Formation Opportunities Designed for Catholic Communities
With deep roots in the liturgical renewal championed in the Catholic Church by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), JHA Consulting founder Jim Alphen leads our Liturgy Practice, offering a suite of formation opportunities designed for Roman Catholic communities.
Liturgy Ministers Formation
A lively gathering for faith sharing, exploration of the foundations of Catholic liturgy, and ministry-specific practice in the art of celebrating the holy mysteries. Can have general focus for all liturgy ministries or specific focus on a particular ministry. Flexible format, from half-day to multi-day to weekly or monthly series.
Liturgy Formation for a Whole Community
An evening or weekend gathering or series of gatherings to help “the ordinary Catholic” become more fluent in and more confident about participating in worship. Can be for adults or open to parish or community members of all ages.
Prayer of the Faithful Preparers Clinic
A two-part clinic for clergy, liturgy directors, music ministries directors, and other preparers of the Prayer of the Faithful. Session One offers grounding in the basics of this ministry and introduces a model for intercessions that has received widespread acclaim as truly prayerful and inspiring. Session Two provides an opportunity for constructive feedback and coaching on texts that participants prepare for this session.
Crafting a Charter for Collaborative Stewardship of the Community’s Worship
An article in the November-December 2014 issue of Pastoral Liturgy had this to say about the relationship among a community’s liturgy leaders:
There’s always a lot to do in caring for the community’s liturgy. Big issues, such as the experience children have at Sunday Mass and the quality of preaching vie for attention with more routine concerns such as ministry schedules and environment budgets.
The [liturgy] committee will be much more effective if it takes a strategic approach, focusing on issues and tasks that are at a big-picture level and prioritizing them based on values such as importance and impact on the whole community. Avoiding any micro-managing, the committee needs to respect the distinct roles of staff and other liturgy ministers.
This one-day retreat for all parish or community leaders with responsibility for liturgy provides a space to work through any issues impeding effective collaboration among staff and liturgy committee and to craft a charter to sustain effective stewardship of your community’s worship. Intended for the pastor or principal community leader, all priests and deacons, liturgy director, music ministries director, liturgy committee, other staff, and any other liturgy and music leaders you’d like to include.
Your Next Step
If you would like to consider bringing one or more of these liturgy formation opportunities to your community, contact JHA Consulting at jimalphen@comcast.net or 312-636-4267. Jim Alphen will work with you to determine whether one or more of our services are a good fit for your situation and then, if you decide to engage us, to align the experience with your community’s strengths and needs.