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Catechetical Leaders

A Call for HELP!!!

I received the following email from a volunteer catechetical leader named Barbara who is in need of our help and support. Please offer your suggestions by leaving a comment at the end of this post (click be”Leave a Reply”). Thanks! Hi Joe:I am DRE in a very small parish in the Diocese of Allentown, PA. We have approx 100 children in CCD. The parents are lackadaisical at best regarding their children’s faith formation.We hold CCD […]

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Catechists in Action

Catechists in Action – RCIA Participant Shares Moving Insight

In this segment of Catechists in Action, Marge Garbacz prepares to move on to the next segment of the RCIA discussion on Human Dignity but pauses to invite a participant to share a thought. Watch for the following: Marge notices that one of the participants looks like he wanted to say something so she interrupts herself and invites him to do so. Mauricio, one of the RCIA candidates, shares his thoughts on the idea of […]

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Catechists in Action

Catechists in Action – Marge Leads Opening Prayer

In this segment of Catechists in Action, Marge Garbacz welcomes her RCIA participants and invites them to prayer. Watch for the following: Marge greets the participants with great enthusiasm, letting them know how welcome they are and how enthusiastic she is to be spending time with them Marge gives instructions for the prayer and invites the group to pray a prayer written for the parish RCIA process and used over many years at the parish. […]

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Books

Practice Makes Catholic – Finalist for “Excellence in Publishing Awards”

I’m very proud to announce that my book, Practice Makes Catholic is a finalist for the Excellence in Publishing Awards given by the Association of Catholic Pubishers in the category of Resources for Ministry. I’m honored to receive such consideration and am very proud of this book which is being used by so many people in parish ministry, especially in the areas of catechist formation, RCIA, and general adult formation. I’m also proud to be […]

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Catechists in Action

Catechists in Action – What Kids Like About Chris Brett

In this segment of Catechists in Action, we do something a little different. I interrupted the session to ask the 8th grade students what they like about their catechist, Chris Brett. Watch for the following: Chris jokes about liking his class because 2 guys who cause trouble are absent that night! Kids respond by saying that they like that he doesn’t scream at them, he makes learning fun, he never sends them down to the DRE’s […]

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Comings & Goings

The Jesus Approach to Evangelization

While at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, I had the pleasure of listening to a keynote delivered by Rev. Anthony Gittins, CSSp on the Urgency of Discipleship and Evangelization. In his talk, Fr. Gittins made some excellent points about evangelization. First, he identified 4 requirements for evangelization: Proclamation Witness (which he says is “proclamation with our mouths shut!” – I love it!) Dialogue (with an emphasis on listening) Liberation He also went on to explain […]

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View Past Webinars

Please note, we do NOT issue certificates for viewing recordings of Webinars. Please click on one of the links below to jump to the information regarding the topic you’re interested in: Getting Started as a Catechist Series Primary Age Children Intermediate Age Children Junior High and High School Students Adults Roman Missal Changes “Practice Makes Catholic” Leading Prayer as a Catechist Preparing for Advent: A Webinar Making Lent Simple, but Not Easy Growing as a […]

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Liturgy and Sacraments

A More Robust Liturgy – More Discussion

Last week, I posted a link to my recently published article, 7 Steps to a More Robust Liturgy, in Ministry and Liturgy Magazine. I received an excellent response from Jeffrey Pinyan, author of Praying the Mass. The reason I consider it excellent is not because he agrees with everything I said (in fact, he disagrees with me on a variety of points) but because he furthers the discussion, contributes to it with well-thought-out ideas, and […]

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Technology in Catechesis

Video Contest!

Where do you find God? Loyola Press is asking students, teachers, and catechists to showcase the inspiring and sometimes-surprising ways they experience God’s presence in their everyday lives through the Finding God Video Contest, an original multimedia project. Schools and parishes who submit videos are eligible to win the following prizes: First prize: School- or parish-wide adoption of the new edition of Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts(grades 1–6) Second prize:$1,000 Loyola Press product […]

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Growing as a Catechist

Learning the New Nicene Creed By Heart

One of my Lenten promises this year is to learn by heart (memorize) the new Nicene Creed. Of all the Roman Missal changes (people’s parts), the changes to the Nicene Creed (and the Gloria) are by far the most significant. I think it’s important to be able to recite the Creed from memory so I am attempting to learn it by heart this Lent. I spent time on the train this morning working on it […]