Have they arrived at Galilee? The insights of emerging leaders in a long-term spiritual and faith formation programme

Abstract

This study explored the perceptions of ongoing participants in the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme on the development of their personal and faith formation. The study used a constructivist paradigm, specifically that of interpretivism and employed a symbolic interactionist perspective to explore participant perceptions. The methodology for the study was an instrumental case study. Data were collected through a focus group interview with six participants and written responses from other two participants unable to attend the focus group. The results firstly indicated that continued involvement with the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme had made a positive impact on participants’ personal efficacy and confidence in their own spirituality and faith. Secondly, continued involvement in the Galilee programme had enhanced participants’ professional efficacy or confidence to lead others in deepening their spirituality and faith.

Keywords:

• spiritual and faith formation
• Catholic educators
• leadership

Introduction

Previously, researchers Scharf, Hackett, and Lavery (2020) explored the perceptions of Catholic educators as to the impact of the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme on their personal and professional efficacy or confidence in their own spirituality and faith. Participants in the study fell into two categories, those who undertook a trial Galilee programme between 2016 and 2017 and those who enrolled in the two-year Galilee programme from mid-2017 to early 2019. The results of that study indicated the programme was valuable, both in developing a sense of confidence in participants’ own faith efficacy, but also in enhancing participants’ confidence to promote spiritual and faith formation in their school communities. This follow-up study examined opinions of participants from that initial study who had undertaken the Galilee 3.0 Leading the Way programme since 2019, with the focus again being on the development of personal and professional faith formation.

Galilee programme

The initial Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme (Galilee 1.0 Stepping Stones and 2.0 Opening Doors) is a two-year programme of eight-weekend modules or ‘Gatherings’ (Catholic Institute of Western Australia [CIWA] 2017a). After completing the initial programme, participants are invited to join Galilee 3.0 Leading the Way which consists of two weekend live-in retreats per year on an ongoing basis. The goal of the Galilee programme is to ‘offer participants a community-based programme, which is sequential, inclusive of knowledge and has opportunities for prayer, reflection and sharing in order to be transformed into the likeness of God’ (Scharf, Hackett, and Lavery 2020, 2). The programme is called ‘Galilee’ because Galilee is the place to which Jesus told his disciples to go after his Resurrection (Mt 28:10). Like the disciples, leaders responsible for the spiritual and religious education of their staff and students are invited to re-examine Jesus’ call to discipleship and to journey more deeply the spiritual terrain of mountains, seas, storms and well-springs of their personal and professional capabilities to lead this space (cf Lk 5:4).

The various Gatherings allow participants to explore their spiritual and faith journeys, to discern those moments or experiences of their lives that have made an impact on their life choices and vocation. The programme also offers people the time and space to reflect on their relationships with God, self, others and creation. Galilee encourages participants to develop a greater confidence through small group discussion, prayer, self-reflection and adult learning to promote a deeper sense of Catholic identity and worldview within their school communities (Scharf, Hackett, and Lavery 2020).

Context (Review of literature)

Spiritual and faith formation is a life-long journey of exploration and transformation. As Pope Francis (2018) explained, it is a response to the ‘call to holiness’ by the Divine and a responsibility for all as missionary disciples (Pope Francis 2013, para. 120). It is a formation that is dynamic and sustainable (Congregation of Catholic Education [CCE] 1982) as well as integrative (Pope Benedict XVI 2009, para. 6). The aspiration of such formation is conversion or ‘metanoia’, that is, ‘a profound transformation of mind and heart; it causes the believer to live that conversion’ (Pope Paul VI 1975, para. 10). This transformation is a ‘conversion to Jesus Christ, full and sincere adherence to his person and the decision to walk in his footsteps’ (Congregation For The Clergy 1997, para. 53). Furthermore, such transformation has a social perspective where the journey is within the context of a faith or spiritual community (Pope John Paul II 2001, para. 43). For those educators who have a responsibility to lead in Catholic schools, what is fundamental is their capacity to draw upon their ‘theological and pedagogical formation’ and ‘ … above all, [their] life witness and an intensely lived spirituality have an especially great importance’ (Congregation for Catholic Education 1982, para. 59). That is, they are educators and leaders with a ‘soul’ (Pope Francis 2013, para. 273), and their impact on their staff and students occurs because they are authentic ‘witnesses’ (Pope Paul VI 1975, para. 41). The goal of the Galilee programme is to provide such formation through an ongoing deepening reflection of Catholic faith tradition and spirituality within a supportive community (CIWA 2017a).

Leaders of Catholic education systems across Australia ‘have identified the need for systematic, developmental and well-resourced programmes for the evangelization and spiritual growth of school, system and other community members as a priority’ (National Catholic Education Commission [NCEC] 2017, 5). Central to this priority is the formation of Catholic school educators (Congregation for Catholic Education [CCE] 1982, para. 60; NCEC 2017). This priority has been re-enforced by the Pontifical Council for promoting New Evangelization (2020) which argued that ‘for the Catholic religion to be fruitful, it is fundamental that the teachers be capable of presenting the relationship between faith and culture, human and religious components, science and religion, school and other educational agencies’ (para. 318). The Pontifical Council highlighted the important task of the teacher in the development of students. At the same time, the Council noted, ‘it is required that the teachers be believers committed to personal growth in the faith, incorporated into a Christian community, desirous of giving the reason for their faith through their professional expertise as well’ (para. 318)

In an increasingly secularised society, the demographic profile of Catholic educators in schools has changed. No longer are teaching priests, brothers and sisters present in schools who had religious formation as part of their training (CCE 2007, para. 27). Today, Catholic educators are from the laity, many who have limited adult religious formation (CCE 1982; NCEC 2017). The expectations though on these Catholic educators remains high. Catholic educators require a ‘formation of the heart’. They need to be led to a meeting with God through Christ ‘which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others, so that their educational commitment becomes a consequence deriving from their faith, a faith which becomes active through love (cf. Gal 5:6)’ (Congregation for Catholic Education 2007, para. 25). While the proportion of Catholic educators nominating as regularly practising their faith remains high, most of these educators are older middle-aged or are soon to retire. There are also increasing numbers, of mostly younger adults, who practise irregularly or in different ways (NCEC 2017, 11). If Catholic schools are charged with contributing to educating young people towards the Catholic faith (Vatican Council II 1965, para. 8), then there is a concern that future teachers and leaders may not ‘be able to give what they do not have’ (NCEC 2017, 3; Neidhart and Lamb 2016). The religious formation of lay educators and leaders in Catholic schools then has become a high priority (CCE 1982; NCEC 2017) for which Catholic school systems need to respond. Furthermore, there needs to be recognition that spiritual and faith formation is a personal journey to be shared. Such sharing or dialogue with each other also deepens the formation experience (CCE 1982, para. 60). The goal of a formation programme in this area is to encourage growth in spiritual and faith maturity where the experiences become grounded into their sense of being and affects their confidence to lead (Ribbe 2010). The Catholic Institute of Western Australia (CIWA), as part of its mission on behalf of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Western Australia, (CIWA 2017b), is responsible for such formation and has developed the Galilee spiritual and faith formation programme (CIWA 2017a).

Purpose and research questions

The purpose of the research project is to investigate the perceptions of Catholic educators as to the on-going impact of undertaking the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme on their personal and professional efficacy. Considering the purpose of the research there are three research questions. These are:

1. In what ways, if any, do Catholic educators believe the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme has continued to have an impact on Catholic educators’ personal efficacy or confidence in their own spirituality and faith?

2. In what ways, if any, do Catholic educators believe the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme has continued to have an impact on Catholic educators’ professional efficacy or confidence to lead others in deepening their spirituality and faith?

3. What do Catholic educators believe are the highlights of the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme and how can the programme be improved to deepen the personal and professional efficacy of Catholic school educators?

Significance of the research

The significance of the research is twofold. Firstly, the research attempts to discern whether the positive impacts attributed to the initial Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation Programme (Scharf, Hackett, and Lavery 2020) have had any longer-term influence and not been simply a once-off ‘feel-good’ experience. Secondly, the research gives participants the opportunity to reflect on high points of the programme and areas where the programme can be enhanced.

Research design

In line with qualitative research, the epistemology underpinning this study is constructivism. Constructivism is predicated on the notion that people actively construct or develop their own knowledge, where reality is determined by the subjective meanings to their experiences (Washington Governor University 2020). These meanings are often varied and numerous, which leads the researcher to look for complexity of views. Constructivism is usually associated with Interpretivism (Creswell and Creswell 2018), the goal of which is to understand what is meaningful or relevant to people being studied from their standpoint (Neuman 2011). There are several theoretical perspectives within interpretive social science. The theoretical perspective adopted within this study is symbolic interactionism. Crucial to the notion of symbolic interactionism is placing oneself in the setting of those being studied. Practically, symbolic interactionism requires researchers to adopt, to the best of their ability, the standpoint of those being studied (Crotty 1998). The chosen methodology is an instrumental case study since this methodology promotes a general understanding of a phenomenon using a particular case (Harling 2012). In this instance, the case entails participants undertaking the Galilee 3.0 Leading the Way programme since 2019. This study explores the perceptions of Catholic educators from the initial study as to the ongoing impact of the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme.

Ethical considerations

Ethics approval was sought from the Human Research Ethics Committee at The University of Notre Dame Australia and from the Catholic Education of Western Australia Research Review Panel. Following approval, participants were provided with an information sheet outlining the purpose and scope of the research, the processes involved and their right to withdraw at any time. They were informed of the data collection method, including audio recording. They provided written consent to participate in the research.

Follow-up study

Follow-up studies or procedures are often conducted during the actual research but can be conducted subsequently. Generally, follow-up is undertaken to enhance the overall quality of a study. Various reasons include but are not limited to ‘further an end in a particular study, review new developments, fulfill a research promise … ensure that targeted project milestones are being met, thank participants or informants for their time, debrief stakeholders’ (Persaud 2010, 2). Alternatively, the study can be conducted following the initial research to determine whether the intervention has impacted on the lives of the study participants (Persaud). It is this reason for which the research has been undertaken.

Research participants

The research participants included eight Catholic educators (seven women and one man) from a possible nine people in the Galilee 3.0 Leading the Way programme who have continued to participate in the full Galilee programme since 2019. All participants hold school leadership positions and teach Religious Education in Catholic schools in Western Australia. The age range was between 30 and 60 years. Four of the participants were from a Catholic primary teaching background, the remainder were Catholic secondary teachers. Six participants came from regional Catholic schools in Western Australia.

Data collection and analysis

Data collection occurred through a one-hour focus group interview. The focus group afforded participants the opportunity to respond interactively to a set of structured questions which explored their perceptions regarding the ongoing impact of the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme. Six from a possible nine participants volunteered to take part in the focus group. Participants were sent the questions prior to the focus group, and the focus group interview was audio-recorded. Two further participants, unable to attend the focus group, offered to complete the interview questions as a survey which they emailed to the interviewer. One person did not respond to the invitation.

The data from the focus group and the two written responses were analysed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is an approach applied in qualitative research to identify, analyse, and interpret patterns or themes within the data (Clarke and Braun 2017). It entails several steps which include familiarisation with the data, generation of initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report. Specifically, two of the researchers reviewed the transcripts from the focus group interview and the two survey responses and independently identified promising themes. The final themes were established following several iterative reviews of the data and consensus between the two researchers.

Results

The results are presented in the light of the three research questions. These are, firstly, in what ways, if any has the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme continued to have an impact on Catholic educators’ personal efficacy or confidence in their own spirituality and faith? Secondly, in what ways, if any, has the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme continued to have an impact on Catholic educators’ professional efficacy or confidence to lead others in deepening their spirituality and faith? Thirdly, what are the highlights of the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme and how can the programme be improved to deepen the personal and professional efficacy of Catholic school educators?

Personal efficacy or confidence in their own spirituality and faith

Participants were adamant that continued involvement with the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme had made a positive impact on their personal efficacy and confidence in their own spirituality and faith. Participants initially highlighted personal development, confidence and pride. For example, one participant considered:

I always come to think about that parable of the soil [Sower], and how perhaps when I entered the program, I wasn’t the most fertile and receptive to the Word, but as the gifts of the Spirit have been poured on us it just seems to be growing and growing and growing and becoming more internalised. It really is a part of me now.

A second participant remarked, ‘because of my personal development, I can feel having an impact on the people around me because I’m more confident in my own faith, and that has come from the growth of this program’. A third participant commented on how the programme had increased their confidence, ‘Confidence is a big thing. It’s really improved from my perspective; just having the confidence to draw people’s attention to, “what would Jesus do in this situation?”’ Another participant also noted their sense of pride, ‘when people ask me what I was doing this weekend, I was like, “I’m going on a spiritual retreat!” And people wanted to hear more about it’. This participant observed, ‘I think when we started, perhaps I wasn’t so proud to share that this is where I feel I need to go and this is what I’m doing’. This participant commented further, ‘now I just want to tell everyone. And like you’re saying, it’s a part of who we are. This is essential to me’. As another participant remarked, ‘it’s been around like-minded people that Galilee has fostered that community to bring us together, and then has allowed us to grow’.

Participants remarked on the quality of relationships that had formed between them because of participating in the programme. As one participant stated, ‘I know there’s been times where one of us has put out an email like, “can anyone help me on this?” It’s this bond that we’ve developed’. Another participant observed how this relationship had been ‘built over time’. As that person commented, ‘We have a shared experience. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together’. Another person observed, ‘Yeah, and we’ve shared some pretty big stuff with each other’. One participant was specific on how the relationship had developed over time:

We look over the five years and the changes and the life events that we’ve all gone through. We’ve gone on that journey; we’ve experienced that journey together. And to an extent, with the intimacy in this group, I think we’ve shared things that maybe we wouldn’t share with our colleagues. Even some of our friends we wouldn’t share with.

This person noted that

the safe space here, and the trust, and the intimacy that’s been allowed to foster over time has allowed us to have joy in someone’s achievement or a change of job or a new position, but also to comfort when someone has had a sad experience.

Participants commented on the strong sense of community and personal nurturing that has developed in the group. As one person observed, ‘I love that there was no assumption of where we’re all at. It’s just, we were all met where we were at’. This person admitted,

there was a little bit of fear on my behalf initially that perhaps I didn’t know enough, and I was going to be called out as a fraud, exposed. But I haven’t felt that at all the whole experience, it’s just being met where we are.

Another participant noted, ‘I often describe it as being personally quite indulgent that I get to have this weekend away where I get to catch up with the group; also, just the time and the reflection and the learning and the space’. This person commented further ‘I don’t know if you guys feel the same but for me, this is part of my practice now’. As another participant remarked, ‘Every six months we need this kind of spiritual “oomph” to get us going for the next six months. It’s like a little top up for us’. This comment elicited cries of ‘it’s more than self-care, its more than healing, it’s just part of who we are’; ‘It’s pastoral. It’s pastoral’; ‘Chicken soup for the soul’.

Participants highlighted the capacity to share their faith with others because of their participation in the programme. Comments included: ‘I never really spent time talking about my faith, but now, it’s like it broke a seal or a glass, and breaking that meant I can talk about my faith a lot easier with other people’; ‘it’s like the dam burst’; ‘I am actually more comfortable with talking about my faith with others’. As one participant observed, ‘I think before I started this program there was an element of … not of shame, I wouldn’t even call it embarrassment, but I didn’t really want to share my faith with people for fear of judgment’. This person noted, ‘but after going through this process, I’m very comfortable and I actually don’t care what other people think, because this is where I am, and this is where I am sitting with my faith’. Another participant concurred, ‘This program has allowed us to get rid of … the shame or the guilt or the fear or the imposter syndrome, whatever it was, the doubt’.

Professional efficacy and confidence to lead others

As a result of the programme, participants stated that they had become more ‘grounded’ professionally in their understanding of the Catholic faith tradition and in their ability to lead others in this space at their school. A key aspect was the confidence to reflect on the purpose of the faith activities for which they were responsible. One participant illustrated how the programme had an impact in this way in her work as a leader in Religious Education, ‘I put a lot more thought into things, like when I prepare a Mass. I don’t just necessarily pull the readings of the day’. As this participant explained, ‘I think, where is this school at? Where is this Year group at? Let me think about these readings … sit on these readings. What are we saying to the kids? What are they saying to me?’ The participant highlighted the need to ‘spend time in reflection … rather than just doing’. Another participant felt that her professional confidence or efficacy had grown to become a senior leader in her field. As she remarked, ‘I can tell you, it’s given me the confidence to take a great leap. I’ve gone from being the leader of curriculum for a 7–12 school to having the confidence to apply for an assistant to the deputy job of a K-12 school covering ministry, Christian service and supporting staff undertaking accreditation’. This person believed they would not have had the confidence in their own faith to apply for the position if they had not done the programme. As this person explained, ‘I now have the confidence that I can go into this new school and lead by example, because my faith and my spirituality – and my heart call – essentially has grown so much over the last five years’.

Participants considered that the Galilee programme design was conducive to their growth as faith leaders. As one person remarked, ‘when I started, I never would have dreamt that I would ever take a faith formation day, or help others develop their faith in any shape or form. But now, I’ve done two at this school’. Another participant observed that initially, ‘the program was very personal. It was about us, looking within our own self and getting to know our own faith’. This person considered they had now become very comfortable in the growth of their faith and their capacity to share. They remarked that in a ‘professional sense as to where that journey is now taking us, I feel no longer like an imposter’. Rather, as they explained, ‘this is where I should be. I belong here, and I feel like that in my school when I’m leading and when I’m teaching. There’s no doubt, there’s no second questioning, it’s a sense of, I belong, this is what I’m meant to do’. A third participant observed, ‘I think what we learn at Uni, and what we learn in training to be teachers, and even what we teach in the class, it’s all this … head stuff’. This participant reflected, ‘but here, it’s starting to put that head stuff into our heart, and we’re looking at heart stuff’.

Participants perceived that their experiences and learning were transformational as a result of undertaking the programme with its investment in time, community-building and facilitation provided by the programme. As one participant outlined, ‘I don’t think you could get a Galilee and just drop it into a group of people and have that same feeling as we have, because it’s built over time. We have shared experience’. The group had been together over five years and had learnt, as one participant explained, ‘if you don’t allow yourself that time and space to be challenged, it just doesn’t happen’. In particular, participants valued the inclusion of live-in weekend retreats, to be able to go into the depths of learning, discerning and praying.

The quality of the time was complemented by a growing sense of ‘friendship’ and ‘support’. Participants felt the group became more like an extended ‘little family’, ‘ … a gathering of like spirits’ or ‘kindred spirits’, ‘we’re not going alone, we’re doing that together’. The participants appreciated this gathering time to reconnect with each other. For example, one participant noted, ‘ think … coming together, … it’s important that we share a meal together too. We’re not just coming and sitting in a lecture. We go in [to the gathering space] and we have a “cuppa” and we have lunch and dinner together’. The sense of belonging and community, what one participant called, a 'bond that we’ve developed’. became a vital characteristic of the Galilee programme. As one participant explained:

I often describe it … for me personally quite indulgent that I get to have this weekend away where I get to catch up with the group but also just the time and the reflection and the learning and the space. … I don’t know if you [the group] feel the same but for me, this is part of my practice now.

The community building had a vocational element. As one participant remarked, ‘Well, we’re all responding to the call, … it’s been around like-minded people that Galilee has fostered that community to bring us together, and then has allowed us to grow’.

One aspect that built learning relevance for the participants was the small discussion or ‘mentoring’ groups. The participants had the time and space within the programme to discuss the pre-reading or session material in small groups. As they shared and delved deeper into their own and others’ understanding of the material, they were able to form bonds and mentor each other. As one participant commented, ‘In the beginning those mentor groups were really important to have those … kind of, four in a group, to have discussions and really pull apart those key ideas and each feel like they were contributing’.

Highlights

Participants identified various highlights as they reflected over their time in the Galilee programme, all of which impacted on them both personally and professionally. They were particularly affirming of the value of preparing their staff faith formation project which they were able to use in their schools. As one participant explained, ‘It’s quite scary, the project, to start with. I found it very confronting, but … once it started evolving, I really enjoyed the project and the sharing afterwards’. Another person commented that the project ‘took it beyond the personal, it wasn’t just for us’. A third participant observed ‘I do think the project was a real turning point for all of us’. As this participant remarked, ‘It’s that confidence thing again. If we were asked to do it again, we could just pick it up and go with it’.

Participants underlined the activity of drawing and sharing their life journey. For example, one participant remarked, ‘I think that’s the first time I actually sat down and thought about my faith story and where God was in my life and where he wasn’t’. This person continued, ‘that activity has just stuck with me the entire five years. And that’s something I’ve taken into the classroom as well, to teach my kids’. Participants remarked on the occasions for contemplation. As one participant stated, ‘Our contemplative activities always stick with me. It’s one of the things I always look forward to the most when I come here’. This person observed, ‘we live in such a time-poor society where we’re constantly in demand that we don’t give ourselves those opportunities’. Another person noted that their highlight was ‘prayer writing. Now anyone in the school who needs a prayer comes to me’. She shared that ‘I’m now starting to teach other staff members to write a prayer, which is rewarding’. There was consensus about the development of friendship and support that allowed deeper sharing. As one person explained, ‘I think friendship is actually the biggest takeaway, it’s a little family’. Another remark was, ‘it’s a gathering of like spirits’ to which a third person stated, ‘kindred spirits’.

Participants also commented on their initial motivation for undertaking the Galilee programme and what the programme now meant to them. One person noted that the programme had been a ‘surprise’. As they explained, ‘I don’t think that I was expecting what has ended up happening … I went in there thinking I was going to get two units done on my Masters and have a nice time doing it’. They shared, ‘I did the units, and that was great, but I think I got something a whole lot bigger and better, and it was such a wonderful surprise’. A second participant observed, ‘it started off as PD, but now has become something more … more than just professional development’. A third participant stated, ‘It’s a big part of my faith life now. It’s a big part of where my faith is going and my faith journey’. For this participant, the Galilee programme was ‘like little faith stops. Every 6 months we get a bit of a faith stop. We reflect, we discuss, we keep going on the journey … It’s like a steppingstone, steppingstones in our journey’. Another participant reacted, ‘but we’re not going alone, we’re doing that together. We might be alone in our different schools and our different cities and our different jobs … but we’re still moving, and we’re going in a similar direction’. Another participant observed, ‘the check-ins are reinvigorating’. As they commented, ‘I think that reinvigoration or that re-inspiration is important for us to then continue to do what we do’.

Concerns and suggestions

Participants raised two concerns which revolved around timing of the programme and composition of the groups. All participants found undertaking the programme after-school on weekends a difficult time to forebear and especially if they had to come from distant country and remote Catholic schools in Western Australia. There was also a personal and school economic cost to take ‘out of’ school time. But rather than shorten the Gathering times, participants were willing to come earlier or stay later over the weekend. They were eager to take what they had experienced back to their school and share it with their fellow staff members. They felt the programme was important personally and professionally,

… because we take time away from our families, we take time away [as] travel time, time off work. It’s the priority. I’m lucky that my family support me to do that – but I don’t do it for any other PD.

Even while the schedule of the Gatherings was, at times, inconvenient, the participants still felt that was part of the commitment. As a participant remarked, the inconvenience could mean that ‘it was just exactly what I needed at that particular time’.

The participants also considered the composition of the group as a concern. When they began the Galilee programme, the group was a much larger, and participants were worried that the group size over the series of programmes could become too small. They suggested that a group size of 12–15 would be ideal or ‘it becomes too impersonal’. However, they also conceded that their current group of nine ‘has been perfect’. Although, they would prefer to have a better balance of genders as there was only one male left in the group but realised that the group probably reflected the current teacher demographic in Western Australian Catholic schools. Otherwise, they felt a blend of primary and secondary educators from city and regional areas was important, ‘different schools, different geographic locations, secondary and primary, you’ve gotta have that real mix’.

One suggestion made to enhance the programme was the possibility of the Galilee 3.0 participants being engaged as ‘mentors’ in the Gathering meetings for Galilee 1.0. One participant proposed ‘about maybe utilising us and what we learnt with Galilee 1.0 when they’re breaking into small groups, having us there to work with them … so [the facilitators] aren’t doing it all themselves’. And another participant affirmed,

It’s almost like a succession plan. And I would love that opportunity now – like, we’re five years together – to use that, to have that mentor relationship. … Having that opportunity built into the program, I think, would be a really valuable experience.

Participants felt that such an opportunity would be beneficial to their faith leadership growth and to the new Galilee participants.

Discussion

The feedback from the participants indicated a growing and deepening confidence in their personal and professional spiritual and faith formation. The participants perceived that their personal confidence had continued to grow. They acknowledged that they felt they were more capable of relating their faith to others, to lead the various evangelisation tasks in the school and have a sense of coping with the demands placed on them. Bandura (1977) describes such confidence as ‘efficacy’.

In the case of the participants, their confidence or ‘efficacy’ was built on a deepening understanding of Catholic spirituality and theology, prowess in their abilities to communicate and lead this understanding with staff and students alike, and a rich grounding or foundation in experiences of lived faith (Hackett 2010). The goal of the Galilee programme is to build this confidence in this way. Such confidence emerges from a dialogue within which to engage the Divine and nourished by a communal dialogue with others in a supportive environment. A hallmark of the Galilee programme for the participants has been the importance of dialogue that nourishes faith by emphasising a ‘culture of encounter’ (Pope Francis 2016) where, ‘Faith itself, in fact, is a relationship, an encounter; and under the impetus of God’s love, [they] can communicate, welcome and understand the gift of the other and respond to it’ (Pope Francis 2019, para. 3). Such a culture, the participants observed, emerged with a commitment over time to the programme and to one another. Their motivations to lead came from the heart as a vocation.

While growth in ‘self-efficacy’ remained strong, the participants’ experiences of the latter part of the programme with Galilee 2.0 and 3.0, motivated them to connect more with each other and to take a ‘leap of faith’ to take initiatives in leading staff. There seemed to be the emergence of a ‘collective efficacy’ as part of their growing professional confidence within the group. Bandura (1997) defined collective efficacy as ‘a group’s shared belief in the conjoint capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given levels of attainment’ (477). The sense of community and belonging with others with the same commitment had a positive influence on the participants. In facing the challenges and divergent expectations of their Catholic school communities, they believed that they were not alone in their leadership role. They had a camaraderie with each other (and the facilitators) that they could strive to do the best they can. There was a ‘communal optimism’ that they could persevere and be sustained in their perseverance. Furthermore, they had an increasing sense of the Spirit being there with them and through the retreat experiences they were able to re-connect and deepen their relationship with God. Truly where two or three were gathered, the Divine was there too for the participants (cf. Matthew 18:20). Their confidence was expressed as enthusiasm for leading the spiritual and faith dimension of their school (Green 2018).

The Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme has had a profound impact on the Galilee 3.0 participants. As they have journeyed through the series of programmes they have grown in self-confidence and built a supportive faith community around them. Green (2018, 177) has proposed that spiritual (and faith) formation commences because of the individual’s connection or entry through three doors: firstly, in ministry and professional growth; secondly, through community building and a sense of belonging; and, thirdly, through a deepening personal faith and embrace of the divine mystery. Where such doors prevail, Green believes that a more authentic and lasting formation emerges rather than one which is mandated or imposed. The participants appear to have responded to a calling to enrich their spiritual and faith formation and lead others in this space. Their initial calling has grown into a greater awareness of their vocation or ministry in a Catholic school. Their search to belong to a group of like-minded people has grown into a supportive faith community. Their journey of deepening personal faith has drawn them to closer experiences of the Divine as mystery.

Lastly, the participants’ aspirations for leading their school community and the engagement of fellow Catholic educators have inspired a mission focus to their roles. Their perceptions of the impact of the programme seems to be broadening towards acting as ‘servant leaders’ to the next generation of Galilee participants. The participants’ reflections on their experience of the full and ongoing Galilee programme identify growth and maturation, from a time of feeling uncertain and insecure about their spirituality and Catholic faith towards a re-assurance in their capacity to become apostles for others. That is, towards ‘a wisdom born of love’ (Saint-Laurent 2007, xv).

Limitations to the research

There was one limitation to the research. There were only eight participants in the study (from a possible nine). This fact may have an impact on the generalisability of the results.

Conclusion

Participants were unanimous that the Galilee programme had made a significant difference to them on their spiritual and faith journey both personally and professionally. Their personal growth in spirituality and faith augmented their professional efficacy to lead in these areas within their schools. Any hesitation they may have initially felt had been replaced with a sense of confidence in missionary discipleship. Participants felt that their professional prowess and ability to lead had improved and grounded within a vocational purpose. Such confidence was nurtured and sustained by the bonding between participants. Their one recommendation for enhancing the programme was that participants believed they would make effective mentors for those beginning the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation programme.

Disclosure statement

Two of the researchers have a perceived conflict of interest. One is the Director of the Catholic Institute of Western Australia from where the Galilee Spiritual and Faith Formation program is conducted; the other is the chief facilitator of the program. To address this situation, neither of these researchers were involved in the data collection nor transcription.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chris Hackett

Chris Hackett was Director of the Catholic Institute of Western Australia at the time when the study was undertaken.

Shane Lavery

Shane Lavery is coordinator of postgraduate education in the School of Education at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

Margaret Scharf

Margaret Scharf is the chief facilitator of the Galilee programme at the Catholic Institute of Western Australia.