To Give or...

    The deacon of our parish asked me last week if I would be interested in offering something again this year to the parish. Last year I facilitated a course on the Sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Reconciliation, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination and Anointing of the Sick. It was geared toward the parents of the students in our Faith First program; these kids were undergoing preparation for some of these Sacraments themselves. We wanted to help the parents help their kids understand what the Sacraments were all about. At the information evening when we proposed this course to the parents, I was surprised at the general reaction. "But I've done my Sacraments already." As if once you tick them off your list, they need not be thought of again. Or that we were trying to punish them in some way. And others, "I was an altar server growing up." I wasn't quite sure why they were telling me this. To prove they were devout? To suggest that they didn't need a refresher? The feeling was that we were insulting them somehow, by offering this course. We have approximately 150 students in the Faith First program. On average, we had 8-10 parents show up each month. 

    So when the deacon asked me if I was interested in offering something again, part of me wanted to say 'no'. I don't have the same amount of time to spend preparing things like this anymore. If hubby is working late, we'll need a babysitter. But mostly, it was because I didn't think I had made any difference. Sometimes I think I might have acted like a professor rather than a facilitator. Sometimes I think it doesn't matter how I went about it, some parents would sit there with their arms crossed as if to say, "Go ahead, teach me." I was also self-conscious because at the time I didn't have kids and I was (am) in my twenties, trying to teach parents who were at least 10 years older than me.

    But at the end of the day, I can't help myself. I believe that I should share my talents, particularly in this circumstance. I have a degree in theology. I could help share the load with the priest and the deacon. Besides, you never know when you've made an impression on someone. It could be just one person and it could have made all the difference in the world to that one person.

    This time around we will be offering one or two bible studies about community and reconciliation. I'm looking forward to it but also anxious. I'll let you know how things are going as they develop.