Between school drop offs, business meetings, extracurriculars and managing a home, it can feel impossible to find time to devote regularly to a regular catechetical study. Thankfully, technology presents us with ample opportunities to continue our faith education from the comfort of our home, with a flexibility that can work for any schedule.
Locally, the Diocese of Kalamazoo’s Parish Life and Lay Ministry Office offers the Institute of Missionary Discipleship (IMD) to anyone hoping to grow deeper in the faith. IMD partners with Fran-ciscan University of Steubenville and Revive Parishes to provide both certificate tracks and non-track classes. The courses are all offered free of charge, as IMD is funded by donations to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Classes through IMD are grouped into tracks, but users are not required to complete certification — a single classes or classes from several tracks can be taken without having to work toward a certifica-tion. Currently more than 20 tracks are available through Franciscan at Home, such as “Forming Faith at Home,” “Ministry of Parenting,” “Par-ish Catechetical Leader” and “Youth Ministry.” Additional-ly, the “Eucharistic Renewal” track is a fitting complement for the three-year Eucharis-tic Revival called for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for June 2022 through July 2025, cul-minating in the Jubilee Year announced by the Vatican. “We have around 300 active users of Franciscan at Home right now through IMD,” says Jamin Herold, Executive Director of Evan-gelization and Parish Life for the Diocese. “Two-thirds of those are taking only the classes they want, on their own time, without commit-ting to a track. It’s a great opportunity to keep growing in your faith with flexibility and convenience.”In addition to the online classes through Franciscan at Home, IMD has also part-nered with Revive Parishes to offer online training spe-cifically for those individuals participating in parish minis-try, with courses on steward-ship, evangelization, parish renewal and many more. Continued faith formation is key to having a strong relationship with God, and it is what God calls us to, says Herold. “We sometimes become content with what we know of God; we become comfortable with our rela-tionship with God. But like every relationship, we need to keep growing, or it will fall apart,” he says. “To get to know God requires a couple of things. First is prayer — communicate and love God through prayer. Second is to study — study how God loves us, how we can pray better, how to love God and how to love God through loving others. The Institute of Mis-sionary Discipleship offers those opportunities.”IMD also offers day-long in-person trainings through-out the year; information on these trainings will be available on imdisciple.com as they become scheduled.
Institute of Missionary Disciples (IMD)
IMD is a partnership between the diocese and Franciscan University of Steubenville and Revive Parishes to provide both certificate tracks and non-track faith formation classes. The courses are all of-fered free of charge, as IMD is funded by donations to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Visit: imdisciple.com
Formed
FORMED is a multi-media faith formation program from Augustine Institute. It’s currently available for free for the parish-ioners of more than 15 of our parishes, providing Catholic content from more than 60 organizations, including movies, children’s programs, ebooks, audio, par-ish programs and studies — all with the ease of accessing via computer, phone, or device. You can even stream directly on your TV using Roku, Apple TV, Chrome-cast and more. For those whose parish is not already in partnership with FORMED, a free seven-day trial is available. For more information, visit formed.org.
Augustine Institute Short Classes
Online courses offered through the Augustine Institute, these short classes focus in on specific topics, digging into Scripture, tradition, doctrine and more, preparing students to understand and live their faith better, and be prepared to share it with others. Classes are designed for those in parish ministry or those look-ing to grow in their faith. Classes include video lessons, reading as-signments, quizzes, related resources and discussion boards all taught by Augustine Institute professors. Courses can be bought individually for $59 or all courses are accessible through the $23/month subscription. New courses are added every month. For more information, visit shortcourses.augustineinstitute.org.
STEP online courses through Notre Dame
STEP online courses are created by University of Notre Dame theology professors and other theologians and are designed for catechists, teachers, lay ministers, deacons and other adult Catholics. Individual classes can be taken separately, or one can enroll in a Certificate of Catholic Theology track in one of five areas of study. Online courses are four to eight weeks long and cost between $50 and $100 per course. Courses consist of reading text, watching video lessons, sharing reflections in discussion forums, and partici-pating in live online discussions with classmates. To learn more, visit mcgrath.nd.edu/online-courses/step/courses/.
Sacred Heart Major Seminary EQUIP
Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit offers a catalog of online courses called EQUIP, featuring free and low-cost self-paced online courses on topics ranging from the theology of the new evangelization to deep-diving into the theology of Mary, catechist formation and more. Visit equip.shms.edu for more information.
Aquinas College Scholarship
Both degree seeking and non-degree seeking Catholic school, parish or diocesan employees over age 22 are eligible for 50% tuition reduction in any course of study in more than 60 undergraduate and four graduate programs at Aquinas College. In addition, individuals involved in ministry or adult lay people who want to further their theological education are eligible for a 50% tuition reduction for the Certificate in Theological Studies. Visit Aquinas.edu/theology or email [email protected] for more information.