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 enjoyed the last couple of days in Northern Wisconsin with 100 catechetical leaders looking at how we proclaim the story of salvation through a Catholic lens. We had a wonderful time together and I hopefully set the stage for my long-time friend and colleague, Carole Eipers, to take over and carry the gathering through tomorrow. The event was organized by the Wisconsin Directors of Religious Education Federation (WDREF). I had the pleasure of seeing […]
This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of spending the day (9 am to 3 pm with one hour for lunch) with about 100 catechists in the Diocese of Dallas, TX, exploing Church documents! I know, I know…you’re insanely jealous because you would want nothing more than to spend a Saturday exploring Church documents, right? Believe it or not, we actually had a wonderfully engaging day that went by quickly. When it comes to Church […]
Tonight, our 8th graders will be going to the church to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the season of Lent. I see that in the Archdiocese of Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley has launched an effort titled “The Light is On for You” to encourage people to receive the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation. In essence, every parish and chapel in the Archdiocese of Boston will be open on Wednesdays during Lent from 6:30-8:00 pm for confessions. […]
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Sorry for this very long post.
This is my second year as a catechist. I
Greg, this is a great summary of your class. Thanks for sharing in such detail. It really sounds like a solid lesson that kept the young people engaged and set the tone for the year. It was indeed a very ambitious lesson plan and that’s good…always best to overplan than to underplan. Don’t be discouraged by the giggling with the guided reflection…it is quite normal and creates a challenge but you need to be determined to win them over and teach them mature behavior. Last week in my class, I had to omit the sacred space and when I told them that, they groaned and one of them said, “that’s my favorite part.” So, know that they will come around. Thanks again, Greg…you share many effective and creative ideas here that we call can learn from.
Joe – I have received the Holy Trinity of blessings this year with my class. First, my group of 13 students really seem to respond well to the material so far and we have had some really good class discussions. Second, our RE program switched to Loyola Press’ Finding God program this year so I have full access to Loyola Press’ wonderful website filled with ideas. I especially like using Loyola Press’ Sunday Connection to help my class think about how the following Sunday’s Gospel applies to their lives. Lastly, our seventh grade lesson plan so far has trailed about a week behind your eighth grade lesson plan so I have the benefit of directly applying some of your terrific ideas within my class. For instance, last night our topic was the Holy Trinity and while I didn’t bring in examples of water in all its forms to help explain this idea, I did have my class imagine and discuss their favorite forms of H2O and how that concept applies to the three different persons in our one God. Thanks for all you do to make this ministry so approachable to all of us.
Thanks, Bernie, for this udpate. It sounds like you’re off to a good start with your 13 students…hooray! Glad to hear that you’re incorporating the Sunday Connection….that’s a very valuable resource. We look forward to hearing more from you as the year unfolds.
My 6th graders are starting to get the hang of being ready to participate in answering a steady flow of questions as part of the learning process. Why didn’t Jesus just decide nobody would be hungry? That’d be easier than going to all that trouble with loaves’n’fish. C’mon, c’mon, be fearless, give me an answer! I’ll take a bad answer! Give it up, I’m too old to hold my breath!
Love it!
was at ocea convention and sttended your session. it was great. i have your book on the mass and would love receiving your powerpoint you discussed at the conference.
thank you.
rose