People’s History: Facilitation Guide
Click on the image to download this guide.
People’s History of Vatican II has been an effort by Call To Action to experience the memories of our community members shaped by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Through reflection and conversation, we are co-creating an embodied archive of the reforms and promises of Vatican II. Our vision is to expand our collective understanding of this foundational moment and seed its wisdom into our current church-reform movement. You can find examples of our previous conversations on our website at cta-usa.org/elders.
In this facilitation guide, we provide a template for how you might hold a People's History of Vatican II conversation or gathering. Of course, please feel free to adapt this resource to better suit the unique needs of your community. If you have questions, or would like additional support, you may email abby@cta-usa.org.
This guide can be suited for groups ranging from 2 to200. And if you or anyone gathered wishes to express their Vatican II memories via poetry, song, visual art, or the likes… please do; there are no official rules!
Amen.
Overview: A facilitator may take a few moments to explain why folks are gathered and what brings them to this project. This is a good time to clarify consent on how this conversation might be recorded. For example, is everyone okay on video, on audio, and/or being quoted in a published piece?
Introduction: After a brief overview, invite everyone present to introduce themselves in a large group! We’re big fans of asking the circle to share their name, pronouns, and in just a few sentences answer the question - “what is your relationship with the Catholic Church?!” It’s a loaded starter and that helps folks jump right in!
Interview: After everyone has shared in the large group, we invite folks to pair off into one-on-one conversations. Depending on the make-up of your gathering, it might be fruitful to focus on intergenerational pairings, folks from different parishes, or simply new faces! This is where you might begin to record and/or take notes!
Consider these generative questions to begin, though surely more will arise and there are no rules about answering all of them!
What are your earliest memories of the Catholic Church? How are they different from the Church you know today?
Did you have any hopes for the Second Vatican Council as it was in session? Did those hopes come to pass?
How would you have imagined the “future of the Church” in the 1960s? In the 1970s? How do you imagine that future today?
How have your understandings of the Church, liturgy, laity, priesthood, or sacrament been impacted by the reforms of Vatican II?
What do you think that we, as a Church, have gained through the reforms of the Second Vatican Council?
What, if anything, do you think has been lost? What reforms are you still waiting for?
What, if anything, would you like to see from a “Vatican III”?
Returning to a large group: After some time in a one-on-one setting, invite everyone to the large group to share what themes emerged from their conversations. If the schedule allows, this is a great time to go back around the circle and invite folks to process and reflect together. Some generative invitations might include: What surprised you? What did you feel; what are you feeling now? What do you remain curious about?
Closure: If it feels right to tie off the reflection with a little bow, a facilitator might ask each participant to share out one word or take-away from their time together! In any case, a strong closure could include sharing what is next and how to stay connected. For example, is someone sending reflections, audio, video, or photos to Call To Action?
Finally, CTA is so grateful for your participation and looking forward to connecting via previous gatherings’ reflections, through a chapter near you, or generally to our website cta-usa.org! In particular, feel free to invite people to subscribe to CTA emails via our home-page.
