The purpose of Adult Faith Formation is to provide adult parishioners with opportunities to grow in faith and spirituality through Bible studies, doctrinal studies, faith sharing communities, and other opportunities for learning. For more information, please call the Office for Adult Faith Formation at (714) 637-4360 ext. 114 or email cdumitru@stnorbertchurch.org.
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) for those desiring to become Catholic meets on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the Ministry Center Library. Please see complete information in the RCIA section of the Web site.
Our Faith Formation Library is open on Sunday mornings from 10:00 to 12:30. It is located in the Teilhard de Chardin room upstairs in the Ministry Center. We have been in the process of renovating the library collection, adding hundreds of new books and a collection of videos and DVDs which may be borrowed at no cost for home viewing. You may visit the library on Sunday mornings when a library volunteer will be present to help you, or if you are attending another meeting in the room, you may check on items by signing them out on the sheet provided at the librarian’s desk. If you are looking for a particular book or video, you may also call Charlene at 637-4360 ext. 114 and, if the item you need is available it can be left for you to pick up at the Ministry Center reception desk.
Adult Confirmation Preparation for baptized Catholics who have received First Eucharist is offered once annually. Classes for 2008 Confirmations will begin on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and continues weekly through May 6. The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred on those completing the sessions on Pentecost Sunday, May 11. Pre-registration is required. Please call the Office for Adult Faith Formation at (714) 637-4360 ext. 114 or email cdumitru@stnorbertchurch.org for more information.
Adult Faith Formation Series
Praying with Scripture
This six-week series will explore and practice three different kinds of Scriptural prayer. On October 16 we will reflect and pray as a group on a passage from Scripture, sharing our thoughts with one another as a group. The following week, October 23, we will practice Lectio Divina, silent prayer inspired by a Scripture passage; the third week, October 30, we will pray an Ignatian guided meditation, taking a Scripture story or scene and mentally experiencing it through all our senses. Each session will include instruction on the prayer style to be practiced that evening. During the following three weeks each experience will be repeated taking the prayer to a deeper level. Please meet in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in church at 7:30 p.m. We will conclude at 8:30 p.m.
Grief Support Group
On Wednesday, October 24, St. Norbert Grief Recovery Ministry will begin a six-session healing process for people who have lost a loved one to death. If you are grieving over losing a friend or family member, no matter how long ago the loss may have been, please join us in the Oscar Romero room at 6:30 p.m. We will discuss ways to honor the life of your loved one, while moving forward with your own life and happiness.
Spiritual Life of Children
Monday, December 3, John Yzaguirre, PhD., will offer a presentation on the Spiritual Life of Children. Parents, catechists and teachers are especially encouraged to attend this one-evening event, to learn to recognize and encourage spiritual development in their children. The presentation will be given in the Ministry Center Library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Childcare will be available, if needed. Please call Charlene at 637-4360 if you would like to reserve space for childcare.
Our Parish Lenten Mission will be directed by Fr. Christopher Smith on February 19, 20, 21, 2008. Please join us at 7:30 in the church for an engaging presentation that will renew and refresh us during this Lenten season. Refreshments and fellowship will follow in the ministry center.
Spirituality for the 21st Century - Video presentations by six prominent theologians will lead us in a discussion of contemporary Catholic Spirituality. Among the themes to be discussed are Trinitarian Spirituality, Incarnational Spirituality, Spirituality and the Eucharist and others.
We will meet in the Ministry Center Library at 7:30 p.m. beginning on Wednesday, January 23 and continuing through March 12.
Parish Retreats
St. Norbert parish will offer two opportunities before the end of the year to take a few hours away from the busyness of our lives and spend with God and with one another in prayer.
Parenting Seminars
A series of four evenings focused on effective parenting will be presented by Dr. Ken Kaisch. This series will focus on skills for parenting teens. We will meet in the Ministry Center Library from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons January 13 and 27 and February 10 and 24.
Bible Studies
Fall 2007 – Exodus
Our fall Bible Study will focus on the Old Testament book of Exodus. This will be an eight-week course beginning on September 19. Exodus is the fundamental book of the faith of the Jewish people, which reveals the saving and redeeming power of God as he leads the chosen people from slavery and death in Egypt to a new beginning in the Promised Land. Much of Christian faith and liturgy is also rooted in the Exodus story. Please join us for this in-depth study of Scripture and the theology drawn from it. Our sessions meet in the Ministry Center Library from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Fall 2007 – Monday Morning Bible Study
The Monday Morning Bible Study group meets in the Ministry Center Library from 9:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Beginning September 11th, we will study St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. For more information, please contact Sue Obermayer at (714) 974-9234.
Fall 2007 – Mom’s Group Bible Study
A Bible Study in a small-group faith-sharing format is offered on Tuesday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. throughout the school year. The 2007-2008 series will begin on September 4. New topics which focus on applying Scriptures to our lives as mothers begin every six weeks. Childcare is provided. For more information, please contact Amy Glenane at (714) 974-8781 or aglenane@socal.rr.com
Advent 2007 - Infancy Narratives
On December 5 and 12 we will hold a two-session study of the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. This is an opportunity to step away from the pre-Christmas busyness and spend some Advent time preparing for Christmas. Call Charlene for more information at (714) 637-4360 ext.114 or email cdumitru@stnorbertchurch.org.
Bible Study - Acts of the Apostles is an exciting theological history of the early Church. Focusing on the spread of the Church and the ministries of Sts. Peter and Paul, Acts takes us through these exciting times of the growth of early Christianity. Charlene Dumitru will lead this 7-week series which will begin on Wednesday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ministry Center Library.
Welcome Home Fellowships for Returning Catholics
Catholics who have been away from active membership in the Church are invited to participate in a fellowship group offered in six-week segments following Christmas and Easter each year.
These groups are intended to give people wishing to reconnect with the church the opportunity to tell their stories and to ask questions about current church teachings and practices. They are informal, conversational meetings and anyone is welcome to attend. For more information, or for those needing assistance in returning to sacramental participation in the church at different times of the year, please call the Office for Adult Faith Formation at (714) 637-4360 ext. 114or email cdumitru@stnorbertchurch.org.
