One Saturday a month, men and women, lay and religious, representing the cultural kaleidoscope of Southern California gather from across the breadth of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, and from surrounding dioceses, to study Scripture at the Catholic Bible Institute.

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Catholic Bible Institute has been co-sponsored by the Office of Religious Education of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Center for Religion and Spirituality (formerly the Center for Pastoral Life) at Loyola Marymount University.

As with all efforts in evangelization and adult formation, the Catholic Bible Institute seeks to foster an ever-deepening commitment to discipleship of Jesus, primarily by engaging the Scriptures. The Catholic Bible Institute is a three-year formation program of studying, sharing and praying God's word. The first two years provide overviews of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures while a third year introduces adult participants to facilitation skills in order to plan and organize Bible study groups in local parishes, using the knowledge and tools acquired in the Bible Institute. Graduation and certification take place at the end of the third year.

The Catholic Bible Institute uniquely serves a number of the pastoral initiatives of the 2003 Synod of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The documents of the Synod, "Gathered and Sent," note that "one of the greatest challenges before us, therefore, is how to empower people to speak of their relationship with a loving and saving God through their experiences with the Scriptures… so that they may become bearers of God's love to others" (p. 13).

The Synod initiatives also draw our attention to the need for ongoing formation, and particularly for the development of trained leaders within our parishes and church communities. Specifically, the Synod articulates that "trained leaders are needed - lay, consecrated persons and ordained - so that the Word will be proclaimed and inactive Catholics and non-Catholics, as well as those Catholics who are active, will hear the Good News" (p. 16).

The Catholic Bible Institute seeks to respond to the needs expressed by our local church through offering a pastoral, professional, prayerful and personal experience of the Word of God.

---It is pastoral in that the Institute strives to train leaders to present Bible Study Programs at the parish level.

---It is professional in that the Institute presents a Catholic approach to the study of the Scriptures using contemporary scholarship and a variety of adult learning experiences.

---It is prayerful in that participants get a sense of the rich spiritual tradition of our Catholic heritage.

---It is personal in that participants are challenged to grow in a deeper understanding and practice of the Word of God.

The Catholic Bible Institute is preparing for its 13th year of serving the needs of the archdiocese in the areas of Adult Education and bible leadership formation. The Dec. 5 orientation focuses on the Introduction to the Catholic Approach to Scripture, followed by an Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures by Dr. Daniel Smith-Christopher in January. Subsequent months will see scripture scholars treat of texts and themes from the Hebrew Scriptures.

The fee for the program is $250 per year for Certification in Bible Study Leadership. While priority is given to candidates for certification, participants who seek to actively engage the scriptures for their own personal enrichment may do so at the reduced rate of $190 per year.

In this, the fifteenth consecutive year of preparing parish ministers for leadership in parish-based Bible Study, the Catholic Bible Institute will convene at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Westwood, and for the first time will pilot the use of modern video-conferencing technology to establish a center at St. Louis deMontfort in Santa Maria. Both the organizers and the participants in Santa Maria are excited about the unfolding possibilities.

Registrations are still being accepted for the current cycle of studies. Contact Sonia Robledo at the Office of Religious Education, (213) 637-7359; email sbrobledo@la-archdiocese.org, or visit http://www.archdiocese.la/learning/ore/aff/cbi.html.

Father David Loftus is coordinator of Adult Education in the Office of Religious Education.