did not hamper the usefulness of what they said though, for example, there was perhaps a confusion about whether integration was a matter for catechumens and neophytes. A further application of this insight was to realise that our greater experience with Receptions was a fruit of our particular demographic situation. Though in our preparation we looked at the figures given in the Tablet for the diocesan Rite of Elections and saw that in every diocese the number of upbaptised was about a third of the total.

As is often the case with such meetings it is the visits to the local church that can be the most memorable. We had two opportunities the first to parishes in the Vienna area that had experience of the catechumenate, the second to places of integration. The parish was in the suburbs of Vienna, near the airport. The parish priest had had a couple of experiences of initiation of adults. One, a young girl of 19, also came to talk the group. Hers was a most moving story. She had lost her parents when she was 12 and had gone to live with aunt — no one in her family had been interested in religion and she had never been baptised. A school friend had invited her to come with her to church and when she was 14 to join the preparation group for confirmation. When it was realised she had not been baptised it was proposed that as the confirmation preparation took 2 years she would be baptised at the intervening Easter Vigil. The pastor celebrated all the rites at the main parish liturgies and she received a lot of support from the parish - the confirmation group formed a team. One moving moment was that she sang the Exsultet at the Easter Vigil the year after her baptism. In her own words she only became interested and engaged in her faith after her baptism. It was an interesting reminder that integration into a community can precede faith and the process of initiation. This would often be our experience where spouses accompany their families to Mass over many years before deciding to take the plunge.

The second visit was to church that had been built as part of a new office and housing development. Even though the diocese was not planning a church in the area they decided it was not an offer to turn down. The design of the church was very striking — black on the outside, light beech on the inside it was based on a cube with the lower third providing meeting spaces. Like many churches situated near offices there was a different weekday and Sunday congregation. 10am Sunday Mass was the most diverse — the pastor explained that people came who were attracted by the simplicity of the architecture and the liturgy. The church also provided a gathering point for different ethnic groups in the city where they could celebrate Mass and socialise afterwards.

A recurring theme of the five days was what does it mean to integrate? Is it assimilation where we expect people to become like us or accommodation where we adapt to them. Integration was recognised to be a two way street where the community has to be open and welcoming to newcomers. Our openness may even require us to change, adjust and adapt. Like all good reflections on RCIA the content and the process worked together. Just as we were given much content to stimulate our thought; the team made sure that we were integrated into a Eurocat community. Now the rich time of mystagogy as we reflect on what we have heard and integrate the new thoughts and ideas into our lives.

So what are the good things? And the challenges? Although we do not have a ‘desk’ for the catechumenate at national level, as many countries do, the RCIA Network for England and Wales does have membership in most dioceses. Together we build on the good work that many dioceses are doing, and aim to encourage and share resources, both people and materials. From Network conference and study day participants over the years, and from those working in advisory roles, we hear that although many dioceses have identified ‘mission’ as important, this model is not always connected with RCIA. Statistics are available as to the numbers attending the Rite of Election in each diocese, as well as adult baptisms and receptions. Do these provide a full picture of catechumenal activity? What proportion of parishes in each diocese see themselves as initiating communities? How are those already graced through Baptism received into full communion in our parishes? How do we begin to integrate candidates and catechumens into the life of the community from the very start?

At the moment you may be aware that the Network is engaged in producing material that will support formation of parish ‘teams’. There are Network study days this year on the Role of the Assembly, with workshops on Receiving the Baptised and Formation of Teams. Work is also being done in collaboration with the Bishops Conference Department for Christian Life & Worship on Guidelines for Christian Initiation of Children of Catechetical Age.

The Eurocat conference theme is ‘Integration’ looking at what happens when strangers meet, and the psychological aspects of integration of newcomers into existing social systems. Please remember the conference in your prayer – perhaps with echoes of today’s Gospel in mind. There will be much telling of stories of ‘what has happened on the road’ in different lands, and perhaps some ‘agitation and doubts’. But above all, hearing Christ speak ‘It is I’ in all of these.

Some photos from the Conference have been added to the website.

Martin writes:

The Conference has given me much to think about. Sheila remind us of the fundamentals and brought us back to what the Rite actually says. In particular the relationship of the catechumenate to the Liturgical Year. Not only that this was a key to the catechumens entry into, and conversion into, the mystery of Christ, but also that it is the celebration of the liturgical year. When we start to probe we discover that the rite has an integrity.

As ever it also the mixture of Conference sessions, informal time and prayer that make up a rich experience.

Sue writes:

What an excellent conference we have just had. I found it really beneficial to learn from the expertise of such an experienced RCIA practitioner as Sheila O’Dea, for whom weekly dismissal of catechumens within all-year catechumenate is the norm.

Participating in the scriptural reflection process within the liturgy was a deeply profound experience, as we feasted on the Word of God. It made the Liturgy of the Word integral and inseparable from the eucharist, when during mass the first reading Ephesians 2:19-22 was proclaimed twice, with time for reflection, and this was repeated with the Gospel. It illustrated how it could be accomplished during Mass: certainly with smaller gatherings, although it would need some preparation.

Sheila offered us a vision – for the Church to honour the Word of God and the Eucaristic mystery with the same reverence.

I see the challenge is to move to all-year round catechumenate with weekly dismissals.

I think this needs to be directed at diocesan level:-

• set a timeframe that all parishes will work towards,
• within the next year there should be a consultation process, in which the perceived difficulties and challenges are explored,
• certain key parishes should be encouraged to practice dismissal during this period, so living examples can be considered,
• the result of consultation should be diocesan guidelines for Forming Threshold Companions.

On a practical basis, I liked Sheila’s suggestion of encouraging readers to attain the additional skill to form part of a rota to lead the weekly dismissal.

Paula writes

What an amazing conference! Input, reflection, liturgy, eating together – and of course raising the occasional glass at the end of the day.

For me personally, the mystagogical reflections were perhaps the most powerful moments – carefully woven together strands of words and music which brought to life again the experiences of liturgy and conference.

Sheila’s input around the themes of apprenticeship, community, liturgy and catechesis reminded us anew of the pillars of our ministry in RCIA and the need to keep them in balance.

I experienced a great sense of community among those gathered, and an openness and attentiveness to each other.

The ‘conference hymn’ has certainly been running around inside my head since Friday:

Stand firm, oh stand firm
Stand firm, oh stand firm
Stand firm, oh stand firm and see what the Lord can do!

Veronica writes:

‘Forming Threshold Companions’ was an excellent three day opportunity to deeply reflect once more on the rich vision of the RCIA in its wholeness. I was particularly struck by the importance of the community and how we modelled a small community, within a larger community as central to the process of the conference. Much thought had obviously gone into enabling these small fellowship table groups to function as reflective, listening, learning and worshipping communities. I felt bereft when, on the last day, we said goodbye and formed a new group focussed on geography and charged with the mission of taking it all home. What remains for me is a renewed conviction of the importance of the RCIA for the Church of today in initiating people into the radical way of life that prioritises as Jesus did.

Ken writes

Forming Threshold Companions did what it says on the title. It was a good place to be. It touched into the heart of the Rite Of Christian Initiation of Adults by emphasing once again the role of the community as the prime influence in the formation of all inquirers, inviting us to take seriously the power of the liturgy . To see the Liturgical Year as key to formation and helping us to feast at the table of the Word. For me the rite that holds all these aspects together is the rite of dismissal. A rite sadly more observed in the breach than the observance. Sheila was uncompromising in stressing the importance of this dimension of the RCIA and hopefully those of us who were privileged to be at the conference will re-think our practice and take the dismissal more seriously. The way in which we were led to reflect on the experience of celebrating the liturgies by journeying deeper into the Word which was certainly made flesh touched the hearts and minds of all present. For these things and for the table companionship I give thanks. It was as a blessing.

Martin writes again:

A number of people commented positively on the music and the liturgy - thanks to Paul, Philip, the instrumentalists and cantors for their help. I have added a list of the music and where it can be found on to the website.