Stories from the Field

Whether you work with little children, teenagers, or adults, you are not alone in catechetical ministry. These posts highlight stories from catechists and faith formation leaders in the field, sharing the ups and downs of their work.

small group for Year of Mercy
Adult Faith Formation

90 Participating in Year of Mercy Small Faith Groups

Joe Paprocki

Earlier this month, my parish, Christ the King, began hosting six small faith groups with 90 total participants gathering weekly for four weeks to reflect on Scripture passages related to the Year of Mercy. Two of the groups are being led by our Associate Pastor, Fr. Matt Litak, while the other four are being led by parishioners, including me. Two of the groups are meeting in the rectory, three are meeting in homes, and one—my group—is meeting in the […]

junior high kids
Junior High

A Plan for the First Session of Seventh Grade

Denise Gorss

I’m never sure what to expect on the first day of religious education. How many students will show up? What will they be like? How long will the opening prayer service and send-off to classrooms take? A catechist always needs to be flexible, but the first day of sessions makes that quality even more important. This year I had 14 young people on my roster, 13 of whom attended the first session. I expect the […]

Christ the King Adult Faith Formation Team
Adult Faith Formation

Meet the Adult Faith Formation Team

Joe Paprocki

After laying the groundwork over the past year, we are blessed to have an adult faith formation team in place at my parish, Christ the King in Chicago. Presently, the team consists of eight people (Seven are pictured and one was behind the camera!) including our Associate Pastor, Fr. Matt Litak. At our first meeting, we shared our hopes and dreams for adult faith formation at the parish and began discussing ideas for addressing the […]

surprised girl
Intermediate Grades

A New Year, A New Grade

Lisa Jones

Faith formation classes are back! Yesterday I welcomed students into my parish classroom for my seventh year, but with one big change: I’m no longer teaching third grade. The fourth-grade teacher wasn’t able to teach at the last minute, and I was asked if I would move to fill that hole. (My third-grade aide from last year, who has a daughter who is now in third grade, would replace me.) It was a difficult decision—I’ve […]

catechist bag
Junior High

What’s Inside My Catechist’s Bag

Denise Gorss

I teach in a classroom that is in a school that closed a few years ago. While this means I can leave some things at the school, the room is still shared space among two sessions of religious education and a few other groups that use the building during the week. I also like to have my textbook, worksheets, and other learning materials with me when I plan sessions, so aside from the prayer table […]

Loyola Press Opening Doors Award call for nominations
Special Needs

Loyola Press Opening Doors Award

Joe Paprocki

The Loyola Press Opening Doors Award honors a parish community that demonstrates a spirit of belonging and engagement practices that facilitate the meaningful participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of their parish community. Resources like Adaptive Finding God help welcome all of God’s children into the life of the Church; we want to hear about your programs too. The winning parish will receive a plaque as well as a monetary award to be […]

calendar
Adult Faith Formation

Becoming a Portal for Spiritual Enrichment Opportunities

Joe Paprocki

One of the temptations we face when looking to grow our adult faith formation experience in the parish is to try to become all things to all people when we simply do not have the resources—human and financial—to do everything we would like to do. With that in mind, I propose that parishes think of themselves as a “clearinghouse” or “portal” for information about spiritual enrichment opportunities. The fact is, your diocese may have a […]

children wearing sunglasses
Stories from the Field

Lessons from Teaching Vacation Bible School

Joe Paprocki

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 […]

Wassily Kandinsky - "All Saints Day I" - public domain via www.wikiart.org
High School/Youth Ministry

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 […]

ballot box
Junior High

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 […]