The Office of Spirituality and Formation for Ministry is an integral part of the Secretariat of Evangelization for the diocese. This office collaborates with the offices of central administration and provides coordinated, thorough and consistent preparation for ministry throughout our large diocese. Spirituality and Formation for Ministry helps lay women and men to understand the process of formation, as they use their gifts and talents in becoming Missionary Disciples.

The Associate Director is the diocesan liaison to Spring Hill College as we continually educate adults who are called to be Spiritual Directors in our seven deaneries. Currently, we have 17 people in our second cohort with Spring Hill College.

Also, this office promoted the establishment of a partnership with the University of Dayton to educate virtually the laity in Adult Faith Formation. Dayton’s virtual program is one of the finest in the country and has been in existence for over 20 years. Many lay parish staff, volunteer catechists and volunteer RCIA members, are offered grant opportunities through this office.

The Office of Spirituality and Formation for ministry has coordinated efforts with other non-profit organizations such as RENEW Int’l to bring various programs to the diocese in human, spiritual and intellectual formation.

Learn More: 2020-2021 Annual Report

What’s New

Pope Francis has convened a synod that will run from October 2021 to October 2023. Its theme is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.” The synod will begin locally in each diocese, then move to a continental phase, and finally, conclude with an assembly with the Synod of Bishops in Rome. In the coming weeks, parishioners will be invited to participate in listening sessions to discern future direction of the Church, with a questionnaire sent to be completed. All data will be analyzed, summarized, answers collected and an Executive Report will be written by the local Synodal team to be sent on to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Thank you in advance for participating in this synod. Should you have any questions, please contact Sister Kathy Adamski, OSF, our diocesan synod coordinator, at kadamski@charlestondioces.org or 843-261-0498.

For additional resources visit: charlestondiocese.org/synod2023

Year Seven of Formation deals with Intellectual Formation of the four pillars of formation as we explore the topic of  “Prophets Yesterday and Today”. We will give an overview of the three major parts of the Old Testament, concentrating on Biblical Prophets.  We will also mention a few minor and major prophets and how they challenged the people to live moral lives.

A big part of this year’s seminar reviews and analyzes the need for modern-day prophets as we discuss Catholic Social Teaching and analyze a major issue affecting our society today:  the racial climate and disparities in our world, specifically with regard to the United States.  Our office and the Office of Ethnic Ministries of the Diocese of Charleston have collaborated to address key aspects of Catholic teaching regarding this topic.  We will discuss modern Church teachings and whether how one lives life is consistent with the teachings of the major prophet:  Jesus, the Christ. Click here for the Year VII FFMM Schedule.

Additional Resource:

The document Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love – A Pastoral Letter Against Racism was developed by the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Purchase from USCCB | Read online

Study guide (English) | Study guide (Spanish)

Did you know that the Office of Spirituality and Formation for Ministry has a Facebook group? To request to join, please click here.

The Diocese of Charleston has partnered with the University of Dayton virtual learning community to offer continuing education courses for all those in parish ministries.  For more information or to apply for a tuition grant, please contact Sister Kathy Adamski, OSF, at 843.261.0498 or kadamski@charlestondiocese.org.

Now Registering! Registration for Cycle 1 begins October 13 and runs through January 12. Classes begin January 17.

Cycle 1 course offerings (English) | Cycle 1 course offerings (Spanish)

See what UD has to offer at https://vlcff.udayton.edu.

This is a staff-development process for all chancery, parish and Catholic Charities staffs who minister in the Diocese of Charleston, which includes the entire state. Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone, recognizing the role of the laity in the Church, established Spirituality and Formation for Ministry under the Education and Faith Formation Secretariat in August of 2016. At that time, our bishop was responding and recognizing the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the great Ecumenical Council Vatican II. One of the 16 documents of Vatican II was the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Apostolicam Actuiositatem.

His Holiness, Pope Paull VI promulgated the document and in its introduction, one reads about the “proper and indispensable role of the laity in the mission of the Church … The Christian vocation by its very nature is a vocation to the Apostolate” (#2). The laity’s major duty is union with Christ.

When the Office of Spirituality and Formation for Ministry began over five years ago, we delved into the formation pillars that originated with the writings of St. John Paul II — human formation, intellectual formation, spiritual formation, and pastoral formation.

The first three years, we concentrated on intellectual formation. Specifically, we discussed Revelation and Catholic identity. Second, we explored the sacraments and models of the Church. The third year, we examined the social teachings of the church and how we make moral decisions. The fourth year, we transitioned into human formation as we learned about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and each participant took the full MBTI and either learned or re-learned their personality traits. The fifth year we collaborated with the Office of Stewardship and Mission Advancement to offer a spiritual formation retreat. Last year, our concentration was on human formation, as we reviewed the importance of one’s IQ, EQ and LQ respectively: Intelligence Quotient, Emotional Quotient and Love Quotient, as we defined those terms and explored how how Jesus exemplified intelligence, emotional, and love quotients.

Year Seven of Formation deals with Intellectual Formation of the four pillars of formation as we explore the topic of  “Prophets Yesterday and Today.” We will give an overview of the three major parts of the Old Testament, concentrating on Biblical Prophets. We will also mention a few minor and major prophets and how they challenged the people to live moral lives.

A big part of this year’s seminar reviews and analyzes the need for modern-day prophets as we discuss Catholic Social Teaching and analyze a major issue affecting our society today: the racial climate and disparities in our world, specifically with regard to the United States. Our office and the Office of Ethnic Ministries of the Diocese of Charleston have collaborated to address key aspects of Catholic teaching regarding this topic. We will discuss modern Church teachings and whether how one lives life is consistent with the teachings of the major prophet: Jesus, the Christ.