Welcome to the Department of the Formation for Formators Programme
The SJTI Formation for Formators Programme is dedicated to preparing men and women for the ministry of formation by offering a comprehensive, spiritual, collaborative and experiential approach to formation ministry.
What?
The SJTI Formation for Formators Programme is dedicated to preparing men and women for the ministry of formation by offering a comprehensive, spiritual, collaborative and experiential approach to formation ministry.
The full cycle of the formation programme will take six 3-week sessions of short courses over three years, in January and July of each year. Each session will follow 3-5 themes or aspects related to formation.
This is a non-accredited programme. Each module is offered as a short course designed to meet the needs of formation in our contemporary context and the needs of participants already in full-time ministry.
Who?
This programme is designed to fulfil a need to offer a comprehensive training programme for those serving or going to serve in formation ministry in religious communities and diocesan seminaries.
How?
By living, worshipping and studying together, participants are able to model and live what would be ideal in communities of formation. Through this experiential process, participants have the time for lasting integration. At the end of the programme, participants will not only have the knowledge, skills and tools they will need, but they will also have the awareness and confidence to carry out the formation ministry.
The language of the programme is English.
Where?
St Joseph’s Theological Institute, Cedara. The campus is set in tranquil surroundings in the KZN Midlands, about 20km from Pietermaritzburg and 10km from Howick.
Residence is available for women at the Enkanyisweni Residence managed by the Institute, and for men in the religious houses of the stakeholders of the Institute.
Requirements
- Recommendation by Major Superior
- Final vows for religious participants and ordination for diocesan participants
- A good grasp of English
- Matric pass or equivalent
- Payment of the fees.
Participants are required to be resident.
A maximum of 15 participants per session.
Registration is confirmed by payment of 50% of the Session on being informed of acceptance into the programme, and the balance by the first day of the session.
Some Sessions include:
Emotions and Emotional Intelligence
- Definition of emotional intelligence
- Components of emotional intelligence
- Signs of High emotional intelligence
- Skills to increase emotional intelligence.
Formation and Canon Law
Dialogue with Cultures & Inculturation in Formation
- Mission of the consecrated amidst the diversities in the world
- Understanding cultures and the global culture
- Consecrated life, witness of communion and evangelizing presence in the world
- Intercultural communities: Graces and Challenges.
Community Living
- The Eight Stages of Community Development
- Intimacy – The Heart of Community
- Dealing with individual differences
- Communication skills
- Managing dysfunction.
A holistic formation: the 7 dimensions of the Person
- In this module, the participants will draw from their own lifestyle in order to bring a better equilibrium in their life and become more aware of the importance of fostering it in the life of the candidates since the beginning of their formation.
- Time has to be allocated on a regular basis to these 7 dimensions: spiritual, physical, mental, relational, play, work and society/nature.
The cretan labyrinth consists of two paths that cross and wind around each other. We see this as a symbolic representation of the relationship between formator and formandi. The crossing signifies the cross of Christ who is the model formator and the one in whom our purpose is set forth, as we continue our pilgrim way, embracing our truth and striving for the fullness of life. Labyrinth image from: https://ellisnelson.com/2013/01/24/walking-the-labyrinth/
