Category Archives: Adult Faith Formation

January 27, 2013: News from the AFFC

AFFC Logo

Wednesday, January 30, 7:30pm, Social Hall: Jeff Bloechl on Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor  The Adult Faith Formation Commission is delighted to announce that Jeff Bloechl, Associate Professor of Philosophy at BC, specializing in contemporary philosophy, philosophy of religion, and Christian philosophy will speak on the Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor.   Connecting to the legacy of the Church’s great intervening event, Vatican Council II, Professor Bloechl, who recently returned from a seminar with Professor Taylor, has described him as  “… a true Vatican II thinker, in the best sense.”  Please join us for what promises to be a thoughtful and exciting evening!

Tuesday, February 5, 6:30pm, Social Hall: Evening for Women   This year’s theme focuses us on the door of faith always open for us, beckoning us to rediscover more about the core of faith as love offered and accepted, an invitation to ponder the biblical revelation of love. Through reflection, prayer, sharing, with a fabulous pot-luck, we’ll enter that door of faith together. (Bring one of your favorite winter recipes!) Moderator: Sr. Evelyn Ronan, SND

Thursday, February 7
Lecture: The Heart of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
Presenter: Fr. Robert Imbelli, Theology Professor at B.C.
Respondents: BC Professors Marina McCoy (Philosophy) and Khaled Anastolios (Theology), at Boston College, Gasson Hall, Room 100, 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 20
Panel Discussion: Future of Catholic Periodicals: Finances, Faith and the Digital Age  Editors Panel: Matt Malone, S.J. (America); Paul Baumann (Commonweal) and Meinrad Sherer-Edmunds (U.S. Catholic), at Boston College, Gasson Hall, Room 100, 5:30 p.m.

AFFC Speaker: Jeff Bloechl on Catholic Philosopher Charles Taylor – Tuesday, February 19 at 7:00pm

Taylor-COVER-A-Secular-Age(Rescheduled from January – please note the new start time is 7:00pm)  The Adult Faith Formation Commission is delighted to announce that Jeff Bloechl, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston College specializing in contemporary philosophy, philosophy of religion, and Christian philosophy, will speak on the Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor.  As Father Michael Gallagher comments in his work Faith Maps:

“In 1960 when Charles Taylor was a graduate student at Oxford, he published an article entitled “Clericalism”, critical of the marginal role given to lay people in the Catholic Church. This showed, he argued, a defensive Church isolated from modern culture…  His critique is now directed against a different form of academic clericalism, whereby philosophers, sociologists, and historians find it normal to ignore the spiritual dimensions of life. Such intellectuals, he holds, have not only forgotten the answers to the great questions of life, they have forgotten the questions.”

Connecting to the legacy of the Church’s great intervening event, Vatican Council II, Professor Bloechl, who recently returned from a seminar with Professor Taylor, has described him as  “… a true Vatican II thinker, in the best sense.”  Please join us for what promises to be a thoughtful and exciting evening!
St. John the Evangelist Parish, Social Hall, 7:00pm

January 20: Upcoming AFFC Events

AFFC LogoSunday, January 27, 7:30pm: Defending Childhood with Thea James, MD.  Dr. James is a member of the U.S. Attorney General’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence and director of  Boston Medical Center’s Violence Intervention Advocacy Program.  At Sacred Heart Parish, 1321 Centre St., Newton, MA.

Wednesday, January 30, 7:30pm, Social Hall: Jeff Bloechl on Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor  The Adult Faith Formation Commission is delighted to announce that Jeff Bloechl, Associate Professor of Philosophy at BC, specializing in contemporary philosophy, philosophy of religion, and Christian philosophy will speak on the Catholic philosopher Charles Taylor. As Father Michael Gallagher comments in his work Faith Maps:

In 1960 when Charles Taylor was a graduate student at Oxford, he published an article entitled “Clericalism”, critical of the marginal role given to lay people in the Catholic Church. This showed, he argued, a defensive Church isolated from modern culture…  His critique is now directed against a different form of academic clericalism, whereby philosophers, sociologists, and historians find it normal to ignore the spiritual dimensions of life. Such intellectuals, he holds, have not only forgotten the answers to the great questions of life , they have forgotten the questions.

Connecting to the legacy of the Church’s great intervening event, Vatican Council II, Professor Bloechl, who recently returned from a seminar with Professor Taylor, has described him as  “… a true Vatican II thinker, in the best sense.”  Please join us for what promises to be a thoughtful and exciting evening!

Tuesday, February 5, 6:30pm, Social Hall: Evening for Women   This year’s theme focuses us on the door of faith always open for us, beckoning us to rediscover more about the core of faith as love offered and accepted, an invitation to ponder the biblical revelation of love. Through reflection, prayer, sharing, with a fabulous pot-luck, we’ll enter that door of faith together. (Bring one of your favorite winter recipes!) Moderator: Sr. Evelyn Ronan, SND

January 13: Upcoming AFFC Events

AFFC LogoThursday, January 17: Book Group, 7:30-9:00pm 
Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church by Luke Timothy Johnson.  Parish Center Board Room.

Tuesday, February 5: Evening for Women, 6:30pm This year’s theme focuses us on the door of faith always open for us, beckoning us to rediscover more about the core of faith as love offered and accepted, an invitation to ponder the biblical revelation of love. Through reflection, prayer, sharing, with a fabulous pot-luck, we’ll enter that door of faith together. (Bring one of your favorite winter recipes!) Social Hall. Moderator: Sr. Evelyn Ronan, SND

Adult Faith Formation Commission: AFFC@stjohnwellesley.org

Adult Faith Formation: Please Consider Becoming a Part of this Important Parish Activity

AFFC LogoThe Adult Faith Formation Commission would like to expand its membership and we invite you to consider becoming part of this very important parish activity. The commission is responsible for planning and coordinating all efforts relating to religious education for adults. Our goal is to help members of the parish to expand and enhance their understanding and appreciation of the message of the gospels, to see faith formation as part of being a responsible Catholic.  The commission has been meeting monthly, except for the summer months, since its creation. Much of the work, however, can be done by individuals and sub-committees and coordinated informally by email and telephone. We would be more than happy to talk to potential commission members – in person, by phone or by email.  Please drop us a note at affc@stjohnswellesley.org

December 9, 2012: A Message from the Adult Faith Formation Commission

AFFC LogoThe Adult Faith Formation Commission would like to expand its membership and we invite you to consider becoming part of this very important parish activity. The commission is responsible for planning and coordinating all efforts relating to religious education for adults. Our goal is to help members of the parish to expand and enhance their understanding and appreciation of the message of the gospels, to see faith formation as part of being a responsible Catholic.  The commission has been meeting monthly, except for the summer months, since its creation. Much of the work, however, can be done by individuals and sub-committees and coordinated informally by email and telephone. We would be more than happy to talk to potential commission members – in person, by phone or by email.  Please drop us a note at affc@stjohnswellesley.org

December 2, 2012: News from the Adult Faith Formation Commission

AFFC LogoSunday, December 2, 7:30 p.m. – Sacred Heart Parish, Newton Vatican II: Fifty Years Later, The Advent of the Year of Faith
Fr. Robert Imbelli, Associate Professor of Theology, Boston College

Tuesday, December 4, 6:30 p.m. – St. John’s Church Social Hall
Evening for Women: Swinging Wide the Door of Faith
Let’s begin our Advent Journey with a focus on two women, Mary and Elizabeth, who opened the door of faith and swung it wide! Come join us with a favorite winter recipe for pot-luck, as we share the Advent road into those deep places where God will lead us. All welcome! Moderator: Sr. Evelyn Ronan SND

Thursday, December 6, 7:30 p.m. –  Parish Center
St. John’s Book Discussion Group: Making the Eucharist Matter
by Frank Anderson.

Sunday, December 9, 7:30 p.m. – Sacred Heart Parish, Newton
Heating or Eating? Low-income Workers Need Both
Dawn Hymers, Operations Manager, Eastern Service Workers Association
Established in 1977, Eastern Service Workers Association is a free and voluntary membership association run by and for Boston’s service workers,
temporary, domestic and other low-income workers and their families.

The Genius of Bernard Lonergan – Wednesday, November 28 at 7:30pm

The Adult Faith Formation Commission presents a talk by Professor Fred Lawrence, Boston College Theology Department and founder/director of the Lonergan Workshop, on Wednesday November 28 at 7:30pm in the Social Hall.  Born in 1904 in Canada, Bernard Lonergan, S.J. was a twenty-four year old student of philosophy in England when he discovered John Henry Newman’s Grammar of Assent. He reportedly read it six times, thus setting out on a lifetime journey to show how we justify judgments of truth in areas that are not just empirical, such as faith. Often referred to as the most significant philosophical thinker of the twentieth century, he finished his intellectual apostolate as Distinguished Professor of Theology at Boston College. Today, decades later, Lonergan studies continue to flourish, as the Boston College Lonergan Institute fosters the ever-growing interest in this remarkable scholar and his seminal works.

News from the AFFC: Lonergan Lecture and an Invitation to Join!

AFFC LogoThe Adult Faith Formation Commission would like to expand its membership and we invite you to consider becoming part of this very important parish activity. The commission is responsible for planning and coordinating all efforts relating to religious education for adults. Our goal is to help members of the parish to expand and enhance their understanding and appreciation of the message of the gospels, to see faith formation as part of being a responsible Catholic. The commission has been meeting monthly, except for the summer months, since its creation. Much of the work, however, can be done by individuals and sub-committees and coordinated informally by email and telephone. We would be more than happy to talk to potential commission members – in person, by phone or by email. Please drop us a note at affc@stjohnswellesley.org).

November 28, 7:30pm – “The Genius of Bernard Lonergan”, Social Hall.  A talk by Fred Lawrence, Boston College Theology Department and Director of the Lonergan Workshop.  Bernard Lonergan, born in 1904 in Canada, was a twenty-four year old student of philosophy in England when he discovered John Henry Newman’s Grammar of Assent. He reportedly read it six times, thus setting out on a lifetime journey to show how we justify judgments of truth in areas that are not just empirical, such as faith. Father Lonergan, often referred to as one of the most significant philosophical thinkers of the twentieth century, finished his intellectual apostolate as Distinguished Professor of Theology at Boston College, after holding posts at Jesuit seminaries in Canada, Harvard, the Gregorian University in Rome, and Regis College in Toronto. (Note: There is a wonderful chapter on Bernard Lonergan in Faith Maps, by Michael Paul Gallagher.)

December 4, 6:30pm – Evening for Women, Social Hall/Chapel 
Sr. Evelyn Moderator

Movie Night and Potluck Dinner! Saturday, November 10 after 5pm Mass

We invite all parishioners to the Social Hall for a showing of the movie THE WAY, starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez.  THE WAY is a powerful and inspirational story about family, a story that stays with you, a movie that will provide for some insightful and reflective discussion. Please join us for a special evening together. SPECIAL REQUEST: Please bring your casserole or salad to Social Hall before Mass. Dessert and beverages provided.