By Paula Day

Traditionally September is the month to begin parish programs, including classes for people interested in joining the Catholic Church.

However, a growing number of parishes in the archdiocese are experimenting with an extended period for introducing inquirers to the Catholic faith. Some adult catechists believe a yearlong program is the wave of the future.

"It's a more welcoming approach," commented Father Stewart Wilber, director of Holy Family's Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). While the parish does not yet offer a 12-months opportunity for those interested in Catholicism, it has expanded its inquiry sessions. Meetings beginning in May and scheduled at two-week intervals throughout the summer "open the window wider," according to the parochial vicar.

To emphasize the "no strings attached" element in the Marietta parish inquiry sessions, participants are invited to drop in and have their questions answered about any aspect of the Catholic Church. However, no names or addresses are registered until the third meeting.

The national Conference of Catholic Bishops recognizes RCIA as the appropriate avenue for the majority of those wishing to enter the Church. Private, individual instruction is the exception reserved for unusual situations. But "you can't say to people (who are interested in knowing more about the Church), 'wait until September,'" observed Father David Stachurski, OFM Conv., chairperson for the Atlanta Forum on the Catechumenate.

"(A yearlong program) gives people more time than the usual school year model" to internalize the conversion experience and "a greater appreciation of what they're doing on Holy Saturday," the pastor of St. John Vianney Church in Lithia Springs added.

RCIA is a process by which adults are brought into the sacramental life of the Catholic Church. It traces its history to the practice of Christians in early church communities who took individuals into their company and introduced them to their way of life. The catechumenate, as it is called is a time of conversion. Along the way the initiates and the community together mark the journey of faith with celebrations using special rites.

The Second Vatican Council called for the restoration of the catechumenate and of appropriate rites to celebrate the conversion experience. After two decades of experimentation and the use of provisional rites, the U.S. bishops approved RCIA in its present form and made its implementation mandatory in 1988.

In most cases, the process follows a schedule parallel to the academic year. It consists of a pre-catechumenate or inquiry period, roughly from September to Christmas. This is followed by a time of formation and instruction lasting until Lent. Then a more intense period focuses on deepening the conversion experience and leads to full initiation into the Church on Holy Saturday.

The extended schedule adopted by Holy Family and other parishes begins shortly after Easter and may double the inquiry period. A team of parish volunteers directed by Father Wilber and coordinated by Rob Doerschner facilitates the process.

Participants begin by dispelling common misunderstandings such as "Do Catholics worship statues?" The questions gradually become more penetrating. "Why is the pope infallible?" "Why can't non-Catholics go to Communion?" "Why do Catholics confess to a priest?" By the time the summer is over, the group has weeded out misconceptions, gained a deeper understanding of the church and formed close relationships.

Dawn Brown, 30, is a member of the parish inquiry class. Unbaptized, she says she waited 30 years to find a church "to call home." Responding to a notice in the parish bulletin, she began attending the sessions in May and found them so responsive to her needs she wished they could be held weekly.

"You could ask any question. The atmosphere was informal, friendly. There was no high pressure," Ms. Brown noted. "In the summer there's time and you have a better chance to know the people in the class. That's a support and it's important to me because no one else in my family is Catholic. I have no one else who has had the same experience."

Jeff Betzold, an administrative supervisor for Hewlett-Packard, also participated in the summer inquiry sessions. Last fall he had tried to match his schedule with the parish agenda but was unable to do so.

"My schedule is so erratic. It gave me another option to explore," Betzold said of the addition. "(The summer series) gave me the freedom to ask if this was right for me and make decisions when I felt ready to. It was gradual, no rush." For Betzold, the decision-making began shortly after he married and was solidified when he became a father.

Both Ms. Brown and Betzold participated in the Rite of Acceptance, Sunday, Sept. 12. The rite is a ceremony during which inquirers are formally introduced to the parish community and accepted as individuals on a journey of faith. It marks the transition from pre-catechumenate to catechumenate. The ceremony is the first of two such rites planned by the parish. The inquirers in the fall sessions will be accepted for the catechumenate in a similar ceremony before Christmas. In the meantime, Father Wilber believes those from the summer sessions will benefit, having the time "to reflect on and internalize" what they are experiencing.

Asked if waiting until Easter to be received into the Church seemed unreasonable, Ms. Brown responded, "I've spent two years searching for a place that I could call home. I'm unbaptized and have waited 30 years for baptism. A year doesn't mean a thing."

Other parishes known to have adopted the extended inquiry period for RCIA to accommodate those interested in Catholicism are St. Lawrence in Lawrenceville, St. Patrick's in Norcross, St. Philip Benizi in Jonesboro and the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. The cathedral has a yearlong RCIA program.