Dear Friends of Forum,
For thirty years The North American Forum on the Catechumenate has served the worldwide Church by deepening our understanding of Christian initiation and fostering the full implementation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Forum has done so primarily through its institutes, which have provided parish and diocesan leaders throughout the United States and Canada (and beyond) a unique kind of experiential learning grounded in the stages, rites and ministries of the initiation process. Hundreds of thousands of people have benefited from these events over the past 30 years. At the same time, the income from these events has allowed Forum as an organization to fund its operations and further its mission.
Forum has been struggling financially in recent years. The number of institutes offered and the number of participants registered for each institute have been steadily declining. This year, however, Forum has experienced a drastic and unexpected drop in the number of institutes scheduled, a reduction in income so large that Forum can no longer sustain itself financially. So, with heavy hearts, the Board of Directors has made a unanimous commitment to dissolve the North American Forum on the Catechumenate as a not-for-profit organization with a target date of June 30, 2013.
As we prepare to wrap up Forum’s affairs, the Board is filled with gratitude for an extraordinary thirty years. It is no overstatement to say that Forum and its Team Members have given shape, direction and energy to our experience of Christian initiation in the United States and Canada. The expertise that Forum has provided and nurtured since its founding continues to bear fruit through the writing and work of its Team Members, through the ministry of diocesan leaders, and through the work of the thousands of people who have attended Institutes and who continue to share the Good News in their parishes.
Our efforts continue in the short term. We offer two final webinars and two final institutes:
Final Webinars
- May 16, 2013 – Putting on Christ: An Introduction to the Rite of the Catechumenate, with Rory Cooney
- June 25, 2013 – RCIA: Back to Basics, with Jerry Galipeau
Final "Beginnings" Institutes:
- June 6-8, 2013 – Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA
- June 13-15, 2013 – Diocese of Knoxville, TN
You can find information about and register for any of these events by clicking in the left sidebar.
Even as we grieve Forum’s closing, Board Members remain confident that the Holy Spirit will continue to open up new ways for all of us to continue this important mission.
The Board of Directors of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate
Steven R. Janco, Chair
Sandra Dooley, Treasurer
Michelle Miller, Secretary
Sr. Priscilla Lemire, RJM
Sr. Rosanne Belpedio, CSJ
Catherine Ecker
Rita Thiron
Contact info
The North American Forum on the CatechumenateMcCormick Pavilion
415 Michigan Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20017
Phone: 202-756-4928
Fax: 202-756-4932
Jim Schellman, executive director ext 4931 jschellman@naforum.org
Ira Fernando, finance manager ext 4929 businessoffice@naforum.org
Aleli Belonia, institute manager ext 4930 aleli@naforum.org
Michael DeSapio, registrar ext 4928 info@naforum.org
