Field education gets students out of the“ sanctuary” and into the“ drama of the human condition.”
YOUR SEMINARIANS
Stepping Out in Faith
Field education gets students out of the“ sanctuary” and into the“ drama of the human condition.”
There is a common perception that life at a seminary is like living at a cloistered monastery. Think of the idyllic image of robed monks with head bowed in silent prayer, with Gregorian chant echoing through the halls.
Of course, seminarians spend considerable time each day in liturgical and personal prayer. But Sacred Heart is a place of engagement and activity: the men participate in sporting competitions, stage theatrical performances, march in prolife demonstrations, make overseas pilgrimages, not to mention enjoy the lively give-and-take that goes on daily in the classroom.
There are many opportunities for“ pastoral” engagement, as well— learning to reach out with compassion and Christian hope to the greater community. One opportunity is through a new lineup of field instruction courses, designed to develop the pastoral dimension of a seminarian’ s priestly character.
Theory into Practice
Two years ago, Sacred Heart’ s formation team, led by then-vice rector Bishop Gerard Battersby, revised the second year of the graduate-level Field Education curriculum by adding a course in the“ New Evangelization.” The first-year program, in turn, became“ Clinical” Field Education. The focus of the courses is practical: seminarians gain experience ministering in real-life settings, such as at a hospital, youth detention center, or college campus. The goal is to better
Daniel Gallio
prepare seminarians to be effective leaders of their flocks and brave witnesses of Christ’ s saving grace to the secular culture.
“ Part of the reason we want to train our men through courses such as Field Education,” explains new Vice Rector Fr. Stephen Burr,“ is that we have in our culture those who do not know God or only have a peripheral knowledge of God, those who are unchurched, those with no faith in Jesus. There needed to be an opportunity for seminarians to learn how to speak to all types of people.”
“ Students at Sacred Heart receive a lot of theoretical instruction about the Church’ s teaching on the new evangelization,” says Fr. John Vandenakker, CC, who oversees the Field Education curriculum.“ However, the goal of the field education course is to give students practical experience.”
Where Catholics“ Are At” They certainly get significant practical experience through the revised Field Education courses. During the fall term, for example, the men of Theology 1 are required to attend an Alpha parish renewal program( alphausa. org) held at a local parish.
“ The men attend in cognito,” Father Vandenakker says. That way, he explains, the seminarians do not become the center of attention or perceived as representing“ the Church,” which might suppress small-group discussion. Alpha’ s fifteen weekly sessions present the essential gospel message to attendees so they may experience Christ in a deeper way. Parish members are encouraged to invite friends and family members who are distant from the practice of religion.
“ The benefits of seminarians attending an Alpha course are many,” Father Vandenakker says.“ It allows them to see, as future pastors, what a parish-wide program of evangelization would look like.” Attendance at Alpha“ puts a finger on the pulse of where Catholics‘ are at’ with the faith,” he explains. As such, seminarians begin to develop“ pastoral wisdom.”
“ They see real conversions happening. Everyone who goes through Alpha is blessed in a tangible way,” Father Vandenakker says. That includes Matthew Wagner, a secondyear theologian for the Diocese of Winona.
“ I found myself edified, watching those who had little or no faith reach a point in which they could profess belief in God, even going so far as to join RCIA to become fully Catholic,” Matthew notes.“ It truly was an incredible experience.”
“ What Could I Possibly Offer?”
Two seminarians are chosen, as an alternative to attending Alpha, to do weekly ministry at Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility in Detroit. This work of mercy is performed in conjunction with the Office of Youth Ministry of the Archdiocese of Detroit.
“ It is a work of evangelization in a different way,” Father Vandenakker says. The seminarians perform a simple listening ministry to help the male and female detainees, ages thirteen through eighteen, deal with fear, brokenness, and emotional pain.
“ Being at the juvenile detention facility was difficult for me. It really challenged me to move beyond the boundaries of my carefully cultivated comfort-zone,” says Alex Colautti, a third-year theologian with the Companions of Christ religious community.“ It felt so foreign in that place, and I wondered what I could possibly offer these kids who had struggled so much.
14 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2017