​Adult faith formation

When people hear the words "Faith Formation" they often think of the classes that children attend on Wednesday nights to grow in their faith. To the contrary, youth faith formation is only the beginning of a lifelong process of growing and connecting to God, for the journey of living as Christ calls us to live is one that we will continue to do until He comes again.

Our Adult Faith Formation program is currently in the process of growing to help meet the changing needs of our diverse congregation. In 2019, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception parish in Portage introduced a new speaker series titled: The Journey of Faith. 

Throughout the year, speakers led exuberant discussions and lectures on various aspects of the Catholic Faith that are often attainable because of their academic density. Our faithful and knowledgeable speakers created relevant experiences for our adults to learn more about their own faith community.

"SPIRITUAL FORMATION IS FOR EVERYONE. JUST AS THERE IS AN 'OUTER YOU' THAT IS BEING FORMED AND SHAPED ALL THE TIME, LIKE IT OR NOT, BY ACCIDENT OR ON PURPOSE, SO THERE IS AN 'INNER YOU.' YOU HAVE A SPIRIT. AND IT'S CONSTANTLY BEING SHAPED AND TUGGED AT: BY WHAT YOU HEAR AND WATCH AND SAY AND READ AND THINK AND EXPERIENCE."

JOHN ORTBERG

This program served a double-purpose for our adult population at St. Mary OTIC:

1. The Journey of Faith became the foundation for The Rite of Christian Initiation in Adults. If you would like to learn more about this process, please visit our Becoming Catholic - RCIA page.
2. The Journey of Faith made the Catholic doctrine accessible to everyone who wanted to learn and offered adult Catholics and opportunity to grow in their faith in a way other than attending a weekend Mass.

What comes next?

The plans for the 2020-21 season of Adult Faith Formation are still to be determined. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unknown when we will begin offering Adult Faith Formation opportunities, as well as what the format might look like.

If you would like to learn more about our Adult Faith Formation program, please contact our Director of Religious Education and Evangelization Hannah Haseley at 608-742-6998 ext. 217 or by email hhaseley@stmaryotic.org.