Hybrid learning — combining face-to-face and online teaching — is taking place in adult faith formation programs throughout the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

That includes the Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul, which was founded in 2008 as an offering for lay people from The Seminaries of S. Paul, under the auspices of St. Paul Seminary.

The institute offers formation programs for adults who want to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic faith and further their spiritual formation. Its efforts include a two-year Pillars Program, a course that walks students through the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” and ongoing formation such as the School of Discipleship, School of Prayer and School of the Holy Spirit, as well as courses on the Liturgy of the Hours, Scripture and virtue.

“The goal of the Catechetical Institute is to educate the laity in the Catholic faith such that they can live and share the faith with a renewed confidence, with conviction and hope,” said Kelly Wahlquist, Catechetical Institute director.

The institute holds classes at the seminary and elsewhere around the Twin Cities. With the advances in technology and the impetus of COVID-19 precautions, it is also expanding its offerings online.

Its online outreach includes St. Stephen in Minneapolis, where 75 people ages 18 to 35 are participating in the institute’s School of Discipleship course, gathering at the church to view lessons via livestream, followed by 30 minutes of eucharistic adoration.

The School of Discipleship was launched three years ago and includes a 40-day challenge of discipleship; 1,825 students have participated, Wahlquist said. That includes a current class of 500 people who began their experience Jan. 5, either in-person in St. Louis Park at Holy Family’s brand-new Crusader Hall, or via livestream in homes or at satellite sites such as St. Stephen.

About 240 of the current class are men from the Fishers of Men, an organization in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois. Still others from that diocese are participating through Be Formed, an adult formation discipleship program for men and women.

“I listened to each of (the) lectures livestream at home, which was followed by a virtual discussion with my small group,” said Mark Finn, 64, a parishioner at St. Raphael in Naperville, Illinois. “It’s been an opportunity to deepen my spiritual maturity and meet new people, and through the 40-day challenge, I’ve developed some prayer and scriptural reading habits that have been beneficial.”

Wahlquist said people were encouraged to meet in groups when possible.

“Recognizing the importance of being together to worship, learn and grow in our faith, we encouraged those who could gather in person to do so,” she said. “As such, we had groups in Iowa, Ohio, New Jersey and Texas meeting in parishes to watch the seven lessons via livestream.”

While COVID-19 protocols and offering the course in-person and virtually presented new issues, such as technology challenges, Wahlquist said it’s been well worth it.

“We have been able to provide the great offerings of the Catechetical Institute to more people at a time when so many are yearning to grow in their faith,” Wahlquist said.

“Pre-COVID, our Pillars Program was offered via livestream to a satellite site in Wadena,” she said. “We have added more satellite sites that will host the Pillars Program and Class of St. Joseph beginning this fall, and will continue to offer the School of Discipleship via livestream.”

Jeff Cavins, who teaches the School of Discipleship course, describes a disciple as “someone who has responded positively to the call of Jesus to follow him.”

“That means we live in close proximity with Jesus and we come to know his heart and his plan,” he said. “The ultimate goal is that we would become holy as he is holy.”

Cavins, a public speaker, author and Bible teacher, is the creator of the Great Adventure Bible Timeline study program. He is also director emeritus and an instructor at the Catechetical Institute and a former director of evangelization for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“I made an observation that people were coming to conferences, buying Catholic formation materials, but having difficulty putting their faith into practice on a daily basis,” Cavins said. “I noticed more of a personal relationship with theology than a personal relationship with the Lord.”

“I developed the School of Discipleship course to help others see what that relationship was 2,000 years ago — to walk with Jesus — and take that as we understand it and apply it to our modern era,” he said. “To truly walk with Jesus throughout the day and literally act like a disciple of his.”

“The participants are everyday people, not super students; they need more than just learning,” Cavins said. “They want to learn how to share Christ with others, and they want their parishes to grow. They want to learn: how do I recognize the opportunities, how do I start a conversation, how do I keep it going, how do I read body language and eyes, and how do I become a blessing to that person without being obnoxious.”

The School of Discipleship course includes seven weekly lessons taught by Cavins, followed by the 40-day challenge, when students take the disciplines of being a disciple, put them together and live them each day. A one-day discipleship seminar concludes the course, providing an opportunity for students to share their personal experiences of being an “activated disciple.”

“The overall activated disciple is not just between us and Jesus, but how can we share that message with others,” Finn said. “I’m continually reminded of the challenge … when you see those opportunities, to be sensitive enough to identify them and secondly, to go for it.”

School of Discipleship

The next School of Discipleship will be held Tuesday evenings, 7–8:30 p.m., June 22-August 3, at St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park and via livestream. For more information, visit semssp.org/ci.