Program Overview

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Program Overview

A program for maturing persons of integrity, living in wholeness and holiness, touching the world with much needed gifts and those who are ministering and working with/to people who are growing older.

This course is designed for maturing persons of integrity, living in wholeness and holiness, and touching the world with gifts that are so needed. It is also intended for those who are ministering and working with/to people who are growing older. Through presentations and conversations, participants will explore how we view aging, recognize and discover ways to respond to the needs of this time of life, survey some practices, virtues, and characteristics that gracefully guide this time of life, and reflect on some of the blessings that come at this time of life.

Topics & Materials

Topics:

1. Orientation
2. Our Response to Growing Older
3. The Needs of our Lives as We Grow Older
4. Some Supportive Practices as we Grow Older
5. Blessings that Come at this Time of Life – and Planning for the Years Ahead

Required Text:

Let This Be the Time: Spiritual Essentials for the Second Half of Life; available from Twenty-Third Publications

Schedule

Schedule

Tuesdays: Feb. 10 | Feb. 17 | Feb. 24 | Mar. 3 | Mar. 10

Time

7:00-9:00 p.m. ET

Modality

Online

Cost

$200 per semester

*Orientation and Group Introduction is 7:00-7:45 p.m. ET

Instructor

Janet Schaeffler, O.P. continues the ministry she was involved in for many years in parishes and as Director for Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Detroit, as she:

• leads days of reflection/retreats, parish missions, and workshops/presentations throughout the country and Canada
• facilitates gatherings and retreats for communities of women religious
• facilitates online courses for the University of Dayton and Boston College
• serves as a pastoral services team member for RENEW International
• serves as an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Board of NCCL (National Community of Catechetical Leaders)

Janet created and publishes GEMS: a twice-monthly newsletter from an ongoing international best practices study on adult faith formation.

The author of hundreds of articles and several publications, some of her most recent books are:

• Let This Be the Time: Spiritual Essentials for Life's Second Act
• A Season of Comfort and Hope (Advent 2025)
• What Pope Leo Says About Peace, Dialogue and Love: 30 Days of Reflections and Prayers
• Guided by the Directory for Catechesis: Transforming the Vision and Practice of Parish Catechesis (co-authored with John Roberto and Catherine LaVecchia)
• Deepening Faith: Adult Faith Formation in the Parish
• Hope, An Anchor in Today's World

Janet was one of the 4-member team who wrote the Leader's Guide to accompany the U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation, Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us.

In April 2010 Janet received the Distinguished Service Award in Catechetics from NCCL.

Janet has been named as one of the people who have made a "significant contribution" to the field of Christian religious education in the North American context by the "Christian Educators of the 20th Century Project," Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, La Mirada, CA