I spent a good chunk of Saturday with about 30 catechists at St. Paul the Apostle parish in Gurnee, IL, not far from the Wisconsin border. The catechists were from 3 or 4 parishes within the area and they were there for a catechist certification module on the theological foundations of catechesis (10 hours, spread over 2 Saturdays). We had a very productive day, looking at the vocation of the catechist, the ministry of catechesis, and a variety of teaching techniques, especially lesson planning, selecting activities, and preparing the learning environment. We had a very nice mix of people with little to no experience as a catechist to some with 10, 20, and even 30 years experience! That always makes for some great small-group discussions, where the more experienced catechists can share their wisdom with the “newcomers.” So, a big “shout out” to all the folks I met up in Gurnee on Saturday and I hope you enjoy your next session on June 21 with my co-facilitator, Colleen Walery!

I’m hearing that some parishes are experimenting with a catechetical model that employs a summer intensive religious education program for K-8 (usually 3 weeks) while throughout the year, offering periodic intergenerational events and a weekly children’s liturgy of the Word. Sounds to me like an interesting alternative. This is not to be confused with a Vacation Bible School. it is the formal religious education program taking place in a 3-week intensive model. Instead of having twenty- to twenty-five weekly sessions of 75- to 90-minutes throughout the year (@ 30 hours of formal class time), the summer intensive meets 4 or 5 days a week for 2 or 3 hours, covering about the same amount of class time…about 30 hours. I’d love to hear thoughts, especially from anyone doing this model. Have a great weekend!

Here is more of my dialogue with an Anglican minister from Rwanda who has been sent to the United States to do missionary work and to form catechists:

Joe,

I feel similarly blessed by this contact.

The reason why the Rwandan curriculum wouldn’t work in scope (it would to some extent in sequence) is that the general education level in Rwanda is very low and catechist, according to the canons, only have to be able to read and write, basically an elementary education. Also, Anglican parishes, even very small rural ones, tend to have a much higher level of education—college degrees are the norm. (BTW, this is changing in our mission (www.theamia.org) not because of fewer educated people but because of intentional outreach to other groups).

Obviously, in this situation, while we’re not looking for a compressed seminary education, we do need to offer a higher standard. We’re looking at not only teaching methodology and basic pastoral skills, but also doctrinal, biblical, and church historical content.

I’m hoping to move beyond this pilot project at some point and offer it on a much broader scale and use it as a DMin project (yes, I already have a doctorate—I’m just a glutton for punishment).

What I’m especially interested in at this point is how the Catholic Church trains its catechists, both scope and sequence, content and materials.

Thanks and blessings.

Rev. -N-

Here is my response:

Dear Rev. -N-

Thanks so much for your follow up. This is very helpful.

Catechist formation in the Catholic Church differs from one diocese to another, however, more and more diocese are requiring catechists to become certified, after participating in so many hours of formation and training.

For example, here in Chicago, the Office for Catechesis and Youth Ministry requires catechists to achieve 50 hours of formation for certification. Now, in reality, most catechists begin their ministry without this formation and then work toward certification while on the job. The requirement, at least in Chicago, is that catechists must be working toward certification and that responsibility falls to the parish director of religious education. Here is the curriculum for Chicago (this is actually the old one which required 48 hours…the new one is not yet posted):

http://www.catechesis-chicago.org/FF/FF_Curriculum/ffcurrintro.htm

I highly recommend checking the Web sites of other dioceses, big and small, to see what they require. Look for their catechetical office, usually named either the Office for Catechesis or Office for Religious Education, or some variation thereof. Here are a few examples:

http://www.dioceseoftrenton.org/church/certification.asp

http://www.archdiocese.la/learning/ore/formation/certification.html

http://www.cdob.org/catechesis/certification.htm

You’ll notice that this last link to Brownsville, TX, makes mention of a video series titled Echoes of Faith. This video series is used by many rural dioceses where catechists simply cannot get to central locations for training and formation. It is a very effective tool. Check it out:

http://faithfirst.com/html/eof/modules.html

Of course, I myself have authored a very popular book titled The Catechist’s Toolbox: How to Thrive As a Religious Education Teacher (Loyola Press) which focuses on the teaching skills and methodologies that volunteer catechists need for their ministry. I have a follow up book coming out this summer titled A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe (of course, this one will be a little too Catholic for you, I’m sure!). This one focuses more on the content, as outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

I hope these suggestions are a start. I’m happy to talk more after you’ve done some of this initial exploring. This may just scratch the surface of what you are looking for, so by all means, feel free to follow up and we can delve further. It’s a pleasure to be of assistance to you. Peace.

-joe

What an amazing world we live in today where I am engaged in a dialogue with an Anglican minister from Rwanda about catechist formation!!! See below:

Good morning, Joe.

First, a little background.

I’m a missionary priest with the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda. In an ironic circumstance which could only come about by the providence of God, the missionary jurisdiction to which I’m assigned is here in North America—Africa is sending missionaries back to the US in response to the situation in the Episcopal Church.

In Rwanda, the ministry of the catechist is very important, not just in terms of teaching the faith, but also because many of them serve as lay pastors of churches, since parishes typically only have one priest and there may be several congregations which are a part of that parish.

In the missionary context of North America, we have many lay-initiated church plants and a number of small parishes which do not have an assigned priest and may only have a priest visiting once a month. In these types of situations, a licensed catechist would be very helpful.

While I realize that the catechist in the Catholic Church do not have all of these functions, they do share the common role as lead teachers of the faith and I would assume that the content of the training required to become a catechist would be similar. I have the curriculum for this training in Rwanda, and it would not work in the US or Canadian context.

So, to my point …

I’ve been tasked to come up with a pilot program for training catechists. Any suggestions in terms of methods and materials would be greatly appreciated and a blessing.

Thanks for your work for the Kingdom.

Here’s my initial reply:

Dear Rev. -N-,

Praise God for the Internet which can bring people like you and me together! Who would have thought?

Thanks so much for your e-mail. I have heard that the role of the catechist in places like Africa and South America is quite different than in North America – a role of great honor and responsibility. Too often in the United States, it is seen as a minor form of volunteerism – a type of religious tutor. I’ve been working to bring about a transformation in that understanding…the catechist has a vocation!

Enough preaching!

Please tell me a little bit more about why the curriculum from Rwanda would not work in North America. Perhaps with a larger frame of reference, I can begin to respond to your inquiry and offer some specifics.

I look forward to hearing more from you. Thanks!

-joe

I’ll share more of our dialogue tomorrow.