Collins seeks study of Adult Education

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
St. Albert

The office has been more or less dormant since the retirement of former director Father Jack Spicer last December.

Replacing Spicer with somebody new is not enough, Collins told the meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council at Star of the North Retreat House April 12. "The time has come for us to reflect upon what are our needs for adult education."

Thirty-four people attended the APC meeting, including lay representatives of all the regions of the archdiocese as well as representatives of the Council of Priests and the Council of Women Religious.

Things have changed over the years, said the archbishop, noting that the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is now covering a good portion of what is known as adult education.

"We also have the development of Newman Theological College and St. Joseph College, both of which are very much involved in various things which could well be called adult education in the faith."

Over the years the Adult Learning Commission has put on tours of the Holy Land and has organized the successful annual Scripturefest lecture series. It also has a huge resource library, which is currently being operated by Sister Madeleine Geiger, Spicer's former assistant. In addition, Spicer has introduced many different books, booklets and other adult education tools.

Instead of hiring a new director of adult education, "I think it is better to go more deeply to the question - What are the (adult education) needs?" Collins told the APC meeting. "Father Spicer's work I think is literally irreplaceable and the library I think is being much used. And the Scripturefest is certainly a very valuable exercise and some entity needs to keep it going." The archdiocese or Newman College could take over Scripturefest, the archbishop suggested.

"Are there some things we should be doing for adult education in the faith?" - Archbishop Thomas Collins

"What I would like to do is a real consultation on the needs for adult education that are not perhaps being covered by either RCIA or something else.

"Are there some things we should be doing for adult education in the faith? We have the school system, we have the RCIA, we have Newman College, and we have St. Joseph's College, we have the WCR and we have the rural catechetical team."

He urged APC delegates to discuss the issue in the regions and the parishes. "We need to find out what we need at the archdiocesan level that can be fruitfully helpful to the Church," he said. "There are a lot of possibilities and I think we don't want to do something that's already well done by somebody else."

Delegate Sandi Riddett of Wetaskiwin thinks it's time for the archdiocese to make full use of the Internet for adult education purposes. "I hope they develop a program where you can ask questions and get the answers you need," she said.

APC chair Chris Meerveld said Spicer did an "excellent job" but he believes it is time to change direction. He thinks parishes should run adult education programs with the help of an archdiocesan adult education professional.

Also at the meeting, Collins urged APC delegates to review the state of pastoral care in their regions. He said he's had people visit him to say some feel left out. "Are there any people kind of slipping through the cracks?" he asked.

"There are extraordinary things happening (in the pastoral care field)," he noted. "The volunteers are out there in the hospitals and nursing homes. And we have Caritas; we have all kinds of institutions like Catholic Social Services and many other people in pastoral care.

"But the question I keep on asking is, Is there anyone who is being missed? Are there people who when they are sick are being missed in terms of being cared for? Or is it that we are really good in one area but not in other areas? Is there a lack of consistency from parish to parish and region to region?"

Collins said people in the diocese, "wherever they are," should have equal access to first-rate pastoral care. Recently he asked a group of people to get together to look at the pastoral care situation.

The group, with representatives from Caritas Health Group, Catholic Social Services and other groups, has met regularly to tackle the question. "One practical suggestion that has surfaced from this is that many people see the advantage of having parish nurses," he noted. The archbishop urged delegates to discuss the issue in their regions.

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