St. Thomas More Catholic Community needs sponsors for people who are on the journey to becoming Catholic -- those who are engaged in the Catechumenal Process (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.) Sponsors take the responsibility of becoming a “bridge” between the Church and the person who is moving closer to becoming a member of it. A sponsor represents the Church to a Catechumen (an unbaptized person), or a Candidate for full communion (a person baptized in another Church, but uncatechized in the Catholic faith) on their journey of faith. Sponsors also represent the Catechumens and Candidates to the community, bearing witness to their progress in the faith and their readiness for initiation.
Sponsors offer a welcoming presence and a familiar companionship that assists and encourages the Catechumens or Candidates through the various steps of the OCIA experience. They participate with the persons they are sponsoring in some of the catechetical sessions, and they stand with the person they are sponsoring at the various liturgical rites. Most importantly, they provide a listening ear, an encouraging heart, and a prayerful presence.
Being an OCIA sponsor is both an opportunity to share your faith with others and an opportunity to deepen your own experience of faith. Sponsors do not have to be “teachers” of the Catholic faith. They do have to be fully-initiated Catholics (received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) who would like to be a companion to someone who is becoming Catholic.
Please prayerfully consider this invitation to become an OCIA sponsor. If you would like to discuss more about becoming a sponsor, please contact Tina Howell for more information.
The prerequisites for sponsors are described in the Code of Canon Law (Canon 874). A person who wishes to be a Sponsor must: