|
Whole
Community Catechesis
Religious education in our
parishes has been based on a schoolhouse model for a very long
time. In this framework, children are enrolled in a program
which follows the school year in schedules, formats and
holidays. They meet in classrooms with textbooks, are called
students, and are taught by teachers. Parents and families are
visibly absent from the picture. After celebrating
Confirmation, most Catholics believe they have graduated!
Adult education is left undone because religious education is
considered by some to be just for kids!
Well, if we truly
believe that growing in faith is a life-long endeavor and the
Liturgy is the source and summit of the whole Christian life,
which includes the sharing of faith, then we seem to be missing
the essential link between catechesis, life-long learning and the
Sunday assembly for Mass.
Whole community
catechesis bridges these gaps in the traditional schoolhouse
model. A renewed way of thinking about the process of sharing
faith within the community has the power to transform our families
and our parish.
 In
Whole Community Catechesis the entire parish, including the
families at St Clement’s elementary school, is involved in
learning and sharing about the faith. Every member of every
age is involved. Passing on the faith is not restricted to a
religious education class. It begins at the Sunday Mass
, is grounded in the Eucharist, and leads us back to the
Eucharist with lots of other wonderful learning and
discovering experiences in-between.
Parish
households become the main focus of our programs. This
makes sense because the household is where faith is shared
everyday. As a result we strive to engage families in the
process of passing on the faith and living it out daily.
Through at home materials and intergenerational learning
festivals we are committed to bring people together as
learners, and faith-sharers.
At
St. Clement's we have a blended program that
integrates a) traditional learning sessions facilitated by
catechetical leaders with b) faith-sharing at home
and c) periodic intergenerational sessions open to all
parishioners. Whole Community Catechesis starts with the
premise that faith formation, OR learning about the faith,
is part and parcel of being a Christian community ever
open to deepening its call to discipleship with the Risen
Christ in word and in sacrament.
ONE LAST THING:
Whole Community Catechesis is designed to optimize family – or
household - time! We really believe that the family is the
domestic church where dynamic witnessing of the faith and our
sacred traditions is affirmed and we are here to support families
in their call to be church.
Come! Be part of
this wonderful, enriching and spiritually rewarding enterprise
in the Spirit of Jesus Christ!!
|
