Here’s the next installment of a summary of this past Monday’s session on Abraham and God’s plan for salvation. After we finished reviewing the stories from the previous week and answering gobs of questions, we then talked about how all of these stories describe how God created us to live with him but then human kind sinned and distanced ourselves from God. I said that, “Today, we’re going to see how God revealed a plan […]
Last week, we began an excellent conversation about the catechetical process and, in particular, the principles of divine pedagogy and the role of human experience (the shared praxis approach of Dr. Thomas Groome). Thanks to all for your rich insights and thoughts. Today, I’d like to continue that conversation by offering my critique of Dr. Caroline Farey’s article, “The Truth Will Set You Free”), Faith Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 5, Sept-Oct 2009) which I referred […]
Since I have lots to share about my session last evening, I decided to break it up into smaller, bite-size pieces for you this week. Here’s the first installment. Last evening’s session was characterized by questions, questions, questions! It seems that you can’t talk about creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac without a million questions! That’s good, of course, however, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, catechists have […]
Here is my lesson for this coming Monday, October 29, 2012. The session focuses on Abraham! BIG IDEA: God is setting things right and we need to “get with the plan.” Abraham shows us how. Preliminaries (15 mins) welcome and introductions kids write their prayer intentions opening procession to set up prayer center opening prayer Engage (10 mins) Bring in a “home plate” (from baseball…I have a rubber one) to show the young people and […]
I had to chuckle at the follow-up email I received from Dr. Thomas Groome, asking why I chose to title my post, “Where Have You Gone, Thomas Groome?” I can understand why he might take exception to that title since he is still very much on the scene! The truth is, the title was intended to be provocative (you know how we bloggers are always trying to capture attention!) The question, “where have you gone, […]
Yesterday, I posted about a current hot catechetical topic which is the role of lived experience in the catechetical process and we’ve begun an excellent conversation (see the comments below that post). I am pleased and honored that Drs. Thomas Groome and Caroline Farey have responded to my invitation to contribute to the conversation. Dr. Groome asked me to post his email (since he doesn’t “do blogs”) and Dr. Farey will join in the conversation […]
When I was a mere “babe” in the catechetical ministry (early 1980s), I was introduced to the notion of the catechetical process. At the time, those 2 words could not be spoken without also mentioning the name of Dr. Thomas Groome and his groundbreaking work, Christian Religious Education: Sharing Our Story and Vision . At the heart of Groome’s approach is an unmistakable connection between lived experience and the faith Tradition of the Catholic Church. […]
What a delightful evening last night with my 6th graders! I had an ambitious plan and I am happy to report that it came off without a hitch. When it was all over, some of them even left singing How Great Thou Art! More about that in a second. Here’s the summary: Since I was relying on a number of video segments, I needed to get there early to set up my laptop and projector. That’s […]
For Monday evening’s session, we will begin exploring the stories of Genesis, beginning with Creation, Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel. I’m going hi-tech for this session, showing a number of brief video clips from YouTube. Here’s the plan. BIG IDEA: God creates something from nothing and sin has consequences. Preliminaries (15 mins) Students enter and write down prayer intentions Procession to set up prayer center Opening Prayer ritual Engage (10 mins) Show video […]
Preparing for Advent during October? Really? Really! This is the perfect time to begin thinking about Advent which is just 6 weeks away! Beginning Monday, October 22, a new resource will be available that you’ll find especially helpful: How are you preparing your faith community for Advent? How are you preparing yourself? Faith formation leaders across the country answered these questions in anticipation of the joyful season of Advent. All next week, Catholic Faith Formation’s Facebook […]
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