“Me-me-me-me-me-me-me-me…” No, it’s not all about me…that’s just the sound of my voice warming up for tomorrow’s webinar! I’m stretching my vocal chords as I get ready to talk about the changes in the Roman Missal, a subject that is of great importance to anyone who believes that the Mass is the most important thing that we Catholics do! There’s still a little time left to register…HURRY! Don’t forget that you have TWO opportunities to choose […]
For my next lesson, I plan to show my class some kid-friendly, Catholic Web sites where they can learn about the Catholic faith. I’m looking for Web sites that are appropriate for intermediate grade kids (grades 4-6), are interactive, and invite kids to learn about and practice the Catholic faith. I have a few in mind already, but I’d like to know what sites you know of and would recommend. I look forward to your […]
A number of people sent in some excellent questions during our Webinar last night. Here’s a sampling along with my responses. You’re most welcome to chime in on the discussion. _______________________________________________________________ ‑Steven Q: What are the biggest differences between teaching religion in a five day school and as a catechist once a week. For the first time in almost 30 years I am doing both at the same time. A: Steven, the most obvious of […]
Back on 4/27/10, I received this comment from Michael N. It seems that Catholic religion textbooks (we use one designed for schools) are painfully bad…to the point of being almost unusable. I think I’d do much better if they just gave me a religious-themed coloring book! Any websites you recommend for ideas/content (games, songs, prayers, activities, printable sheets, etc.)?? God bless you! Michael Although I don’t agree with Michael’s assessment of Catholic religion textbooks (what […]
This weekend, along with 30,000 of my best friends, I’ll be attending the Religious Education Congress of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles! I’m doing a presentation on Sunday morning titled “The Spirituality of the Catechist: Re-igniting the Flame.” I look forward to meeting lots of fellow catechists and catechetical ministers as well as seeing many long-time friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. The RE Congress is an exciting celebration of all things Catholic and I look forward […]
Thanks to Jennifer Schneider, Director of Faith Formation, and her staff at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in New Prague, MN, for alerting me to the fact that I made a big boo-boo on question #1 of the What’s Your Catholic IQ? in the current issue of Catechist Magazine. Here’s her email: Joe We are having a bit of a dilemma here at our office around a question in the Catechist Magazine catholic IQ. The question […]
I’m off to Philadelphia for a few days! Friday, I’ll be with the DREs and CREs of the IHM parishes in Philly and on Saturday, I’ll be delivering the keynote at the Philadelphia Catholic Life Congress! Pray that God puts the words in my mouth that people need to hear! I’ll be back in time to teach my class on Monday night and I’ll blog about my lesson plan earlier in the day on Monday. […]
Cincinnati, here I come! I’m privileged to have the opportunity to do a couple of workshops at the Ohio Catholic Education Association conference in Cincinnati this week. I’ll be speaking on The Catechist’s Toolbox and Living the Mass. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you about how your first few weeks of teaching are going! Send in your comments.
I spent a wonderful Friday with 200 Administrators (Catholic school principals, DREs, Adult Faith Formation Coordinators, etc.) on the topic of my book, A Well-Built Faith. The folks there really outdid themselves, creating an environment that brought the Well-Built Faith imagery to life. Take a look at these pics! Thanks to all the good folks of the Diocese of Green Bay for a great day and God bless you in your ministry! What an amazing […]
Recently, a very brave catechist, Greg Olson, about to enter his second year as a catechist, spoke at all of his parish’s Sunday Masses to give witness to his vocation as a catechist and to help recruit new catechists. Greg is no stranger to this blog as he shares his thoughts and comments often, especially during this summer’s online retreat. With Greg’s permission, I am sharing his experience of speaking at the Masses. He and I […]
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