September 2016 - Page 2 of 3 - Catechist's Journey

Lessons from Teaching Vacation Bible School

Now that summer is over and it’s back-to-school, I’d love to hear from some of you about your experience of teaching/coordinating Vacation Bible School (VBS). All too often, VBS can be thought of as just babysitting when, in reality, some wonderful and amazing things can happen to deepen the faith life of young people as well as those who teach them. A very interesting article appeared on Busted Halo entitled, “What I Learned From Teaching Vacation Bible […]

Does Your Faith Formation Space “Speak Catholic”?

Joyce Donahue

When children walk into religious education sessions in your parish, what do they see: another classroom like they have been sitting in all day in school? Or is it an inviting space that makes it easy to form community, where matters of the heart and spirit can be shared? Does your faith formation space “speak Catholic” through sign, symbol, and a welcoming atmosphere? When Joe Paprocki suggests in Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox that religious education […]

Beyond Backpacks: Preparing for a New Year

Lisa Jones

It’s back-to-school time for my children. We’ve spent weeks buying new clothes, backpacks, and school supplies. They went to school orientations, they met their teachers, and they even attended a pre-school pep rally. On the first day of school, our prep work paid off. They all knew where they were going and what to expect, and they were open to a new school experience. Just as my kids had to prepare to go back to […]

Another Go-To Hymn for My Playlist

Joe Paprocki

Not that long ago, I posted about my newly formed playlist of what I call “Go-To Hymns”—songs that are easy to sing along with and can be used easily for prayer services when a pastoral musician or song leader is not present and if you are not comfortable leading song. It occurred to me recently that another piece of music that should be a part of every Catholic playlist is a Litany of Saints. Talk […]

Last-Minute Catechist Recruitment: Don’t Compromise!

Joe Paprocki

In an ideal world, all of our recruitment for catechists would have wrapped up early in the summer, so that now we could just move forward with training, formation, and the start of the catechetical year. In reality, however, we know that last-minute openings pop up, and catechetical leaders find themselves scrambling to do some last-minute recruitment of catechists. It’s important to remember that, while time is short, we must not compromise on our standards […]

How to Prepare Catechists for the New Year

Kathy MacKenzie

As a parent, I know that pleas for volunteers come fast and furious in the fall. These pleas arrive just as we are trying to get our own children to practices, lessons, and school activities on time. When homework, dinner, laundry, and outside job responsibilities are added to this seemingly endless list, I am reminded that my catechists are under a lot of pressure. I ask a lot of these volunteers. As DREs, we must […]

Wassily Kandinsky - "All Saints Day I" - public domain via www.wikiart.org

Friends, Not Statues: Three Ways to Teach About the Saints

Bob Burnham

There are many ways we can teach about the saints. We can ask young people to write a report about their favorite saints. We can have the class choose a patron saint. We can include facts about saints in our weekly lessons. But when I think about the way I talk about my friends, I don’t talk about them as if they were a collection of facts from a Wikipedia page. I don’t say what […]

Electing a Patron Saint for the Classroom

Denise Gorss

In this election year, I’ve decided to use a general outline of the political process as a multi-week activity for my seventh-grade class to learn about the saints. I’ll frame this lesson as selecting a patron saint for our year together. This will be an opportunity to look to the saints as role models who exhibit heroic virtues worthy of examples of the Christian life. First, we’ll meet the pool of candidates. I’ll help the […]

A Church on the Move in Youngstown, Ohio

Joe Paprocki

I had the pleasure recently of spending a day with about 100 pastoral ministers—pastors, pastoral associates, catechetical leaders, youth and young adult ministers, and deacons—in the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, looking at what it means to be A Church on the Move. My thanks and appreciation go out to Bishop George Murry, SJ, and the diocesan staff: Barbara Walko, Tom Sauline, Cindee Case, Mary Fiala, and Adrienne Curry. Also, a special shout-out to my friend […]

Resources for Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities—September 9, 2016

Joe Paprocki

On Friday, September 9, 2016, the Church in the United States will observe a special day of prayer dedicated to peace and justice in our communities and in our nation. My friend Jonathan Sullivan has put together a list of suggestions and resources for his home diocese of Lafayette, IN, and he is graciously sharing these with the rest of us. Thanks, Jonathan! Resources for Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities