Administrative

Why can others follow along without paying?
I see that parishes can use the information from the Lay Institute in their parish programs. My question is why should we come to classes if we can do this at our own convenience and why did we pay a fee?

Answer from Eric Schiedermayer, executive secretary of the OEC:
It is true that if the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis makes the DLI materials available to "the world at large," those who are attending the Diocesan Lay Institute are in a sense "subsidizing" those who simply obtain the materials through the web.  

As we tried to explain at our first session, by far the majority of the $300 fee goes towards the meals and refreshments consumed by the participants during the Saturday sessions. (Cost of meals and refreshments is projected to take approximately $230 per person for the 10 Saturdays.) While not everybody may agree with the approach being taken towards these items, and we are certainly interested in your view on this, it is also clear that those who download the materials through the web do not benefit from this portion of the fee. (As an aside, this was a source of significant conversation by the DLI organizers, who finally decided that most participants would prefer this approach over a "bare bones minimal cost" approach. We will revisit this decision at the end of this year.) 

As a diocesan office, we pay nothing for the use of the BOCC facilities, so the remaining portion of the fee covers the stipends we pay the instructors and the cost of materials used. Again, those who participate through the web do not use the materials we provide (folders, papers, name tags, books not covered by donations, etc.) Thus, the only place where the paid attendees "subsidize" those following via the web is in the area of instructor stipends.  

It is our hope that after being an active participant in Father Holmes' class, you would agree that "live" participation is worth a lot more than the $7 per day (or thereabouts) which it costs. If nothing else, it encourages accountability; most of those who try to follow along remotely will not persevere to the end. Also, remote participants will not benefit from the upcoming retreat and ongoing spiritual formation. Two significant objectives of the DLI are the building of community among the participants and the formation of true disciples of Jesus Christ. These two dimensions cannot be accomplished online, where we can only provide information, not formation. 

When we were initially promoting the DLI, we did not realize that David Stiennon would offer to record all of the courses, or we would have made everybody aware of this option. In fact, there remains a distinct possibility that some of the courses will not be successfully recorded and posted on the web. (Murphy's Law is always working against us.) 

Our goal with the DLI is to stimulate the greatest possible faith formation in as many diocesan parishioners as possible. We want to create significant opportunities for all to effectively encounter Jesus Christ, risen from the dead -- to be inspired to ever more deeply know, love and serve him. We hope that you agree with this goal, both for yourself and for others who may be reached through your financial support. If you feel otherwise, we are willing to refund your fees and allow you to follow along remotely as well. 

Yours in Christ,
Eric Schiedermayer

A comment from another student:
My husband and I totally agree with your offering the program free to as many others as possible.  We feel very privileged to be able to learn and participate and bond in a live format and are delighted that others can also learn in whatever format works best for them without have to pay for it.  This will certainly encourage more people to participate and learn, and isn't that really the goal of us all?