Facilitator Training

Ministry Formation for Everyone in the

Community

Welcome!
Welcome to Into the Fields!
Thank you for being here
We value the role you are about to play
The Church depends on you
This is hard work!
But the rewards are enormous
We will do everything we can to support
you fully.
Meet
the
Authors!
 Into the Fields
Spirituality - by Dan Schutte
With Diana Dudoit Raiche
Tools and skills by Alison Berger
With Sr. Edith Prendergast
Content of the Faith by Bill Huebsch
With Sr. Maureen Shaughnessy
On-going formation by RTJ
With Nick Wagner
Part One
Spiritual
Exercises for
Teachers &
Catechists
Dan Schutte
Diana Dudoit Raiche
Spiritual Exercises
30 powerful exercises
Following the way of St.
Ignatius Loyola
Grow in the faith that you
will share with others
Become a closer friend to
Jesus and learn to talk as
friends
Part Two
Tools
for
Teaching
Alison Berger
Sr. Edith Prendergast
Skills & Strategies
More than 24 skills
Strategies that work in
every ministry setting!
Interaction with other folks
working in parish ministries
Learn with the same
method that you will use in
your ministry setting
Part Three
Knowing
the Content
of Our Faith
Bill Huebsch
Sr. Maureen Shaughnessy
RTJ: On-going formation!
Religion Teachers Journal
The first periodical after Vatican II
designed for actual catechists and
teachers
More accessible and available
On-going formation
Which they will actually READ!
Y tambin
Nosotros tenemos estos recursos en
espaol:
Creciendo en la Fe
Se llama Profundizando y Madurado
Nuestra Fe
Hablamos espaol a 23rd!
Venga! Hablaramos!
Nosotros tenemos otros cosas tambin!
And now

The full
scope and sequence
of Into the Fields
Lets take a look at
the
Into the Fields
pedagogy
Quiet Listening
Music
Others when they speak
Reading aloud
Growing Faith
And other material
Listen to yourself as a Facilitator
And teach participants to do the same!
Small group discussions
In a variety of sizes
Often with a task to do beyond the
discussion itself,
Usually with flip chart paper and markers
Encourage participants to be
Open, honest, loving, & kind
These four rules!
General discussions
Usually following small group work
An important aspect of pedagogy
Because it pulls together the fragments of
small group work
Or of individual thinking
The challenge:
To keep some from speaking too much and
some from not speaking at all
Preparing Flip Charts
For some, this is a key way to learn
For others, it is bothersome
But we do it because its a way to
prepare for large group discussion
And because we have many kinds of
learners
This forces learners to focus their
learning and state it briefly
Quiet writing
Avoid too much quiet time
It tends to deaden the process
But after the opening sharing, and a
little group work
Turn to quiet time for writing the
colloquy as part of the Spiritual
Exercises
Or at other points in the process
Reading aloud
This is a rather counter-cultural thing
We rarely allow others to read to us
But its a great way to learn
We do it as Mass every week!
Used here mainly in Growing Faith
But invite learners to follow in their own
booklets
Mystagogy
This comes from the Catechumenate
Its a way to pause, and reflect together
about what has happened
In order to consolidate our gains
And become aware of what we have
actually heard
Powerful tool for pedagogy
And works in classrooms, too!
Continued
Mystagogy, continued

Used here three ways:

In the opening whats been happening in
your life?
After the break what did you hear in the
first session?
At the very end what are you taking
away from this whole experience
Leading up to the personal growth plan
Facilitator Presentations
Used from time to time
As a way of allowing the Facilitator to
personalize the material
But always very BRIEF
Must be well prepared beforehand
In every session:
Used to present the goals for this session
Resource recommendations
Both the Text and the Manual are full of
them!
Help the participants build their
personal libraries
Also recommend your own favorite
resources and share your own best
sources!
Summing Up
The process here in very intentional
Six steps:
1. A bit of mystagogy
2. Replay the song
3. Share the colloquy prayers
4. End prayer with Our Father
5. Lead them to the session evaluation
6. Direct work on the Personal Growth
Plan
Personal Growth Planning
This is a vital step
It helps participants take home with
them a specific goal
It brings all the work into a single focus
Leave enough time for this in each
session
Probably 5-8 minutes
But test it and see what works
Getting ready
for the year

some simple
suggestions
Getting started
Make a firm decision as a parish
Review the whole year
Consider who you want to invite to be
part of this process
Actually list them by name
Start inviting and enrolling
Use the forms provided
Find the spaces you need
Getting started
And find helpers if you need them
someone to manage hospitality
someone to work as your sub if needed
someone to help for moral support
Communicate extensively with the
pastor and staff
Set the final schedule and send it out
Preparing for
each session:

follow these
simple steps
Step One:
Read all the material for this
session
Consider the flow:
How do the various elements and
segments connect?
What are the key points?
Pause to let the deep realities sink in:
Open yourself to divine power
Listen as God speaks in your heart
Step Two:
Prepare Spiritual Exercises
Review the flow for this exercise

Listen to the music

Consider what symbols might

enhance this experience
such as enthroning Scripture, using
liturgical symbols, and others
Write your own colloquy
Work the exercises
Step Three:
Prepare the Growing Faith
segment
Read the booklet or booklets carefully
and fully
Work through the exercises and
reflections
Review the teaching path set down in
the Manual
Prepare any further input you feel is
needed
But avoid overstating special issues
Step Four:
Prepare for Refreshments
This is a key way to show hospitality
Believe it or not, folks get hungry when
theyre working like this
You might want to ask someone to help
you depending on numbers
Or you could share the responsibility for
bringing snacks and beverages
Step Five:
Prepare the Tools for Teaching
Review and prepare the mystagogy
opening
It is very strong to have this list ready
The text provides an almost-complete list
Review the goal and how you will
present it to the group
Step Five continued

Look through the suggested resources

Add your own favorites!
Let the leaners add theirs as well.
Check out each internet link
Decide how to break your group for
small group discussions
Prepare any presentations you must
give
Step Five continued

Review all the Manual notes

Adjust and change to meet your own
personal style
Make sure you understand the flow of the
session
Prepare the closing activities
The flow of this is very important
Skills training for group
facilitation
 #1

Model by participating yourself

Dig into the work yourself!
Embrace the material and make it your
own!
Your own enthusiasm for the work will
create enthusiasm in the group
If you have questions as you prepare,
call write to IntoTheFields@aol.com
Make an appointment to talk with Bill
What is your own
experience of being
in groups where the
leader actually took
part as against
standing on the
sidelines?
 #2

Prepare brief presentations

Prepare every presentation beforehand
Keep them all brief
Stick to the topic and text
Use PowerPoint if you are able
Share your own experience and faith
Witness is a great teacher
Did I mention: keep it brief!?
What is your own
experience of
preparing
presentations for a
group?

Is this your strength

or weakness?
 #4

Monitor both process and content

Keep the flow of the session moving
along
But also make sure enough time is
spent on those things which pique the
interest of the group
If you have to, postpone certain items
to allow a good discussion to proceed.
What is your own
experience of
knowing how to start
and stop discussions?

What tools can you

use to get them
rolling?
 #5

Dealing with disruptive people

Allow those who disagree or disrupt to
express their views
But do not allow them to take over the
agenda or schedule
It may be best to speak to such folks
outside the group
And sometimes you may have to ask
someone to quit their enrollment
What is your own
experience of
dealing with
disruptive people?

How do you confront

them?
 #6

Facilitate means just that!

You are the facilitator
Which means you must encourage and
make possible general discussions
Monitor who talks too much
And who talks too little
Make your discussion starters
effective by honing them beforehand
What is your own
experience of
facilitating group
discussions?

What do you do when

no one speaks?
 #7

Show your gratitude!

Thank each person who contributes but
do so without seeming silly or
patronizing.
Be aware always that your participants
are working hard and often on their
own time.
Doing continuing ed is generous on
their part.
What is your own
experience of
thanking people for
their contributions?

What are some ways

to do that well?
 #8

Know how to divide a group

Be aware of the group dynamic at play
in your group:
Cliques
Close friends who attend together
Pre-divide the group
Vary the small group divisions often
Use a variety of small group sizes
What is your own
experience of
working with small
groups?

What are strengths

of small groups?
Weaknesses?
 #9

Be a listener, first & foremost!

Watch and listen closely to each person
who speaks or offers anything
Repeat (in summary) what they say
Do intent listening
Use eye contact while listening
Nod your head, follow along
If they challenge you or the text, do not
become defensive
What is your own
experience of
listening while you
facilitate?

What do you listen

for?
 #10

Lead the group to evaluate

Some people do not like to do
evaluations
But they really help us do better work!
Dont rush the process
Use the forms provided
You will run into moments when time
runs out! What then?
What is your own
experience of doing
evaluation processes
with a group?

What are some

methods for doing
evaluation?
 #11

Keep good records

As Facilitator, your opinion matters to the
church
We do need to keep records
And to write down our observations
It helps us guide learners
If you have a troublesome person, talk that
over with your pastor, catechetical leader, or
principal
If someone is absent, use e-mail or phone
calls to find out why