God Needs You!

KIT (Keeping in Touch)

Keeping In Touch is a resource which has been developed by the diocese of Portsmouth. It aims to serve as a tool through which Catholics can reach out to adults who are either non Church-going or who are on the fringes of Church life. The programme includes home visiting and weekly sessions held either in someone’s house or in the Church hall.

KIT is a programme which can involve the whole parish. As part of the promotional activity, each parishioner is asked to take home a flier or two and to invite people to an information evening. In this way parishioners serve as the frontline evangelists. Once the programme gets started parishioners are also asked to serve as companions to returning Catholics. They can also act as welcomers and may join the main KIT team who run the welcome evenings.

A team is ideally made up of ten to twelve people who work together and treat this as their first priority within their activity in the parish. They spend a period of training for the ministry and work through questions like, ‘What it is that makes Catholics leave?’ They also ask why they themselves keep coming to Church and what kind of gifts and skills they have and how they use them in Church life? The training takes several weeks and lays emphasis on the KIT ministry being primarily one of listening.

The outreach gatherings last six to eight weeks and as part of the programme there are five worksheets which cover the teachings of Vatican II, the Mass, Reconciliation, the Creed and justice and peace. Each meeting provides an opportunity for people to tell their stories and to talk through problems. Meanwhile other members of the team simultaneously engage in home visits as described in the Roots programme described later in this chapter.

At the end of the six to eight weeks, the group spends a longer time together either at the Church or at a retreat house. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is made available to them, a special group Mass is organised, followed by a party.

KIT is a lay-led initiative with priestly support. The priest does not come to the meetings. A lot of returning Catholics describe themselves as ‘frightened’ of the parish priest because of feelings of guilt. They might not share as freely if the priest were present.

The programme finds its origins in Roots, Landings and a book called Remembering Catholics by Sarah Harmony. Inspiration has also been drawn from a New Zealand based programme called Catholics Returning Home (please see earlier entry in this section), which includes videos and a CD.

KIT is now available in the Portsmouth diocese. The programme costs nothing to put on. The only charge is for the KIT manual.

The most up to date version of this resource can be accessed from the website shown below.

Contact Information

The Evangelisation Directory is also available in a printed format. It costs £5 plus p & p. To order please send your full name and postal address here

CASE is part of the Catholic Trust for England and Wales. Registered Charity No. 1097482. Reg. Office: 39 Eccleston Square, London, SW1V 1BX. The Agency relies totally on donations. If you would like to support the work of CASE please click here. Looking for the Catholic Missionary Society (CMS)?

 

Site Credits