Creative Moments
Become a Catechist
Here’s a link to a nice effort by some folks to recruit catechists for their parish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OcnKfpURk
Newsworthy
Creative Moments
Summer Intensive R.E.
I’m hearing that some parishes are experimenting with a catechetical model that employs a summer intensive religious education program for K-8 (usually 3 weeks) while throughout the year, offering periodic intergenerational events and a weekly children’s liturgy of the Word. Sounds to me like an interesting alternative. This is not to be confused with a Vacation Bible School. it is the formal religious education program taking place in a 3-week intensive model. Instead of having twenty- […]
Newsworthy
Catechists in Rwanda
What an amazing world we live in today where I am engaged in a dialogue with an Anglican minister from Rwanda about catechist formation!!! See below: Good morning, Joe. First, a little background. I’m a missionary priest with the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda. In an ironic circumstance which could only come about by the providence of God, the missionary jurisdiction to which I’m assigned is here in North America—Africa is sending missionaries […]
Joys and Frustrations
Fr. Pfleger, the Holy Spirit, the Virtues, and Being Prophetic
Lots of Catholics are talking about the controversy over Fr. Michael Pfleger’s politically and racially charged talk last week at Trinity United Church. Unfortunately, lots of knee-jerk reactions are happening. I have met Fr. Pfleger on a number of occasions over the years and have great respect for the way he has taken the Gospel to the streets. On the other hand, I also have many reservations about his tactics. It’s important for us as […]
Newsworthy
Take a Peek at My Video: Welcome to God’s Library
Not so long ago, I announced the availability of my (previously out-of-print) video, Welcome to God’s Library, on DVD! In the year 2000, I filmed a video titled Welcome to God’s Library which provided a basic introduction to the Bible for Catholics (intermediate/junior high through adult). The video summarizes the thrust of my book God’s Library. Several years ago, this video and the original edition of the book went out of print. Since then, I’ve been receiving […]
Newsworthy
John Allen’s "Mega-Trends" That Are Shaping the Church
At the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL) in Houston this week, I was blown away by the presentation by John Allen, NCR’s Senior Vatican Correspondent and CNN’s Senior Vatican Analyst, who spoke about what he calls the Mega-Trends in Catholicism: The Forces Turning the Catholic Church UpsideDown. What I like about Mr. Allen’s presentation (aside from being very engaging) is that he sees his job as informing…he informs all of us of what is happening inside […]
Newsworthy
The Pope’s U.S. Visit
Some people have been asking me about resources for the Pope’s upcoming U.S. visit (April 15-18). Kids may have questions and this could be a good teaching moment. The U.S. bishops have an official Web site for the papal visit at http://www.uspapalvisit.org/ In particular, there is a link there for teaching resources.
Newsworthy
More on JESUS OF NAZARETH
Showing a segment of the DVD Jesus of Nazareth worked out beautifully last night. As I mentioned yesterday, I showed the segment beginning with the Way of the Cross, leading up to the end of the film as the Risen Christ assures his apostles (and us) that he will be with us always. This is about 40 minutes. I paused the video frequently, pointing out information and asking questions and inviting the young people to ask […]
Newsworthy
Bishop Cupich at NCEA
I had the pleasure of listening to Bishop Blase Cupich (pronounced soopich) of Rapid City, South Dakota, speak at the NCEA convention in Indianapolis the other day. He spoke about exploring “proven pathways” for facing the challenges that we face in the catechetical ministry in our culture and times. In particular, he presented an Augustinian model of passing on the faith, grounded in St. Augustine’s communications to Deogratias (A.D. 403) titled “On the Catechizing of […]
Newsworthy
Feedback on Welcome to God's Library DVD
Not too long ago, I offered information about my “new” DVD, Welcome to God’s Library. Read the details here: http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/02/10/welcome-to-gods-library-on-dvd/ I wanted to pass along some very nice feedback I received from a catechist by the name of Vera: Dear Joe, A few days ago I watched the Welcome to God’s Library DVD and was impressed with how you un-complicated the Bible. I’ve always thought that I had to memorize where certain stories were in […]