This coming Monday evening is our Open House for the School of Religious Education and we anticipate parents coming to sit in on their children’s sessions. Of course, we want to be sure that some very engaging things are going on that evening! I’ve decided to do a Bible activity with my group which is based on my book God’s Library: A Catholic Introduction to the World’s Greatest Book (this book is now out of […]
I am proud to announce that Loyola Press has published A Leader’s Guide for The Catechist’s Toolbox! I wrote this guide to assist catechetical leaders in using The Catechist’s Toolbox with their catechists. The guide consists of 18 brief inservices – one for each chapter of The Catechist’s Toolbox. Each inservice is designed to be 30-45 minutes in length. The Catechist’s Toolbox has sold nearly 40,000 copies already and this Leader’s Guide will now assist […]
I finished and turned in my report cards last night for religious education. Parents are invited this coming Monday evening to an Open House to visit their child’s class and they can pick up report cards on that night. I look forward to meeting those who will attend. Completing the report cards was not too difficult and it was made especially easy because I have such a good class of kids. Very few of my […]
The program I serve in issues report cards at the middle and end of the program. Tonight, I’ll work on these for the “1st semester.” They are very basic…I indicate their attendance record, provide a “rating” on some basic criteria and then write a comment. A grade (A, B, C, etc.) is not involved. These are to be ready by Wednesday so that they can be organized in time for next Monday when we will host […]
Victor from California sends along the results of an activity he did with his 8th graders. I’ll let him describe it in his own words: The lesson was on Anointing with Chrism. Following some content and context, I had them divide into groups and do an acrostic with the word “anointing” on poster paper. They got more exposure with oil as I had each of them dip their finger into some fragrant oil and anoint their […]
I had the pleasure of sharing lunch with Connie Rakitan, the coordinator of a program called Faith and Fellowship – a ministry of faith formation for people who suffer from mental illness. Statistics reveal that one in four American families are affected by mental illness. As catechists, we need to realize that 25% of those we teach are affected my mental illness, meaning that they or someone they know suffers from a mental illness such […]
One of the most frustrating things that I experience as a catechist is young people who are fully capable of reading but are reluctant to read. I’m not talking about reading aloud…I understand that some people don’t like to read aloud in front of others. I’m just talking about following along in the book as someone else reads aloud. I especially notice this in the boys. As we read, some of them will just stare […]
Over the weekend, I had the privilege of going to San Francisco for the first time in my life. I spent 2 days with a group of catechists and catechetical leaders exploring the relationship between catechesis and liturgy. I met many wonderful people there and in particular, was inspired by a catechetical leader (who also teaches 8th grade RE) who exemplifies the gift of fortitude. Victor is a very friendly, outgoing young man, with a […]
I’m going to be tied up over the next few days so I thought I would use today to share what I’ll be teaching this coming Monday. We have the third of our Confirmation Intensives. For this one, we are going to focus on the number SEVEN. Actually 7 x 3. What do I mean by that? We will have the young people participate in 3 sessions that evening, focusing on the following: the 7 […]
I’m always suspicious of people who tell me that when they were in Vegas, they won X amount of money playing a certain game or machine. They never tell you how much they lost along the way! In the same way, I’m about to tell you about a moment I had last night at religious education that was like hitting the jackpot. I’ll follow that, however, with a little disclaimer that shows it wasn’t all […]
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