Faith Formation for Adults with Special Needs (SN 5)

Course Summary

Adults who have Intellectual Disabilities have spiritual needs. Many welcome the opportunity to become more aware of God’s presence with them when they have an appropriate catechesis. An appropriate catechesis, such as the one presented at the end of this course, will help them become, using one example, more knowledgeable of sacred articles that are part of Catholic prayer and worship at the Sunday liturgy. Hopefully this course will promote a better sense of belonging for them.

Rooted in the Gospel healings of Jesus, and stepping out of a dark history, many adults with developmental disabilities are now welcomed into a full life within the Catholic Church. Having been included in parish life in the recent past, and to hasten a better sense of belonging, adults with cognitive developmental disabilities can now be offered opportunities to enrich their faith.

Successful completion of this course earns 2.5 CEU's.

General Course Objectives

• Participants will become familiar with a brief history of the living conditions of persons with cognitive disabilities illustrating the unjust situations that prevented this population from appropriate living conditions in the community that include appropriate catechesis, inclusion and belonging within church community life.
• As a summons for inclusion, catechesis and belonging, participants will reflect upon Gospel selections presented that include the healings of Jesus for persons with physical and mental disabilities whereby He allowed them to return to a full life within the larger community.
• With these Gospel healings as a basis, participants will reflect on Church documents advocating for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the life of the church community that leads to welcoming and a spirit of belonging.
• To contribute to a sense of belonging in parish liturgy and prayer there follows a sensory-based methodology for prayer and catechesis for adult persons with cognitive disabilities.
• Using this methodology for catechesis, a practicum selected from Awakening Spiritual Dimensions II is offered to enable the participants to become familiar with several articles (sacramentals) used for Catholic liturgy and prayer.

Course Materials

• No books required. All readings are online.

Course Structure and Highlights

• Week 1: History, Injustice, Freedom
  • Learn the injustices that persons with developmental disabilities had to endure during their lives within institutions stemming from fears and misconceptions.
  • Learn of the challenges that they faced preventing them from enjoying a fullness of life within the civic community.
  • Learn and articulate the freedoms granted as an outcome of the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and 70’s and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 and how these movements have affected the lives of persons with developmental disabilities.
• Week 2: Gospel Healings of Jesus, Belonging and Fullness of Life
  • Read and reflect upon selected Gospel passages discovering the mercy and compassion of Jesus toward those with mental and physical disabilities.
  • Learn that these Gospel selections are the basis for recent church documents that advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities to full participation in church life.
  • Apply the Gospel passages of healing to contemporary situations that are part of a person with disabilities’ place in church and civic community life.
• Week 3: Church Documents and Advocacy
  • Learn what the American bishops, the USCCB, has taught regarding the inclusion of persons with disabilities into full participation in church life.
  • Encourage catechists, pastors, and parish personnel to convey and promote these teachings.
  • Advocate for persons with disabilities so that they may enjoy what is rightfully theirs within all aspects of parish life.
• Week 4: Sensory-based catechesis: Awakening Spiritual Dimensions: How to…the Method
  • Learn and become familiar with this sensory-based methodology used for the learning experience.
  • Learn how to apply the methodology in the learning session.
  • Discover the benefits of using such a methodology rather than using a more typical approach to catechesis.
• Week 5: Awakening Spiritual Dimensions II: Sacred Articles for Prayer and Liturgy
  • Plan, organize, and set-up a learning session using the Awakening methodology.
  • Enact the learning session.
  • Determine and evaluate the benefits, weaknesses, and feasibility for using such a methodology for adult catechesis.

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