FROM THE PRESIDENT
cl
C AT E C H E T I C A L LEADER
L
Finding Hope
March 2004
|
Volume 15, Number 1
Here, Now and To Come
March 2004
|
Volume 15, Number 1
2
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
Table of Contents
March/April 2004
In Every Issue 2 From the President
Anne Comeaux
To Be a Herald of Hope
3 From the Executive Director
Neil Parent
Professional Pride Spawns Magazine 4 Interview NCCL Episcopal Advisor Richard Malone
12 Books in the News
Neil Parent Reviewed by Ed Gordon
Clashing Symbols
13 CL Insights
Thomas Quinlan
Sharing stories
Features Heralds of Hope 5 American Catholic Resilience:
18 Classified Advertising 23 People in the News 24 Crossword Puzzle
Megan Anechiarico
Thomas H. Groome, Ed.D
Testimonial to Catechesis 6 Finding Hope Here, Now, and to Come
Kathleen Moriarty
7 The Living Light Seeks
Berard Marthaler, OFM Conv
to Illuminate Tolerance, Respect, Common Faith
8 Good Ground Press:
Mary Kay Schoen
Helping Adults Find Hope
9 Historian’s Perspective:
Michael Wagner
Great Hope in Where We’re Going
Focus on Leadership 10 Hope Grows Where
page 6
Mary Kay Schoen
Communication Is Valued
11 Creating Healthy
Bob Bright and Michael Nachman
Staff Relationships
Catechetical Update U P D AT E
page 2
Rural Catechesis 1 Rural Catechesis:
Dean P. Manternach, Ph.D.
A Sociological Perspective
2 4 6 7
page 8 NCCL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ms. Anne Comeaux President Diocese of Galveston-Houston Rev. Anthony J. Salim Vice President Maronite Eparchy of Los Angeles Ms. Mary Ann Ronan Treasurer St. Paul Parish, Phoenix, AZ
Mr. David J. Florian Secretary Diocese of Kalamazoo Most Rev. Richard Malone Episcopal Advisor Archdiocese of Boston Mr. Neil A. Parent Executive Director Washington, DC
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
First You Listen
Kathleen Atkinson, OSB
The Incarnational Community
John Valenti
Bridging the Distances
Christopher Fountain
Echoes of Faith: NCCL’s Versatile Resource
Ms. Carol Augustine At-large Archdiocese of Baltimore Mr. Harry Dudley At-large Archdiocese of Indianapolis Sr. Kathy Gallo, OSU At-large St. Paul Parish, Hingham, MA
Ms. Maribeth Mancini At-large Diocese of Rochester Sr. Rosa Monique Peña, OP At-large Archdiocese of Miami
www.nccl.org
NCCL STAFF Mr. Neil A. Parent Executive Director Ms. Joyce A. Crider Sr. Katherine J. Kandefer, BVM Associate Directors Ms. Carla Riga Administrative Assistant Editor: Ms. Joyce A. Crider Editorial Consultant: Mary Kay Schoen Design: Rings Leighton Design Group
From the President... to be a herald of hope, we must
HERALD HOPE Anne Comeaux
we a re n o o rd i n a r y p e o p l e . CATECHETICAL
LEADERS
at every level are extraordinary people! Because we recognize that we have no mere job, but rather have been called to the ministry, we can make lemonade out of lemons almost as a matter of course. It is true that for many of us in the ministry of catechetical leadership, the last few years might not have seemed to be a time of hope. We have been challenged by many elements which seemed to be out of our control and yet we have been in “the thick of it” when it came to addressing the challenges. Many diocesan leaders have had the responsibility of creating or selecting training programs which dealt with abuse. Parish leaders have had to see that that training was implemented and recorded. Diocesan and parish catechetical budgets have been slashed, staffs have been downsized at every level, respect for ecclesial ministers has diminished, and collaborative ministerial relationships have not necessarily been the order of the day. Ordinary people might not have been able to proclaim a message of hope in the face of such challenges. But we are no ordinary people. At its highest level, hope is a theological virtue. Hope has to do with taking responsibility for the future...not only our own future, but also the future of the world. The orientation of that future must be toward the kingdom. As catechetical leaders that is what we are all about and this important virtue must be in the forefront of our thinking and our actions. In the ministry that has called us, we proclaim the Good News, invite others to join us on our jour-
When we offer hope to catechists, to parents, to pastors, to the adults, youth and children in our parishes and programs, it is not a simple sense of optimism we present to them. Our brand of hope is for an eternity with the living God. There must be a sense of urgency about what we are offering in this world and there is added importance to what we are doing. The hope that we have within us can be the source of energy to get through the challenges that have been put in our lives and our ministries. We can give hope to others by our words but we are probably more effective when we communicate through our attitudes and our actions. Peter, writing to the early Christian communities, said “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope...” (1 Peter, 3:15). Catechetical leaders can herald hope by embracing this broken world because we know that we, and all in the world, are embraced by our loving God. The Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity from the Second Vatican Council tells us, “They who have this faith live in the hope of what will be revealed to the sons of God and bear in mind the cross and resurrection of the Lord.” Let us look from our present “cross” to our future resurrection as we take on our mantle of “heralds of hope.” As NCCL members we can, and must, support each other and the entire catechetical ministry from bishops to catechists to the domestic church in this holy endeavor. Anne Comeaux President
ney of faith, and encourage all to become a part of the kingdom of God with the resurrected Jesus as our companion. We must be heralds in our own right. March/April 2004
|
Volume 15, Number 1
cl
From the Executive Director...
professional pride S PAWNS M AGAZINE Neil A. Parent
Welcome to the inaugural issue of C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R , NCCL’s new magazine. Catechetical Leader brings together in one
cals. Second, now that our publication is a
more. Incidentally, an interview with Bishop
publication our newsletter, Catechetical
registered periodical with a subscription fee,
Malone is a major feature of this issue.
Leadership, and our quarterly essay publica-
catechetical and theological libraries as well
tion, Catechetical Update. While NCCL
as individuals who are not NCCL members
members have been enthusiastic about these
can subscribe to Catechetical Leader. Third,
two publications, we felt that the time had
Catechetical Leader, like other magazines, is
come to raise them to a new level.
mailed second class, thereby getting to our
The current form of Catechetical Leadership (and its earlier incarnation, Focus) began in 1991. As good as it is, Catechetical Leadership
readers quickly. Many of our members had to wait weeks before receiving their fourthclass-mail copies of Catechetical Leadership
I am grateful to all those who have contributed to the making of Catechetical Leader — the authors, those who were interviewed, our advertisers—and especially to Joyce Crider, editor, and Mary Kay Schoen, editorial consultant. I want to acknowledge, too, the wonderful people at Rings Leighton Design
and Catechetical Update.
Group in Washington who helped us with
zine is what we wanted. Our primary reason
In working on the design of Catechetical
have been a joy to work with.
for launching Catechetical Leader has to do
Leader, we decided not to lose the integrity
with professional pride.
of Catechetical Update. It will be included in
is a newsletter, not a magazine. And a maga-
As catechetical leaders we are proud of our ministry and our profession. For us at NCCL, this feeling became an increasing desire to produce an attractive, well-written publication that did justice to the unique and
Catechetical Leader as a freestanding pullout. The many NCCL members who have told us they valued this resource will not be disappointed, and they will still be able to order additional reprints of their favorite issues.
essential role of catechetical leader. We want-
The theme for this inaugural issue came
ed to have our publication, its very appear-
from comments made by NCCL Episcopal
ance and quality, make a dramatic statement
Advisor Richard Malone at the fall meeting
about the profession in which we serve.
of our Representative Council, a sixty-five-
A magazine also offers us several other advantages over a newsletter. First, as a publication with its own International Standard Serial Number (ISSN), Catechetical Leader is registered with the Library of Congress and can be catalogued and tracked by agencies and organizations that handle periodi-
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
member group that serves as the association’s key networking and idea-generating body. Malone called for catechetical leaders to be “heralds of hope,” especially in these difficult times and circumstances created by the priest sex abuse scandal. Catechetical Leader editor Joyce Crider chose those words for the theme for the first issue. I couldn’t agree with her
the design elements of the magazine. They
A special word of thanks also goes to Megan Anechiarico, who developed our crossword puzzle. This is the brainchild of Joyce Crider, who had to overcome my misgivings about its becoming a feature of the magazine. Now I’m looking forward to tackling it. I hope you will, too. Catechetical Leader is a work in progress. We want it not only to help you in your ministry but also to spark your pride in who you are and what you do as a catechetical leader. To this end, we welcome your suggestions for making it the best publication possible. Please send them to the editor at jcrider@nccl.org. Neil A. Parent Executive Director
www.nccl.org
3
Be Heralds of Hope In All That You Do... RICHARD MALONE
An Interview with NCCL Episcopal Advisor Richard Malone of the Archdiocese of Boston. Note: Since this interview, Bishop Malone has been appointed bishop of the Diocese of Portland, Maine. For more details, see our web site: www.nccl.org.
cl: How did you come to have a special emphasis on catechesis in your ministry? It all began with the rich formation I received in my faith from my parents and the schools I had attended. That had a powerful impact on me, and in high school I decided to become a priest. My first assignment after ordination was in a parish. I worked with the DRE, our sister, our laywoman, in a program with two thousand kids and a strong parent formation component. But it was when I was later sent to serve in a Catholic high school that I really caught the catechesis bug. I took a course at Boston University called, “The Frontiers of Religious Education,” taught by Walter Holcomb. I was so engaged by it that I entered the doctoral program to pursue a Th.D. in religious education. cl: What did you focus your doctoral work on? I chose as my dissertation topic, “The Roman Catholic Secondary School as Faith Community: Theological Developmental and Educational Considerations.” But while I was working on my dissertation, St. John Seminary invited me to join the faculty. I had March/April 2004
|
the opportunity to teach catechetics along with my other courses in theology. After St. John I became a campus minister at Harvard. That was wonderful work. There were six of us on staff: three priests, a sister, and two lay persons. I saw the catechetical components of worship, message, community, and service as being very pertinent in my work. Our main challenge was to help form Catholic students in their faith in a very challenging, intellectual environment. We did this often on a personal level when they sought our assistance on issues of faith. In addition, we tried to reach them through homilies and by addressing some specific topics in lecture series, etc., and through theological reflection on their service work. But systematic catechesis was a challenge. It is always a challenge, especially for busy undergrads. cl: And after Harvard? In 1993 I was asked to become director of religious education for the archdiocese. I went from basic person-to-person ministry and teaching to administrative work, planning, evaluation, etc. But it was exciting work, too. I prefer hands-on stuff to planning, but I knew
Volume 15, Number 1
the importance of working with the diocesan staff to make faith come alive in the diocese. Teaching always energizes me, and I wanted to keep teaching a course a semester; but I had to give that up, as I couldn’t do it justice.... I served at the secretary of education for my last five years in the diocesan office. The first day on the job I arrived at the office to discover a four-inch-high report on asbestos problems in the Catholic schools. This was my introduction into my new responsibility. cl: From your diocesan experiences, what recommendations would you have for other diocesan directors or other catechetical leaders? I would recommend the following things: First, observe situations very realistically—the challenges and the opportunities. Don’t assume that you know what the challenges or the problems are. Consult a lot. Look around. Listen. Your job description doesn’t come close to covering all the situations you will face. The General Directory for Catechesis calls this “analyzing the soil.”
continued on page 14 cl
american catholic resilience:
TESTIMONIAL TO CATECHESIS
Theology professor Thomas Groome, recently appointed director of the Boston College Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, responded to Catechetical Leader’s questions about hope.
cl: Do you see trends or signs of movement in the church that you find hopeful for the future? Groome: Out of every Friday there comes a Sunday; this is always our paschal hope through the dying and rising of Jesus Christ. Remember, too, as Paul explained in Romans 8, that hope is most a virtue when it is most needed, when there are lots of signs of discouragement. So this is surely a great time for hopers in the church to practice their virtue. Of course, to heavy hearts such sentiments can sound like pious piffle. But they’re not; they arise from the bedrock of our Catholic faith. Like the travelers on the road to Emmaus, if we are not alert, or too engrossed in our own sense of loss, we could miss out on what/who in fact is “staring us in the face.” My one great sign of hope, as we move through the crisis caused by the clergy sex abuse scandal (it’s far from over), is the fact that the faith of our American Catholic people is clearly capable of enduring it, of surviving it, and seems likely to become even more vibrant the far side of it. Indeed, this has not been easy. And yet, all the signs are that our people have remained deeply committed to “keeping the faith” while changing the church. Look at the movements for renewal that have emerged under lay leadership, and old efforts that have strengthened. Put simply, our people have not “walked away” from their church and certainly not from their Catholic faith. Let us not miss out on this crucial sign of hope or take it for granted. Some other social contexts that have been hard hit by such scandal have not brought forth the same response of endurance and leadership from the laity—my native Ireland being a case in point.
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
cl: Are there specific structures—or paradigms—or ideas— that have taken root and might have made the difference between European reaction and ours? Groome: Let me propose that the steadfastness of the faith of American Catholics is a testimony to our catechesis over the past fifty years or so. It is proof positive, if we need it, that the catechetical renewal— beginning with our faltering steps in the ‘60s and maturing with the years—has indeed been a powerful means of God’s grace to our people. From kindergarten parish programs to the theology courses in Catholic colleges, from sacramental programs for parents to service projects with
“The American Catholic community is extraordinarily vibrant...we’ve done something very right and some of it at least is a credit to our efforts at catechesis.”
youth, from RCIA to parish and base-community faith sharing groups—all of these good efforts at religious education—broadly defined—have given our people the spiritual and theological resources to withstand the worst crisis that has beset our American Catholic people.
continued on page 16
www.nccl.org
5
DRE’s Paschal Journey: Finding Hope Here, Now and to Come “American Catholics are now feeling the deep of winter in many respects,” CL suggested to DRE Kathleen Moriarty. “We are looking for crocuses in the snow, harbingers of spring.” This is her response. ooking for harbingers of spring has been my experience and my struggle in the past year—one I’ve shared with friends, peers, spouse, and spiritual director. I liken the deep of winter to the cold and dark of the tomb following Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. Our identification with Christ is a uniting of ourselves with his passion and death as well as his resurrection. That sounds pretty “preachy” and “party line,” but in recent years I’ve come to understand what it means in my life.
L
For American Catholics the tomb feels pretty cold and dark right now. It is hard to remember the radiance of a sunny day in the depths of the tomb...but the tomb is not sealed. I find memories of sunshine, and thus find hope, in the community of faith, the communion of saints.
IN THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH I find hope in reading the lives of saints who struggled through previous dark nights for our church and who stayed the course to bring about change. I find hope in reviewing the history and development of our sacraments (for myself and with parishioners). We can find and hold on to the essential mystery of God’s loving interaction with us, while seeing that the ritual expression of those essentials has changed, is changing, and probably will change further. I find hope in seeing adult parishioners open to examining our history and scriptures to find meaning for today. I find hope in remembering that even in my own lived experience from pre-Vatican II church to the present that the pendulum has swung widely as we’ve tried to implement the teachings of Vatican II.
AT THE NCCL MEETING The annual meeting in St. Paul last April was titled “Rooted in Hope, Leading with Vision.” I’ve always found NCCL members (and NCDD members before) to be attentive to the whisperings of the Spirit and in touch with the grass roots experience of the church. In St. Paul I had a memorable conversation with Carolyn Meeke, who is the assistant director for adult faith formation in the Archdiocese of Omaha. She likened our current experience of church to the contractions of a woman about to give birth. That young woman was for me a herald of hope. Extending that birthing image—I can see that the past forty years have been “Mother Church’s” pregnancy with the vision of church called for by Vatican II.
March/April 2004
|
Kathleen Moriarty is director of religious education at Sacred Heart Parish in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Volume 15, Number 1
IN RCIA In the implementation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults I see a significant sign of movement in the church. Those who strive to plumb the depths of the RCIA document and to really implement it are “bringing a new church into being.” And in the GDC’s call for the catechumenal process to be the model for all catechesis I see a herald for hope for catechesis— an invitation to grow beyond the ‘school’ model for formation. I believe that we cannot immerse ourselves in the catechumenal journey and catechesis rooted in the lectionary—be it as catechumen, candidate, team member, director, or liturgical presider—without being changed, without becoming more deeply rooted in the paschal mystery, without becoming people of hope.
IN MY WORK How might my own work be a herald of hope? It’s hard for me to see myself, so I asked a peer to hold up a mirror for me. She said, “You build relationships. You take what you know and translate it into what you do. You’re willing to share, to mentor, to learn, and to welcome.” Reflecting on her response I would say that I try to be a good shepherd for the people entrusted to my care: children, parents, catechists, other volunteers, other seekers. I try to know them by name, remember their story, and “feed” them. I find hope personally, and for the church, in the belief that we are called to be Christ in the world. If we are, we too will experience the passion and tomb as well as resurrection. As we strive with him to bring about the kingdom “here, and yet to come,” ours is a paschal journey.
cl
The Living Light Seeks to Illuminate Tolerance, Respect, Common Faith NCCL asked Berard Marthaler, OFM Conv, editor of The Living Light for the past thirty years, to consider how that journal has been a herald of hope for catechesis. hen the National Center of Religious Education/CCD
W
decided to publish a quarterly thirty years ago, they gave careful attention to the title. They wanted The
Living Light to serve as a beacon that would guide catechists and all engaged in the educational ministry of the church. Over the years it has identified trends, interpreted church documents, and reported advances and achievements. There were times in which the flame flickered because of low circulation but it survives as a sign that obstacles can be overcome when people dedicated to the catechetical ministry pull together. The editors want The Living Light to be a forum where all involved in
“Where charity prevails, there is always hope.”
ministry of the word come together to share their vision and dreams. The reasons why many in the church are disillusioned and discouraged
them) to commit themselves anew to St Augustine’s axiom, “in dubiis,
are varied, but The Living Light refuses to accentuate the things that
libertas; in necessariis, unitas; in omnibus, caritas,” which I might para-
divide. We cannot look at the problems that beset the ministry and the
phrase in English, “tolerance when honest people differ, one voice when
church in general as if they were “them vs. us,” for that too contributes
it comes to professing the Creed; and always, charity and respect for
to division. We encourage our readers (and everyone who will listen to
one another.” Where charity prevails, there is always hope.
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
www.nccl.org
7
Good Ground Press:
Helping Adults Find Hope in Shared Faith
“The good news is that we have in the church lots of adults who are adults—they’re very able to minister to one another,” says Joan Mitchell, CSJ. Along with her colleague Therese Sherlock, CSJ, she founded Good Ground Press in 1989 on that conviction.
e wanted to break open the Scriptures with teenagers and with adults—we wanted to be the bridge between the rich scripture scholarship and the people in the pews,” she says. “We thought it should be fun and involving for people. Our efforts are built on people’s ability to nourish each other.” This small press would seem to engender hope by responding to social and cultural changes as opportunities rather than problems.
“W
They saw a lot of red ink, Mitchell recalls, with their first venture, Sunday by Sunday; but the growth of RCIA and the movement toward small Christian communities began to create more opportunities for adult discussion. “We were trying to do something that a lot of other people were trying to do, too, and slowly we found each other.... It’s a fun thing to be a small company,” says Mitchell. “You can try stuff without needing a huge return on investment.” Their latest publication, Family Faith Communities, is a response to a contemporary social situation. Mitchell cited findings from a Lilly Foundation study of 40,000 small Christian communities. It found that participants tended to very active in their church communities—and over forty. Young parents, because of the demands of the workweek, are often reluctant to be drawn away from their children on evenings and weekends. In response to this situation, Family Faith Communities offers ten intergenerational gatherings for families. “ This is another way for them to be church.” Mitchell explained. “And it’s a heartening experience, I think, at a time when it’s disheartening in the broader church. I think the disillusionment with the leadership in the church is throwing people back on themselves more.”
March/April 2004
|
Another current Good Ground project is collaboration with the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul and the Basilica of St. Mary’s in Minneapolis to train catechists. A parish with many young adults and young families, the Basilica chose not to orient volunteers’ training toward “how-to” but rather toward their adult formation. “It’s their model and I think it’s an exciting one,” says Mitchell. Catechists meet with the team to break open the Word. They find supporting material—what theologians are saying about the scriptural themes—on the Good Ground website.
to nourish one another,” she reiterates. “We can revitalize the church from below. There is a lot of hope in our shared life of faith.” —Mary Kay Schoen
Find Good Ground Press at www.goodgroundpress.com.
This is not Good Ground’s only venture into electronic catechesis. Their web site offers several online retreats. Mitchell finds it interesting to see how many people all over the world access that feature. Their last report showed hits from forty countries in a single week. Mitchell’s recent book, Beyond Fear and Silence, looks at the importance of the stories of the women in the Gospel of Mark. Though written for a wide audience, it is a scholarly work—the product of Mitchell’s doctoral dissertation. For her last birthday she asked her young adult nieces (knowing they hadn’t read it) to discuss a chapter with her. “It was a beautiful experience. They got the point: why it’s important to know these stories.” Is the book a herald of hope for women? She laughs. “I sure hope so. When you look at the women in Mark ... they are key...very much leaders and pivotal people.... We badly need to get the whole story of the community that followed Jesus. It was a healing book for me, to find the importance of women. I think we will be a different church when women are an equal part of it.” “I think there is a profound faith in the community—and adults have a profound ability
Volume 15, Number 1
cl
Historian’s Perspective: Ogdensburg’s Mike Wagner Looks at Where We’re Going Mike Wagner takes the long view. He well remembers his first National Conference of Diocesan Directors meeting in Philadelphia in 1983. He was a lay diocesan staff member; it was the first year that his director had invited any of the staff to attend. (At that time the meetings of NCCD, precursor to NCCL were attended mainly by the directors themselves, the vast majority of whom were clergy or religious.) At the closing event Wagner, conspicuous in a sea of black, saw a priest he recognized as the renowned Johannes Hofinger, SJ, plowing through the crowd toward him. “ He gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you for coming,’” Wagner recalls. “That really blew me out of the water.” Wagner sees this long-ago greeting—and the growth in lay ministry and recognition of lay competence that followed—as heralds of hope for catechesis. He has been on the staff of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in rural New York State for the past twenty-seven years, and served as director of Christian formation for six of those years. He has graduate degrees in theology and religious studies, but he credits his undergraduate degree in history with providing him important perspective.
Wagner finds the response of American Catholics to the clergy crises an encouraging sign for catechists. “I find it very hopeful to see that by and large the majority people have been able to distinguish that the church is not just the clergy. Many Catholic faithful, rather than running away, are challenging the leadership and are calling for accountability. They realize that they are the church. They have understood the message of Vatican II.”
“Forty years is a short time from a historical perspective, especially during a time of change,” he points out. “Even though things might look bleak to some people today, when we look back to how NCCL has changed and evolved—the advances we’ve made—it’s really been not that long.”
He identifies other emerging trends in the church as sources of hope. One is the recognition of catechesis as a task belonging to the whole community, not just the DRE. He cites Bill Huebsch and his writing as a herald of hope in this arena. The shortage of catechists, Wagner points out, has created an opportunity to appeal to the whole community and focus on the need for adult faith formation.
He doesn’t think the current lay involvement can be attributed to the clergy shortage. “It’s really been the growth of lay ministry—competent people stepping forward and being recognized in the church,” he says. “Back when I started, when lay people were consulted by a bishop, it was either noted as a remarkable happening or not mentioned at all. Now it is a normal, expected occurrence. I see great hope in where we’re going and how much change has taken place in a relatively brief amount of time.” “In my study of history I see that when there’s dramatic change, there’s almost always pain,” he observes. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to go backwards.” As an example he cites the growing understanding of the relationship of catechesis to evangelization and liturgy. We are no longer dealing with each of these in its own separate box, he says, and we now recognize that they cannot be separated. This is causing pain as some dioceses restructure, subsuming catechesis under other offices. “Sometimes the catechetical people are not the ones retained,” he explains. “Sometimes bad decisions are made when good things happen.”
“The movement of adult formation to the forefront in the last ten years— I see that as a very hopeful trend,” says Wagner. “Somewhere along the line our vision got skewed—we were catechizing the children, and hoping that they somehow would influence the adults. That was not true when I was growing up. In religion class I learned my answers, but my faith I learned from the adult community—from practice. We lost that.” As a member of the National Advisory Committee On Adult Religious Education from 1991 to 1998 and co-secretary for several years, he recalls that “even as recently as ‘91 NACARE was struggling to get adult ed as a partial agenda item at NCCL’s meetings. Now it’s a predominant theme at all of the annual meetings. This is the direction we need to go.” “We are still in the beginning,” he emphasizes, again taking the long view. “Change is taking place and the Spirit is present in the church. We must remain a people of hope—for God has sent Emmanuel (God with Us) and in God’s time wondrous things are happening—and will continue to happen.” —Mary Kay Schoen
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
www.nccl.org
9
FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP
Hope Grows
Where Communication Is Valued s some of you may be painfully aware— parish organizations are not exempt from challenges that can beset any human organization: Meetings are poorly conducted with inadequate (or missing) agendas. Participants tune out, misinterpret others’ meaning or intent, or disagree actively or passively but not clearly. Authority issues are not clearly articulated. How many meetings do you know that are fertile grounds for creativity or provide a learning environment? Power plays beguile the innocent or trump the unsuspecting. Fear of various kinds prevents folks from addressing issues forthrightly.
A
Even entrenched situations like these can be turned around, maintains Wisconsin organizational development consultant Bob Bright, who has done conflict management work since the 1960s. “I have seen too many situations where people are afraid to speak up,” he says. “How do we get people to interact in a Christian way—so that things are said authentically and people are not dismissed or destroyed or intimidated into saying nothing?” He has found that the way to get people to talk authentically with each other, free of the usual fears and constraints, is to bring in a neutral third party— a person trained to facilitate communication. He has seen facilitated meetings improve relationships between previous adversaries, make it possible to articulate mission and goals, and set in motion action plans that were thought impossible before. Team esprit de corps has developed where none existed before. “I really do believe in this,” says Bright with fervor. Perhaps most significant in such cases, he says, is that a better meeting management style is modeled and can be replicated in future meetings. But does facilitation work in parish settings? Does it continue to work the following week? Yes, it can, says Mike Nachman, looking back on thirty-five years in parish and campus ministry and diocesan administration. Early on he was fortunate, he says, to work with priests and lay people who were committed to working as a team in ministry formation. “I learned March/April 2004
|
Volume 15, Number 1
from them...and knew enough to get outside help or learn new skills when things weren’t working.” Nachman cites examples of effective use of communications expertise in the Diocese of Toledo In the 1990s, for a large program to train deacons and lay ministers, diocesan staff brought in management consultants to teach communications and conflict resolution skills. The diocese also brought priests and other parish leaders together in deaneries or small local groups, training them so that they could go back into the parishes and effectively facilitate pastoral planning. “Some of these groups worked better than others, but it was a great accomplishment,” says
“...the common problem in parishes is the inability to deal with conflict up front.”
Nachman. “You don’t see programs like this often enough. Without these pastoral skills, you’re going to struggle in parish ministry. It’s where we’ve lost a lot of good people.” In his experience the common problem in parishes is the inability to deal with conflict up front. Problems are ignored; some fester and precipitate a crisis. Unilateral or ill-considered decisions are made and the problem escalates. Bright concurs. He often works with disempowered staff to help them ‘say their piece.’ He has found that women—and shier, more introverted men—tend to respond particularly well to facilitated discussion. But he points out that authoritarian or overbearing personalities are not the only problem. “Some introverts bring their own baggage. Some excessively extroverted people have become their own worst enemies because they simply have not learned the
continued on page 20 cl
FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP
Bob Bright and Michael Nachman
Creating Healthy
Staff Relationships hen unproductive staff conflicts occur—and recur—two responses typically characterize managers’ initial reactions. One response is to avoid the issues at all costs and hope problems will go way. The other typical response is to try to solve serious and chronic problems relying on their own resources. But sticky or sensitive staff problems, such as those described below, often refuse to go away and require an outside person with a disinterested viewpoint and specific skills to facilitate a solution.
W
A facilitated event helps staff become comfortable with and knowledgeable about the responsibilities of other staff members. This fosters a creative atmosphere where mutual assistance and resource sharing become the norm, not the exception.
PLANNING FOR POSITIVE CHANGE Some guidelines for planning a successful facilitated staff retreat:
ARE THESE STAFF SCENARIOS ALL TOO FAMILIAR IN YOUR PARISH?
❚ Find a skilled neutral facilitator from the professional
Dated Management Style There is not enough awareness of team management and conflict resolution methodologies. Staff rely too much on updating rather than problem solving. They may not meet often enough and may have no official agendas—or poorly prepared ones. An authoritarian management style, or one that abdicates responsibility, diminishes participation of competent staff.
❚ Bring the facilitator into the process as early as possible
A facilitated event can help staff structure their interactions by developing an atmosphere of mutual respect and comfort—out of which can grow new management options and decision making styles. Perceived Inequity and Power Struggles Staff too readily discount or overestimate certain individuals’ input based on their status. Staff does not know how to deal with an overly dominant person. Relationships between, staff, pastor, and laity are characterized by power struggles. This climate breeds resentment and leads to hasty or unexamined decisions reached only because “somebody” declared them decided. A facilitator can draw out the ideas of the parties in conflict, without taking sides, and encourages the group to discuss solutions on the basis of the merit of the ideas instead of the power base of any individual. Isolated Programming Staff have difficulty collaborating with colleagues due to perceived competition for limited resources. They do not consult among themselves, developing their programs without their colleagues’ input or critique. Staff lack clear understanding of each person’s responsibility and the result is confusion and stress.
community or a staff member or competent lay facilitator from another parish. Check to be sure his or her experience and credentials fit your needs.
to help the staff decide what is to be addressed and how. ❚ Be sure the participants clearly understand the need
to communicate openly and confidentially with one another in a respectful, problem solving way. ❚ Rehearse before the meeting ends what participants will
report out to interested parties. What is to remain private and what will be public should be clearly resolved. ❚ Come out of the retreat with concrete action plans, real-
istic timelines, and clarity about who will do what. Subsequent staff meetings should focus on updates on retreat action.
Skewed Expectations Vision, mission, and goal statements are missing or poorly articulated. Lacking these important organizational building blocks, staff are frequently engaged in fruitless battles. Expectations easily become skewed. When emerging goals are added to an already heavy workload, individual and group stress intensifies. Other goals are not adjusted to ease the burden, leading to burnout. A facilitated event seeks common ground by engaging the staff in clarifying their common purpose, mutually developed goals, and differing methods for accomplishing their goals. It can set in
continued on page 19 C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
www.nccl.org
11
Rural Catechesis |
Volume 15, March/April 04
C AT E C H E T I C A L U P D A T E
Rural Catechesis: A Sociological Perspective D e a n P. M a n t e r n a c h
Catechesis in rural parishes today requires renewed understanding of what makes such parishes distinct from their urban or suburban counterparts. Even among rural parishes there is sociological diversity. The General Directory for Catechesis recognizes that catechesis should be respon-
A STRATEGY FOR LEADERS As a rural catechetical leader you can be an effective catalyst for sustaining your parish’s future.
sive to socio-cultural differences found in the rural context (no. 192). Catechetical leaders are challenged to deal creatively with an ever-growing set of internal and external challenges—often related to sociological factors—to fashion a vibrant future for the rural church.
THE RURAL PARISH “Rural” can refer to both place and culture; these often overlap. With respect to place, a parish may characterize itself as rural because it is isolated geographically. Many small town parishes also may have this distinct rural perspective. With respect to culture, a country or small town parish may consider itself rural not only because of its location, but also because members reflect core rural life attitudes, values, and perspectives. Characteristically there are strong family ties that shape life together in the church and in the community. An experience of church is valued and often vital to
STUDY YOUR PARISH Engage in a self-study of the parish to better appreciate how sociological factors related to place, culture, size, and structure impact and shape catechesis. This knowledge, crucial in these times of rural pastoral change, can be used to plan and implement strategies that respect the integrity of your specific rural community in its deep religious heritage and culture. Such a self-study can facilitate successful adaptation of packaged catechetical programs.
the life of community activities. There is a strong sense of being a community where people know your name and care about you. Being connected to the land and a seasonal way of life also shape rural living and experience. These shape a distinct culture and affect the way that the rural community prays, governs itself, reaches out in service beyond itself, and runs its educational programs. The rural parish varies too in size and social structure. Membership size affects the resource base for catechesis. A limited economy base, financial limitations, and population changes all have direct effects upon the kind of catechetical formation program. While the parish may have a pastoral council and committees like its urban counterpart, structurally its leadership and day-to-day governance will reflect rural cultural processes and values. Size and social structure are intimately linked to place and culture and shape catechesis in the rural parish. Understanding the ethos of the rural parish shaped by these factors is essential for adequate planning, particularly when change is necessary or happens unexpectedly in the course of parish life.
CHANGES
AND
CHALLENGES AHEAD
When I canvas parish catechetical leaders in the rural diocese in which I live, the conversation about catechesis quickly turns to challenges facing the parish as a whole. It appears the greatest internal challenge relates to changes in rural ecclesial leadership. In the wake of declining numbers of sacramental ministers and priest administrators, some parishes are becoming part of a parish cluster; others are being informally linked; and some are being given a mission status or even closed. Leaders say rural parishioners fear for the future of their parishes, and this cloud of uncertainty affects catechesis. It is sometimes easier to maintain present programs than shift toward adult catechesis and multi-generational learning—approaches that could actually sustain the viability of the whole parish faith community and provide better catechesis for its members cradle to grave.
THINK
HOLISTICALLY Observe and learn from your urban counterparts, but also appreciate the unique strengths of the rural parish in fashioning a catechetical program. All aspects of parish life evangelize; and as a rural leader, perhaps with multiple responsibilities across these areas of parish life, you can effectively shape the parish by thinking holistically in terms of total catechesis.
DREAM ABOUT THE FUTURE Invite a wide cross section of people to dream about the future of their parish. What will it look like in the year 2020? Ask critical questions about present catechetical praxis in sustaining the life, cultural heritage, and beauty of the rural parish in its place. Tell others about specific dreams you have for catechist formation, adult catechesis, and collaborating in order to sustain a viable community of faith for the future. Allow the people of God in the rural church to do something they typically do well—work together! Catechesis is the responsibility of the community of faith. It is good to model collaboration in leadership and allow many persons, young and old, to work in fashioning parish catechesis for a life-giving future together.
continued on page 8 Printed courtesy of
C AT E C H E T I C A L U P D A T E
1
IN NORTH DAKOTA
First You Listen
1st
KATHLEEN ATKINSON, OSB I began my diocesan catechetical
ministry, in western North Dakota in the fall of 1997, with the first word from the Rule of Benedict: “Listen.” At my first meeting with several parish directors of religious education, I introduced myself and talked about my background and my excitement about partnering with them. I thanked them for their faithfulness. I asked how I could be of support and service to them as catechetical leaders: What did they want me to do? There was a long time of silence. I sensed that this was a new question. Finally Dennise looked at me and said, “Sister, you’re going to have to give us a while to think on that one. I came prepared to hear you telling us what you expect of us. I can’t ever recall anyone asking me what I need and want. Not anyone from the church for sure; not even in my own family.” And so I listen...and clarify...and learn:
RURAL CATECHESIS
IS
SACRAMENTAL
In rural communities, God is experienced in the beauty of a wind-blown wheat field, in a frolicking newborn calf, or in the gentle song of a western meadowlark. God is found in the rituals of everyday greeting and leave-taking in the post-office, implement store, or main street cafe. God is found in the greater rituals of a 4-H exposition, county fair, or church bazaar. God is found in bread, wine, water, and oil. God is found in the call to reconciliation between the farmer recently foreclosed and the bank manager who handled the foreclosure. Catechetical ministry must respect and affirm these experiences of daily rural living. Rural catechesis must arise from the life of a particular community and its closeness to nature. Most catechetical texts, videos/DVDs, and examples or case studies present urban/suburban living as the norm and small town/rural living as cute or novel. Rural theological reflection is experiential and intuitive; theology is received simply as interesting trivia if not connected to daily experience. In rural communities the sacraments are key rituals that highlight moments in the life of the community as well as the life of an individual. Grandparents plan their return from southern winter homes around first communion. Confirmation provides the opportunity for the parish to host the bishop, an event that may happen only once every three years. Rural communities experience seasonal rhythms more as a natural flow than
2
Rural Catechesis | Volume 15, March/April 04
as the institutional rhythm that predominates in urban and suburban communities. The rhythms of planting and harvest (in agricultural areas), tourism (in resort areas), hunting season and high school sports share equal influence with the liturgical calendar and offer a rich connecting point. I learned that calves will not wait to be born. I learned that “events” are critical, “programs” are not. This lesson came from LuAnn, who called concerned that she would not be able to complete her diocesan statistical survey by the deadline given. She explained that her parish didn’t begin faith formation classes until after the parish
“The rhythms of planting and harvest (in agricultural areas), tourism (in resort areas), hunting season and high school sports share equal influence with the liturgical calendar and offer a rich connecting point.
bazaar on the last Sunday of September because “we don’t have enough people, and we don’t have enough chairs” to hold both events simultaneously. Catechetical ministry must be sensitive to the natural rhythms and significant events of the local community. Imposition of a mechanical sense of time won’t work.
continued on next page cl
FIRST YOU LISTEN... continued from previous page
The sacramental nature of rural catechesis also unfolds in the vigor, centrality, and formative power of storytelling. Communities so strongly influenced by oral tradition tend to express their religious beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions in language that is more natural than industrial, more traditional than contemporary, and more conservative than liberal. Clear moral codes and the expectation that members of the community will follow them may be invoked by way of stories of success and failure from the past. There are numerous men and women in our rural communities who are the carriers of the stories of the local church and they are just waiting to be called upon. They are the Lucilles, who have lived across the street from the church all their lives and have provided the orientation program for many a priest. They are the Idas, who are now serving cookies at the first communion reception for a third generation. They are the men and women who can tell you who built the church porch and who donated for the statue of Mary and who is related to whom. The local focus of the stories creates the context for understanding the broader society and engenders strong sentiments of belonging and tradition. Social justice is often a sensitive topic in small-town and rural parishes. The stories and the people held up in them often affirm the rural values of self-reliance and individualism rather than analyze systems of injustice. Questioning leadership is seen as disloyalty and acknowledging conflict as a betrayal of the community.
“Those who listen will learn about the people among whom they minister.
Catechetical ministry must draw on the richness of the local oral tradition while walking a fine line, gently challenging long-ingrained worldviews. Change must not be approached simply by saying “let’s try a new way”; it must be introduced with sensitivity to the people (living and deceased) who have invested themselves in a tradition. Very few issues are challenged without consequences; and yet, the challenge must be placed.
R ESOURCES
FOR
R URAL M INISTRY
Andrews, David, Gary Burkhart, Patricia O’Connell Killen, David O’Connor, and Eleanor Suther. Agenda for the Small Church: A Handbook for Rural Ministry. National Catholic Rural Life Conference, 1998. Clay, Michael. The Rural Catechumenate. Des Moines, Iowa: National Catholic Rural Life Conference, 1996. Jung, Shannon, Pegge Boehm, Deborah Cronin, Gary Farley, C. Dean Freudenberger, Sandra LaBlanc, Edward L. Queen II, and David C. Ruesink. Rural Ministry: The Shape of the Renewal to Come. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1998. —Kathleen Atkinson, OSB
RURAL CATECHESIS
IS
RELATIONAL
Although not at all immune to the stress facing contemporary American families generally, rural families have an investment in their church and local community that is intergenerational. Catechists faithfully teach third grade long after their own children are grown. Elders of the town attend the eighth grade graduation whether invited by a particular individual or not. The intergenerational nature of the rural community readily encourages prayer partners, sacramental sponsors, mentors, and storytellers of the church history. Children can reciprocate treats baked by older members of the parish with yard work or Christmas caroling. But intergenerational bonds also pose challenges regarding long-standing hurts, the controlling influence of one or two elders in an extended family, or pressure to conform to family expectations and hold up “the family name.” Catechetical ministry should accept the gifts that flow naturally from the realities of the rural church. For example, the family-oriented church lends itself naturally to family-oriented catechesis (though we must be sensitive to variations on the meaning of ‘family’). The small population accentuates the need—and opportunity—for everyone’s involvement; intergenerational clusters are the norm for living. Rural demographics support the priority of
continued on page 10 C AT E C H E T I C A L U P D A T E
3
IN MISSISSIPPI
The
Incarnational Community John Valenti
When I first arrived in Mississippi, what left a significant impression on me were the rural parishes I visited. These parishes, I found, focus on being inclusive and welcoming and the pace is leisurely. Newcomers and visitors are readily apparent, so it is hard not to be friendly to them. People come early to visit with their friends and family. Many stay long after Mass for religious education opportunities and socializing. There is no need to clear out the parking lot for the next Mass because this is it. The Bible Belt has its influence and I find the preaching is excellent: no three-to five-minute homily but rather a well thought out and crafted sermon reflecting meaningful scriptural application to common life. Most impressive is how everyone seems to take the time to savor this special moment with Christ in communion.
people for maximizing involvement. We gather, worship, catechize, and are sent out in loving concern for our neighbors. This is community in formation, a living mystagogia. The parish is the curriculum that sets the pace, the tone, the Gospel values and social mission faithful to our tradition. We find that the best opportunity for adult formation is being involved in this life-long journey with others, especially our children. There is a kinship among us that reinforces our identity as a family of Christians. Being “family”—getting along with others, making people feel like they belong, and not being “ugly” to one another—is most important. I have found that our parents have a strong sense of ownership and take the primary responsibility for making sure their children grow up with good Christian values and a strong Catholic identity. Parents make sure their children feel secure in their church environment. They want their
“We have an incarnational community where God’s grace is sufficient for those who generously respond.”
We are in one of the poorest states and depend on funding outside the diocese for half of our financial resources. Although the largest parish in the Catholic Diocese of Jackson has 3000 members, the average size parish is approximately 275 people. Most families drive 15–20 miles to get to church. There are eighteen resident pastoral ministers (RPM) in our diocese of 74 parishes and 28 missions. Almost all our 35 active diocesan priests have to double up on parish assignments. We are fortunate to have the Glenmary Home Missioners, Sacred Heart Southern Missions, Trinitarian, Franciscan, Norbertine and Josephite priests as well. Several of our 68 counties have no church building, priest, or RPM. We do, however, have 520 certified catechists. The tasks of catechesis, like everything in these parishes, are not so much structured as spontaneous, and they are based on a life-long process of ongoing faith formation. That’s the way it happens in the “country,” especially in the South. The do-it-yourself style is born out of necessity but also out of the privilege of responding to our call to discipleship. The typical rural parish has an optimum number of
4
Rural Catechesis |
Volume 15, March/April 04
children to have a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Perhaps this is especially true for parishes where opportunities for formal religious education are not always available. Many of our Catholic parishes are limited in resources and there is a lot of competition for our children’s time, especially activities with other denominational church groups. (The Catholic population is less than 3%.) While our parents are not comfortable letting someone else do their job for them, they are open to opportunities in the wider community that reinforce their values and help children to grow up in a loving, supportive community. Some parishes use creative alternative programs, such as vacation Bible school, to deliver effective catechesis. Structured or formal catechesis plays a role, usually in a Sunday school format with Liturgy of the Word for Children interwoven into the lesson plans. Resources for youth ministry and adult education are getting better but we have not yet had
continued on next page cl
THE INCARNATIONAL COMMUNITY... continued from previous page adequate commitment of resources for these ministries. As the General Directory for Catechesis emphasizes, no methodology can dispense with the person of catechist (GDC,156), and that absolute priority must be given to the formation of lay catechists (GDC, 234). We make the best with what we have. In Latin America, nearly half of the world’s Catholics are served by 10% of the world’s priests. They have had to learn to get along with available
leadership in the church. Here in Mississippi, where we are frequently without a resident priest, a Catholic school or Catholic college, or even a formal ministry training program for liturgical leadership, I have pondered over the idea that we have an incarnational community where small groups of Catholic people find that God’s grace is sufficient for those who generously give a faith response. John Valenti is the diocesan director of religious education for the Catholic Diocese of Jackson.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL ❚ Our Lady of Victories in Cleveland, MS makes their summer vacation Bible school an all parish / community event, transforming a parish into
a living, breathing center of faith. Every inch of their facilities morphs and blossoms into a flowering display of artistic and creative talents. The VBS project has become a delivery system for expressing faith where community involvement and shared giving becomes the norm. Pastor Tom Lalor understands that most religious education programs max out at about 30 hours of instruction per year. He points out, “A good VBS program can provide 15-20 hours per week for quality (and fun) religious education.” ❚ Immaculate Conception in Camden, MS actually provided a six-week vacation Bible school last year. The parish, having lost its Catholic school
after many years of faithful service, has transformed its facilities into a community faith center, staffed by Brenda Griffin and Diane Eldridge. The pastor, Rev. John McSpirit, S.T., points out that the parish housed an agricultural college in the 1940s and ‘50s, civil rights programs and voter registration in the ‘60s, and the Catholic school for the balance of the twentieth century. The community is once again realistically responding to the core needs of their larger community.
ADULT ED ❚ St. James in Corinth, MS sponsors a monthly communal supper and lecture series on the “Tasks of Catechesis.” The fifty or sixty regularly in
attendance represent 20% of the total parish membership. Sr. Bernadette Engelhaupt from nearby St. Mary Mission in Iuka assists in this program. Director of Religious Education Linda Gunther asks, “How many churches can boast such involvement and support?” ❚ Our smallest mission, St. Theresa in Okolona, is a faith community of twenty-five Catholics. A group of sisters working in the Glenmary Home
Missioners have provided an adult lecture series for the past three years. For their current Saturday morning offering, “The Challenge of Christian Ethics,” Sr. Liz Brown, Sr. Rosemary Empen, Sr. Kris Vorenkamp, Sr. Mary Jean Morris, and Sr. Florita Rodman team up to explore what it means to be a moral person who makes moral decisions with the freedom of God’s people. Participants come from area missions. The series usually concludes with a retreat.
CATECHISTS ❚ Many of our smaller catechetical ministries combine age groups, teaching anywhere from three children to groups of eight or more. The class
meetings may include some of their own children along with other mothers and fathers and even grandparents. Paul Alleman, a turtle farmer from Belzoni, MS (catfish capital of the U.S.) coordinates and resources Sunday school for 17 children and 4 catechists. ❚ Certification has become an important tool for adult faith formation. Jack and Kathy Elliott at Immaculate Conception in West Point, MS have
100% certified catechists. Nine catechists serve an average of five or six students each in their Sunday morning program. ❚ Peggy Moore at the Catholic Community of Yazoo City, MS uses teams of catechists who switch every six weeks. There is less turnover and parish-
ioners can generally commit that amount of time. “Many years of experience has determined what works best and we work hard to make it our own,” Peggy said. “These babies who are now grown up come first...They are the church, ... the ones who light the candles and carry the cross.”
HISPANIC MINISTRY ❚ Mississippi has the largest percentage of Hispanic immigration in the U.S. St. Anne in Carthage is a microcosm of what is happening nationwide. The
community is white, black, Native American and Hispanic—from 17 different countries. For catechesis, the church meets for four hours on Saturdays once per month. “It provides a meaningful experience for the students, parents and catechists,” says resident pastoral minister, Sr. Pat Godri.
C AT E C H E T I C A L U P D A T E
5
IN VERMONT
Catechesis In Vermont:
Bridging the Distances
Christopher Fountain
The Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, is unusual in that it is virtually 100% rural. The landscape is dotted with typical picturepostcard New England settings connected by country roads to only a handful of small cities, the largest with a population of about 40,000. The parishes that make up the fabric of rural Vermont are close-knit communities isolated, for the most part, from one another. However, in this isolation is a unique strength: These are faith-filled communities rooted in a longstanding history of God’s word handed down with pride from generation to generation.
FAR
APART IN MANY SENSES
The defining moment for any Catholic community arrives when it recognizes that God’s word, found in holy Scripture, has permeated, transformed and enlightened its members. Small rural communities know this truth. The challenge is to make it a reality. Catechesis that is authentic, engaging and reflective leads to profound moments of conversion and determines the level of commitment to live faith-filled lives with Scripture as a solid foundation. The role of catechesis cannot be overstated. However, providing consistent quality catechesis is a major challenge in rural Vermont where people live in close proximity neither to one another nor to their parish communities. In theory, basic and advanced formation opportunities for catechists and adult enrichment programs are essential for faith formation; and, inarguably, those who often have little training or experience in theology and methodology benefit from them. Yet geographical obstacles make participation in training programs impractical. In rural settings, the issue of approach to catechesis also presents challenges. Some parishes are more conservative (i.e., pre-Vatican II), while others have fully embraced the course espoused by Vatican II. Sometimes both approaches exist within the same parish setting. Where the mindset to resist change is deeply engrained, it is often very difficult to determine how best to approach catechesis. Patience and compassion are the guiding principles for leading people to a more open and full view of their identity as Catholics while respecting the fact that they are addressing their mission to evangelize, albeit in their own way. What can be done is to help them appreciate and use proven, developmentally appropriate methods to engage children in the learning process.
CHALLENGING MINDSETS Some adults wrestle with the foreign thought that offering or attending enrichment programs would be beneficial. They have not been exposed to the thinking that adults must take an active role in their own faith formation. The General Directory for Catechesis calls each one of us to discover that the “goal of catechesis is to put others into intimacy and communion with Jesus Christ”. Participation in enrichment programs designed to empower each person as an evangelizer helps this goal materialize. Achieving such a monumental goal in a rural setting, such as Vermont, is sometimes slow and arduous. Often enrichment programs, even regional workshops organized to incorporate numerous area parishes, are poorly attended. But we can’t measure results solely on attendance at training programs. We must find alternative ways to provide forma-
continued on page 11 cl
Echoes of Faith: Going There NCCL’S VERSATILE RESOURCE FOR CATECHIST FORMATION
“M
eeting people where they are” is a fundamental challenge of catechesis—and catechist formation. That phrase captures the leitmotif of four articles highlighting rural catechesis in this issue of Catechetical Update. Meeting people where they are—in several senses—is also a primary aim of Echoes of Faith, NCCL’s most ambitious publication to date. This seems an opportune time to revisit, from a rural perspective, this versatile video-assisted program for formation of beginning catechists.
The stated goals of Echoes of Faith are to explore the person and ministry of the catechist, to illustrate the principles of effective catechesis and to acquaint the catechists with the foundations of Catholic teaching and tradition. Each module of the program combines a one-hour video with a companion booklet for study and reflection. Catechists may view the videos at home, record their responses to the video, and‚ ideally—discuss the points with other catechists in a small group. The videos are not meant to take the place of on-site training; at the heart of the program are group discussions. Echoes of Faith is now adopted for use at some level in 130 dioceses. “I think its grassroots flavor is one of the reasons it has been so wellreceived,” says Jo Rotunno, currently director of catechetics for the publisher RCL, who was executive producer for the series. “We shot actual catechists—documentary style.” Twenty-five catechists and sixty consultants contributed to the series, which was released in 1998. Rotunno knows of no comparable program. In this issue of Update, rural catechetical leaders describe challenges of catechist formation that will resonate in Detroit as well as Dubuque. Let’s look at some of these challenges and see how Echoes addresses them. In rural areas, literally “meeting people where they are” can prove difficult: Coming together for formation programs may require long driving times; and resources in rural areas may be scare. The video component of Echoes of Faith addresses this issue by making available first-rate presenters of both
theology and methodology even to small parishes in remote areas. Catechists can view a video at a convenient time and place and reflect on it individually. Precious time together can then be spent discussing the material. This versatility is undoubtedly as useful to overstretched volunteers in suburbia as to their rural counterparts. More fundamentally, meeting people where they are means recognizing and respecting the unique life and culture of a parish, according to Update contributors. In rural areas, preferences about organization, scheduling, tradition, and ways of thinking tend to reflect the character of life “in the country.” The authors observe inclinations toward concrete thinking, storytelling, and the primacy of personal relationships—all incorporated in the Echoes program. Theologians in the Echoes videos are not talking heads; doctrinal discussions are structured as a series of interviews accompanied by visual
continued on page 11
ECHOES OF FAITH MODULES CATECHETICAL SET
METHODOLOGY SET
THEOLOGY SET
❚ Getting Started as a Catechist
❚ The Learner
❚ I Believe/We Believe
❚ Roles of the Catechist
❚ Four methodology videos (for different
❚ Liturgy and Sacraments
❚ The Person of the Catechist
grade levels)
❚ Catholic Morality ❚ Introduction to the Scriptures ❚ Prayer and Spirituality
C AT E C H E T I C A L U P D A T E
7
RURAL CATECHESIS... continued from page 1
Some parishes are exploring new forms of lay pastoral leader-
Studies: A Guide for Good Shepherds, Farley offers a list of
ship and are working hard to find the financial resources to
thirty questions that he believes pastoral ministers should
support them. Local parishioners are being called into formal
ask to learn about the place of the church in the wider com-
ecclesial leadership, particularly in the area of catechesis.
munity. Such an inquiry can not only shed light upon the
Training and ongoing formation for them is a challenge
strengths and deficiencies of present praxis, but also inform
because of time and their distance from urban centered
future direction in catechesis.
resources. Due to parish size and financial limitations many work part time for the church and require other jobs to sus-
THE RURAL LEADER’S WISH LIST
tain their families; this adds to difficulties in training local
Given these challenges in catechesis, what could help sustain
leadership.
the faith community for a vibrant future? Leaders desire 1) well-formed catechists, 2) enhanced involvement and catech-
Another internal challenge is to truly own one’s sense of place
esis of adults and families, and 3) improved support and
as a rural parish and recognize the gifts, resources, and limita-
encouragement from clergy and other pastoral leaders.
tions of being in one’s place. While leaders in the rural parish
Finding creative ways to move from wish to reality is the
may agree that unique socio-cultural differences shape their
leader’s challenge.
catechetical programs, small or isolated parishes often yearn to dine at the rich table of ecclesial resources and theological for-
One DRE summed up her desire for well-formed, dedicated,
mation opportunities found in or near urban centers.
prayerful catechists by saying, “a program is only as good as
Sometimes these desires discourage leaders, or lead them to
those who are presenting it.” Providing formation opportunities
implement a catechetical program that is mismatched to the needs, culture, size, and structure of their parish.
OWNING
THE
CONTEXT
Understanding and owning one’s context can make every
“Another internal challenge is
difference in shaping a vibrant catechetical program serving
to truly own one’s sense of place
children and adults. Models for religious education need to be imagined in ways that best fit the rural parish place, size, culture and structures. Rural catechetical leaders can take the
as a rural parish and recognize the
GDC as sound advice when it states that in unique socio-
gifts, resources, and limitations
cultural settings, like the rural parish, catechesis should
of being in one’s place.”
employ “different approaches” to meet “the diverse life situations of people” (no. 165). Catechetical approaches engaging people where they are and built upon a wellinformed knowledge of the ethos of the community and its people are likely to be successful. Determining such approaches requires inquiry and study. It is the premise of rural sociologist Gary Farley that to be effective a parish minister must have a sense of context and an awareness of the external factors and challenges shaping the life of every rural parish, particularly in times of change. Each parish is situated in a community that has a particular history, economic base, ethnic story, set of revered symbols, dominant values and norms shaping everyday life, processes
for volunteer catechists in the rural setting requires time, money, and travel: items frequently mentioned as barriers to diocesan-sponsored catechist formation programs. These concerns are compounded in smaller rural parishes where finances are limited and catechetical volunteers often carry multiple parish responsibilities. Investing in the formation of these catechists, who are rooted in the parish and have various points of ministerial contact with parish members, can be quite beneficial.
for dealing with conflict and change, seasonal rhythms, hopes and fears, etc. In the book Rural Congregational
8
Rural Catechesis |
Volume 15, March/April 04
continued on next page cl
RURAL CATECHESIS... continued from previous page
Few leaders seem entirely satisfied with the level of catechist formation
learn along with their children and take new responsibility for sharing
available. They yearn for something offered locally, doctrinally accessi-
faith. They take community life seriously and appreciate that catechesis
ble, and appealing to persons immersed in rural parish life and culture.
happens in a wider parish arena. When they are adapted well to the con-
Parishes need to do some dreaming about how these desires can be ade-
text of their particular rural setting, these programs grow. Leaders draw
quately met. Some leaders feel theologically ill-equipped to provide these
on a variety of published resources, but still need an ongoing formation
opportunities, while others bear the burden of wide administrative
process that is both appealing and accessible to country and small town
responsibility and consequently have little energy and time to provide
parish families.
much beyond day-to-day ministries. Greater numbers of people in the parish will likely have to engage in conversation about the importance of enhanced catechist formation before this wish is fully realized.
Lay catechetical leaders feel they are in need of greater support from the clergy to effectively carry out their responsibilities. Celebrating the Eucharist is at the center of rural parish life. For many, gathering
Adult catechesis and multigenerational education are popular issues of
for Mass is also a key social event of the week. In many parishes,
concern among rural leaders. Because of strong interest in family ties
parishioners need to see more visible cooperation between catecheti-
and community life, members of the rural adult community gather fre-
cal leaders and clergy on Sundays to help them understand the role
quently at other times besides Mass. Moving adults away from the
and responsibilities catechetical leaders have in the life of the parish.
church steps on Sunday morning and into the parish hall for sustained
Catechetical leaders desire to work more closely with clergy to make
conversation about their faith doesn’t often work, but meeting them
necessary changes, but this requires a joint working relationship in
one on one or in small groups at the coffee shop is a step in the right
which both parties are open-minded, gentle-hearted, passionate,
direction that respects rural cultural practice. Sustained evangelizing
prayerful, and filled with Gospel joy!
“While the parish may have a pastoral council and committees like its urban counterpart, structurally its leadership and day-to-day governance will reflect rural cultural processes and values.�
outreach to individual and small groups of adults might precede moving toward a formal adult catechetical program in the parish. Where traditional K-12 classroom models dominate religious education,
Dean Manternach teaches in the Religious Studies Department at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. He served as a pastoral minister and DRE in two rural dioceses prior to completing his Ph.D. in Religion and Education at Boston College.
it is sometimes difficult to get adult catechesis and intergenerational faith sharing initiated. Some parishes have shifted to multi-generational learning programs. These require parents to take sharing their faith seriously, calling upon them to grow in faith themselves and share it with the younger generation. These programs are working for several reasons: They offer parents, who have a deep desire to see their children grow in faith, an opportunity to
C AT E C H E T I C A L U P D A T E
9
FIRST YOU LISTEN continued from page 3
adult faith formation; the fact is that our smaller towns increasingly have aging populations. And finally, since rural people routinely travel long distances by car, ministry might include providing families with games and discussion starters for the car and assisting parishes and individuals to purchase good books and religious symbols for homes. (Many in western North Dakota live 200-400 miles from the closest Catholic bookstore.) Rural people tend to be ecumenical in their outlook. If a Protestant church in town has a good Christian music concert, the Catholics go with their neighbors and relatives. The month of May brings
impacts RCIA); or from long-standing success (which can lead to an expectation that planning is unnecessary because there have always been adequate volunteers in the past). Catechetical ministry must recognize that leadership development is about people. Distance learning can serve as a rich resource for mastery of content, but will be most effective if combined with an apprenticeship or mentorship model of formation. Four goals for mentoring are: growth in role identity; a sense of belonging in the catechetical leadership community; increased familiarity with parish, diocesan, and national resources; and skills for theological reflection.
“If you close a parish here, people will just start going to the church or denomination that is still with us... That’s where the friends and relatives are. And the connection to people is more important than the connection to theology.”
Protestants out for Marian devotions. Lutheran and Catholic Churches share summer bible school. But a related challenge for the Catholic Church lies in the words of one rural priest who ministers in an area where Catholics are a minority:
Those who call people to catechetical leadership must also empower them with the necessary decision-making authority, access to lines of information, and adequate resources to accomplish objectives.
RURAL CATECHESIS REQUIRES LISTENING What I don’t think “you people in Bismarck” realize is the effect of our ecumenical dimension here. If the diocesan administration closes a parish in Emmons county (very German Catholic), people will drive to another Catholic parish. They probably have cousins there anyway and make a day of it. If you close a parish here, people will just start going to the church or denomination that is still with us—Lutheran, Methodist, Assembly of God. That’s where the friends and relatives are. And the connection to people is more important than the connection to theology. A final relational factor concerns catechetical leadership. The vast majority of catechists are likely to have lived in the locality (and in the parish if they have been raised Catholic) all their lives. Catechists have emerged from within a parish at the direct invitation of the pastor or catechetical leader and are ‘on-the-job’ prepared. Local norms governing individual initiative and leadership will influence appropriate models for recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers. These norms may arise from family networks (Jane asks her cousin who asks his wife); from a hesitancy to set one’s self above or apart from others in the community (this also
10
Rural Catechesis |
Volume 15, March/April 04
I return to where I began: the operative word for entering into rural ministry is ‘listen.’ Listen for consistency in the language people use as they speak about their relation to God. Listen to their descriptions of who they are and what are the ways God calls, comforts, encourages, and leads them. Listen around the edges of the faith community to the words of their music and prayer, their church bulletins and town meetings. Those who listen will learn about the people among whom they minister. Those who listen will empower people to speak. I carry with me as one of the greatest affirmations and challenges a comment from Mary: “You know, Sister, when some people are with us, we know they know the answers and we trust them. But with you, we believe that we know some of the answers and we can even trust in ourselves.” Sr. Kathleen Atkinson is director of catechesis for the Diocese of Bismarck.
cl
ECHOES OF FAITH continued from page 7
illustrations. Educational consultant Barbara Kay Bowie, who contributed to the series, singled out the video “I Believe, We Believe” for special praise. For people knowledgeable about theology, she says, it is an “awe-inspiring reaffirmation of what we know.” For those who don’t have a lot of theological training it is a great jumping-off place, she says, appropriate for people for widely varying ages and backgrounds.
“Where people are” might be rather different places on the theological spectrum. These differences demand sensitive catechetical leadership, particularly in a close-knit rural community that is resistant to change. One Update author makes practical suggestion: As a beginning point, catechist formation can stress sound, developmentally appropriate methodology that recognizes how children learn. The Echoes series is
“I think its grassroots flavor is one of the reasons it has been so well-received.”
Update contributors stress the primacy of relationships in rural communities. The Echoes materials are designed to bring together new and experienced catechists for substantive discussion. Echoes stresses the importance of knowing God in relationship, says Bowie, and of building relationships in the community: “We don’t do it alone.” Stories resonate in rural areas where oral history is important. Video provides a medium for tapping into the power of individual stories. NCCL executive director Neil Parent has been particularly impressed with the morality section. “It’s touching,” he says. “It takes you into the lives of people facing moral decisions.”
strong on methodology, says Bowie, who helped develop the methodology videos and has used them in her college and graduate-level teaching. The Echoes project was spearheaded by Ed Gordon, secretary of education and director of religious education in the Diocese of Wilmington. At NCCL Parent worked with him in the early ‘90s to obtain a development grant and publisher. With a recent grant from the Knights of Columbus, the entire series has been translated into Spanish (with dubbed videos), making NCCL’s Echoes of Faith an ever more versatile resource for the formation of catechists.
BRIDGING THE DISTANCES continued from page 6
tion to individuals and families in order to successfully empower them in their baptismal mission as evangelizers. One such alternative is to use the parish bulletin as a formational tool. I know of parishes that have incorporated a “Religious Education Corner” into their bulletins to provide basic information about our Catholic faith. It has proven to be an excellent tool for spiritual and intellectual formation and the formation of Catholic identity. One could argue that nothing can replace two-hour sessions for catechists and parents, each session providing participants with an opportunity to become fully engaged on both an informational and
formational level. And there are the added benefits associated with networking and sharing resources with colleagues and friends. But in reality parishioners today face hectic, time-constraining schedules with little or no time for anything other than job and family responsibilities. We must be committed to meeting people where they are rather than where we want them to be. Catechesis will only become effective in the lives of others when we come to realize this and respond in creative and unconventional ways. Christopher Fountain is director of Catholic formation for the Diocese of Burlington.
You Can Purchase Copies of Catechetical Update As in the past you can order additional copies of Catechetical Update. Many of our membership find it a valuable resource for use in their ministry. To order call the NCCL office (202-636-3826) or email Sr. Kathy Kandefer, BVM at kkandefer@nccl.org. Catechetical Update reprint costs: 1–49 copies $1.29 each, 50 or more $0.79 each (plus shipping). C AT E C H E T I C A L U P D A T E
11
Copyright Š by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
The future is in your hands.
an all-new, comprehensive K–6 religion program for school and parish The heart of lifelong catechesis 12 12 Rural RuralCatechesis Catechesis| |Volume Volume15, 15,March/April March/April0404
cl www. harcourtreligion.com
BOOKS IN THE NEWS ❚
Cultural Dis-ease: Diagnosis and Treatment Clashing Symbols: An Introduction to Faith and Culture By Michael Paul Gallagher, S.J. Mahwah, NJ, Paulist Press: 1998 (Revised edition, 2004), $14.95 REVIEWED BY ED GORDON ne of a physician’s most important skills is to provide a correct diagnosis, to recognize a series of symptoms that may seem at first glance unrelated, but that can be attributed to an underlying illness. Consider these events:
O
❚ Last year, when the catechetical community
was invited to respond to the first draft of the National Directory for Catechesis, one of the recurring observations was a perception that the draft’s portrayal of American culture was too negative. ❚ At the last meeting of the American bishops,
Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans explained the concerns of the Catechism committee with what adolescent textbooks say and what they don’t say, and with the way they say it. ❚ Bishop Donald Wuerl, addressing the June
2003 meeting of the same conference, presented a thoughtful reflection on the current state of catechesis, eventually suggesting that we have lost two generations, due in no small part to the “doctrinal deficiency” found in the catechetical materials. ❚ In a recent article in National Catholic Reporter,
John Allen pointed out the significance of current debates about political and liturgical language taking place in the church: “Language forms the leading edge of an impulse toward clear boundaries that in the early twenty-first century cuts across a wide spectrum of issues inside Roman Catholicism, from how “Catholic” churchrun schools, hospitals and other institutions March/April 2004
|
ought to be, to the limits of dialogue with other churches and faiths.” ❚ One can hardly find an educational confer-
ence today that does not, in some way, address the issue of Catholic identity. Are these unrelated issues? Are they symptoms of a deeper more pervasive problem or are they the problems themselves? As I look at these “presenting” issues, I have had a sense that they are expressions of a deeper dis-ease. One book—Clashing Symbols by Michael Paul Gallagher—has helped me to name the disease—a pathology that, I believe, underlies each of the issues identified above. The author, an Irish Jesuit and professor at the Gregorian University, writes about the relationship between faith and culture. Of course, he is not the first to do so. The great Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, in his seminal work, Christ and Culture (1956), still provides a taxonomy for all later authors. Gallagher brings together much of the recent scholarship in the area of cultural studies and the implications for faith. A brief book of 170 pages [200 pages in the revised edition] including notes and bibliography, it is a “must read” for leaders in the catechetical ministry. Gallagher says the book is about the “hidden grammar of the languages we live and about how to reflect on culture from a Christian perspective.” He doesn’t disappoint. Gallagher provides the reader with tools to reveal what is often concealed. Culture, like the air we breathe, often goes unnoticed, even when it is toxic!
Volume 15, Number 1
Addressing the NCCL annual convention in Buffalo a few years ago, John Coleman said that issues of faith and culture are to the church today what the issues of faith and reason were to earlier generations. In support of such an observation, Gallagher reminds his readers that our current pope has been reflecting on questions of culture throughout his pontificate. He quotes John Paul II, in a letter to the Pontifical Council on Culture, (which he created) saying, “The synthesis between culture and faith is not just a demand of culture, but also of faith...A faith which does not become culture is a faith which has not been fully received, not thoroughly thought through, not fully lived out.” The General Directory for Catechesis also insists that catechesis must inculturate the Gospel to be effective. Gallagher’s presentations of culture, modernity and post modernity go a long way toward explaining where we are in this “clash of symbols” and how we arrived at this place. While he provides no easy answers, he does provide a path forward, or, to extend the metaphor, “a course of treatment.” His insights on imagination are especially important for religious educators. “The pressures of the dominant culture,” he says, “leave many people blocked in a cultural desolation on the level of disposition or
continued on next page cl
CL INSIGHTS
Called to Be Storytellers THOMAS QUINLAN ast summer I spoke at our diocesan Youth Leadership Conference on Eucharist and the journey of discipleship. Much of the talk was content driven, as I tried to help the participants learn more about the Eucharist and its central place in our faith. I realized, however, that I needed to find a way to make a palpable connection between this “good news” of Catholic faith and their lives. So, I included a story from my own life, a time when I found myself lost at night in the mountains of southern Arizona. And I asked them to remember times they have ever felt lonely or scared.
L
Later in the day, the teens shared how common was their experience of feeling disconnected. My story had grabbed their imagination and made a connection that opened them to hearing more. This tale of being a lost hiker had helped them to see how the content of our faith could be relevant in their own life experience. It opened them to imagine how Christ accompanies them on their paths and wants to be food for their life journey.
importantly, from our lives (messy, heroic and mundane as they are), that open the hearts of our listeners. In this society, generically termed “post-modern,” our message must be seen as relevant! Our listeners demand that it speak to them, or they will turn their attention elsewhere. This need not frighten us, however. The Gospel is, after all, at its core a grand and saving story. It is inherently, profoundly relevant. It speaks to all deeply human issues. Thus, our challenge is not only to teach Catholic faith, but also to help others make real and meaningful connections—connections between The Story and the story that each of us is living. Thomas Quinlan is director of the Office of Religious Education in the Diocese of Joliet.
The church calls us to be mindful of the essential place of the experience of an audience in the catechetical endeavor (GDC, 152). Jesus understood this and, as a master teacher, used parables to make vivid, dialogic connections between life and faith. We, too, are called to develop a talent for sharing stories from our world, and perhaps more
Have you had an “a-ha! moment” you’d like to share with your colleagues in catechesis? Send your INSIGHT (350 words or less) to jcrider@nccl.org to be considered for publication in this space.
BOOKS IN THE NEWS continued from previous page readiness for faith. Why? Because it kidnaps their imagination in trivial ways and therefore leaves them unfree for Revelation—or more precisely, for the hearing from which faith comes (Romans, 10:17).” In our media-saturated culture, marketers, video gamers, and investment companies, to name just a few of the players, spend billions of dollars attempting to capture the imaginations of both young and old. They want to tell us who we are and who we can be. In such a culture, with so many voices, how is the Gospel to be heard? For Gallagher the battleground is not in the area of creed but the area of sensibility, the imagination. How does faith respond to culture? Some flee the culture; others acquiesce, in fact never knowing its power to form and deform. The author suggests a “media via” between culture bashing and cultural acquiescence. It is the way of discernment.
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
Discernment is both a spiritual and specifically Christian way of reading reality. It is looking for the signs of grace and the Spirit in the culture, affirming them and building on them. By discerning where in the present culture are the “contact points with human depth” we can prepare the way for the Gospel to be heard. The GDC has told us that the home of catechesis is evangelization. At this time, catechetics is being called to pay attention to the culture in a very special way, to be an evangelizing catechetics. Unless catechists spend more time attending to the dispositions for listening, much of the catechetical effort will be less than successful. What treatment for our dis-ease will be most effective remains to be seen, but it must attend to the culture. In fact, we need to try several approaches, taking care to “do no harm” to the patient.
Our culture has many negative characteristics, yet it is also a source of life. It is clear to me that our catechetical materials need to be faithful to the catechism but also speak to the imagination and hearts of the learners who live in our culture. Our liturgical language needs to be careful, but also needs to speak to people of our culture. Catholic identity needs to be an inculturated identity, not wishful nostalgia. Indeed there are clashing symbols; the world turns, but as persons of faith we need not retreat from the world. With humility and confidence, we can engage the culture. By laying bare the contours of the current landscape, Gallagher allows us to see a way forward, to see the problem and not just the symptoms. The prognosis is hopeful but it will be a slow recovery. Ed Gordon is secretary of education and director of religious education in the Diocese of Wilmington.
www.nccl.org
13
BE HERALDS OF HOPE IN ALL THAT YOU DO... continued from page 4 Second, be 150% committed to the total vision of the GDC. It is a document that not only speaks to the religious education office but also calls for broad collaboration among diocesan agencies and parish ministries toward an integrated plan and parish ministries for lifelong faith formation.
The reason evangelization is so important is that Jesus is our lord and savior. We want our people to come to know him and his Gospel. The General Directory for Catechesis tells us that all catechesis has to have an evangelizing aspect to it. Otherwise, the message remains detached from people’s lives.
Third, be heralds of hope in all that you do.
cl: What then do you advise as an approach to linking evangelization and catechesis? When I speak of evangelization in relation to catechesis, I am not just talking about technique. Rather, I am speaking of presenting the message in a way that a life connection is made with Jesus. The connection is about his or her becoming a disciple of Jesus and engaging in mission to bring about the kingdom of God.
cl: Why the emphasis on hope? If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are going to be a hopeful person. As followers of Jesus we look at the world and at our personal lives and see in them a wonderful God of promises who continually calls us forward and gives us hope. This is especially true in light of the recent sexual abuse crisis. We need to lift up our eyes to the mountains. There is a sense of shame that hangs over many ministers. But we must be steadfast in our hope that we will come through this somehow renewed and better as a church. Of course, hope is not mere optimism. Hope calls us to engage in working toward what we are hoping for. cl: Do you have other recommendations? Yes...I want to stress the need to connect doctrine to life. I always go back to the section in the Catechism of the Catholic Church on what a dogma is. The Catechism notes that the doctrines of the church are “lights along the path of our lives.” They are meant to illuminate how we are to live our lives. We need to connect the dots better—that is, better link the doctrines we profess and the lives we lead. For example, consider the doctrine of creation. There is a big difference between believing in it abstractly and grappling with it on a morning when you wake up feeling down on life. The doctrine of creation tells us that we are God’s creation, God’s very good creation. You can do this with all of our doctrines—letting them get up close and personal, so to speak. This kind of bridge building is the key to effective catechesis. When experiential catechesis is legitimately criticized, it is because the connection between life experience and church teaching was not made. In such instances, church doctrines were not used adequately to illuminate and critique experience. God’s revelation to us is primary in the catechetical process. cl: How do you see the connection between evangelization and catechesis? This is a major theme of recent catechetical documents. When we think about the catechesis of adults, youth or children, we realize that many of them are baptized into the Catholic faith, but they do not know Jesus in a personal, relational way. They lack an initial attraction to him. We try to catechize them, but we struggle with it because they first need to see the loving face of Christ.
When one presents church doctrine, the face of Christ has to come through. He is the center who holds the whole thing together. Why should people learn about the theology of the sacraments, for example, unless they understand that sacraments are saving encounters with the living Christ? They have met him, and now want to encounter him more deeply, embrace his way of life, receive his saving grace. cl: How do we get the clergy more involved in the catechetical process? I recognize that this is a huge challenge, but we have made some advances. Diocesan bishops in their ministry to priests, especially through ongoing formation, have to hold up the central role of the pastor in the ministries of faith formation. The more pastors know that catechesis is one of the highest priorities of the diocesan bishop, the better they may be able to prioritize catechism in their own ministries. Priests and seminarians alike must come to know and appreciate the vision of the church’s catechetical ministry as expressed in GDC and Our Hearts Were Burning, and the forthcoming National Directory for Catechesis. There are some seminaries that need to take this challenge a bit more seriously. cl: Other challenges you see? The emphasis on adult faith formation is also one of the key challenges we face. Also, there is the issue of our raising consciousness in every parish and diocese that catechesis is a responsibility of the whole parish community. Everything that goes on in that parish has potential catechetical impact—for better or worse. We need to better analyze this, and do better with it. We often talk about the parish as teacher, about whole parish catechesis. But all of it needs more focus, more thoughtful effort, more resources. cl: What thoughts do you have about us at NCCL? As a member of the bishops’ Committee on Catechesis as well as NCCL’s episcopal advisor, I have to say that I find NCCL fully supportive of the
continued on next page March/April 2004 | Volume 15, Number 1
cl
BE HERALDS OF HOPE continued from previous page direction the bishops’ conference is trying to take in catechesis. In my experience, NCCL is trying to stay focused on the bishops’ catechetical agenda and to build its strategic directions around it. What we can do to make that better is the point of meetings like this [NCCL’s Representative Council]. How we can work together and walk together more effectively? We are certainly walking in the same direction. My time and energy with NCCL have been well worth it. I feel my input is welcome and considered seriously. I don’t feel like window dressing. I see NCCL as being very serious about the church’s catechetical ministry
Congratulations and Best Wishes for Success! William H. Sadlier, Inc.
cl: Any final words? NCCL members—all catechetical leaders and catechists—are dear to my heart. Clearly they carry out one of the primary elements of the church’s mission, to form people in Christ. I’m very grateful to them. They are a reason for the whole church to be thankful and hopeful. Executive Director Neil Parent talked with Bishop Malone during NCCL’s Representative Council in Nashville, Tennessee.
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
www.nccl.org
15
AMERICAN CATHOLIC RESILIENCE continued from page 5 So, my sign of hope—to state the obvious—is the catechetical ministry of our people and the many expressions thereof. Indeed our catechesis has its limitations and always room for improvement, but it has withstood a test by fire. We must see to it that right wing critics of contemporary catechesis do not undermine the good being done or cause us to loose the ground gained. The American Catholic community is extraordinarily vibrant...we’ve done something very right and some of it at least is a credit to our efforts at catechesis. cl: What encouraging trends do you see in the field of catechesis? The more specific sign of hope I see in catechetics, and one that I’m determined to promote even more vigorously in the years ahead, is a new level of awareness on the part of parents that they truly are the primary catechists, “the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith” as the rite
ludicrous. We’ve got to break that old ‘schooling’ paradigm. The instruction may be in the school or parish program but the formation has to be in the home. The Jewish community is far more astute about this. They say, “You’ve got to share your Jewish identity with your children.” Any decent parents can nurture their children in Christian values. They don’t have to be exemplary parents. It’s new consciousness around parenting we’re going to have to encourage. cl: You have two books out this year—What Makes Us Catholic and Horizons and Hopes. Both sound encouraging. Groome: Thanks for this mention; I recommend both of them. And indeed, What Makes Us Catholic [Harper 2002] has been widely embraced as an antidote to the toxicity that has threatened so many people’s souls from the scandal.
“We’ve got to break that old ‘schooling’ paradigm. The instruction may be in the school or parish program but the formation has to be in the home. The Jewish community is far more astute about this...”
of baptism states. Perhaps my new sensitivity to this theme stems from the fact that I recently became a parent myself—a bit of a late start, I know, but what a joy and blessing. Our beloved little Ted (now turning three) has helped me recognize the power of parenting in every aspect of human formation, and especially in faith formation. We must redouble our efforts to empower our parents as catechists, giving them the training, resources, and support they need to fulfill their vocation to their children, always seeing our own programming and schooling as only ancillary—a support—to their vocation. This will likely be the loudest song I sing during what remains of my own professional career as catechist. cl: Support for parents as primary catechists hasn’t been a priority in a lot of parishes. What would need to happen to make it priority? It’s going to be an uphill battle. We have encouraged the attitude that parents can drop off children for instruction, go the grocery store, and pick up little Christians upon their return—an hour later. The idea that in a thirty-hour program we can form children in the Christian faith is
cl: Is there a particular person that you see as herald of hope for the church right now? Groome: This may sound biased on my part, but I think of Fr. Bill Leahy, SJ, the president of Boston College. Fr. Leahy is not a starry-eyed liberal; in fact, even his admirers would describe him as a “traditional” priest, one that would be just as happy to be pastor of a parish instead of president of a great university. But when the scandal broke in Boston, he recognized the terrible damage it could do, and was greatly pained to see priesthood and the church so wounded. He stepped up to the plate and launched a “Church for the 21st Century” program, putting the resources of the university behind the efforts to move the church “beyond crisis to renewal.” And he insisted that “all topics” be on the table for discussion, though, I suspect, he himself might take a more conservative position on some of the push button issues. In its first year, the C21 program, as we call it for short, has brought some fifteen thousand people to Boston College for various programs of adult education and conversations among scholars, and has had hundreds of thousands of “hits” on its web site. It has launched many
continued on next page
March/April 2004 | Volume 15, Number 1
cl
FROM THE PRESIDENT RESILIENCE continued from previous page publications, research projects, and proposals for renewal. The Catholic people of Boston, and likely beyond, have found great hope from this program; Fr. Leahy’s active leadership of it has been and continues to be its mainstay. cl: In your work at IREPM, how do you empower people to be heralds of hope in their ministry? Groome: For some twenty-eight years, I’ve tried to promote the kind of pedagogy and theology that enable communities to share and grow in Christian faith, and in ways that are “for life, for all”— enhancing people’s own lives and enabling them to be sources of “life to the full” (John 10:10) for others and for society as well. Now, in my recently acquired function as director at IREPM, I see a new level of opportunity to work for the renewal of the church, and in the spirit of Vatican II—the founding impetus of IREPM. It may not sound like an exciting strategy, and it is most often a long term one—with few immediate “results”—but providing good theological education for ministry which then brings forth a supply of both informed and formed pastoral leaders, this is surely a source of hope. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to lead such an enterprise; I hope we can continue as a source of hope, as IREPM has been for almost thirty-five years.
The 2005 National Conference & Exposition will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, April 10–14, at the newly expanded and renovated Galt House.
Gathering Together First Celebrations of Reconciliation and Eucharist Jane E. Regan and Mimi McReavy Bitzan
Gathering Together is a vibrant faith formation program for parents whose children are preparing for their first celebrations of Reconciliation and Eucharist.
$49.95 • Three-Ring Binder 0-8294-1938-1
Easy to implement, this self-contained program includes four adult gathering sessions (60–90 minutes each) and two retreats for parents and their children who will receive these sacraments. The gatherings Flexible & innovative are designed to give parents the opportunity for real conversation about real life issues. These conversations help parents build a faith format! that matters while growing in their understanding of the sacraments. Gathering Together may be used with any existing sacrament program. Includes a sample copy of Sacred Times, a beautiful memory book that supplements the Gathering Together program.
LOYOLAPRESS. C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
To order, call 800.621.1008 or visit LoyolaEducationGroup.org
www.nccl.org
17
CL CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
RATES
Director: Deanery Catechetical Ministry Office
One time: $1.00/word 2–4 times: $.75/word per issue Minimum 10 words.Count each unit of a date as one word. Do not count punctuation.
The New Albany Deanery Office of Faith Formation (Aquinas Center)
CLASSIFIED DISPLAY AD RATES
articulating the vision of faith formation. The deanery director will be
$50/column inch Ask for display ad rate sheet for larger ads.
responsible for advocating for the deanery with the Archdiocese and
HOW
TO
in Clarksville, Indiana, is seeking a full-time director to implement and oversee deanery faith formation activities beginning July 1, 2004. The applicant for this position will serve the deanery community by
within the deanery itself, marketing deanery catechetical ministry, expanding the technology of the deanery center, leadership recruitment
ORDER
e-mail: Jcrider@nccl.org fax: (202) 832-2712 mail: NCCL, 3021 Fourth Street NE, Washington, DC 20017 CATECHETICAL LEADER is published bi-monthly.
We do not accept advertisements by telephone. Classified ads must be pre-paid. We accept MasterCard and Visa.
and formation, resourcing catechetical leaders, and fostering a stewardship of resources and personnel within the deanery. Experience in catechetical ministry, technology, and marketing/development/stewardship is essential. Direct inquiries/resumes are to be sent by March 31 to: Harry Dudley Office of Catholic Education
CATEGORIES
Archdiocese of Indianapolis
NCCL reserves the right to refuse ads judged to be inappropriate. NCCL is not responsible for the quality of service or the accuracy of the offers advertised in this publication. (Updated February 2004)
1400 North Meridian St.
Conferences Courses Employment Opportunities Employment Wanted
Professional Development Publications Retreats Seminars
Spiritual Formation Tours Volunteers Workshops Web Sites
Indianapolis, IN 4602-2367 Field Coordinator—Archdiocese of Washington, DC Description: Networks and directly assists parish catechetical leaders in the Archdiocese on a wide range of catechetical issues and strategies. Qualifications: Practicing Catholic; Masters in Religious Ed or Catechesis; three to five years of parish catechetical experience required. Resume
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Closing: 4/3/04.
Secretary for Evangelization/parish services office director.
If you are qualified and interested in this position, please FAX cover letter
The person who will fill this position is responsible for implementing the mission and related goals of the Catholic diocese of Spokane, Wash., as they pertain to evangelization, catechesis, resource coordination and administration of the parish services office. Qualifications: master’s degree in religious studies, pastoral ministry, theology, religious education or related field and five or more years experience as a parish
and resume to (301)853-7680 OR e-mail to: Personnel@adw.org OR mail to: Director of Personnel Archdiocese of Washington P.O. Box 29260 Washington, D.C. 20017
director of religious education or parish pastoral ministry with religious education experience. Practicing member of the Roman Catholic church required. Please send letter of interest and resume to: Angi Shamblin, SPHR, PO Box 1453, Spokane, WA 99210. E-mail: ashamblin@dioceseofspokane.org Parish DREs, CREs and Youth Ministers needed. Applicants are being sought for parish DRE, CRE and youth ministry positions in the diocese of Madison, Wisc. Active DRE organization,
Congratulations to NCCL on your new publication.
supportive diocesan staff. For application materials, contact: Office of Religious Education, 702 S. High Point Road, Madison, WI 53719. E-mail: oremadison@straphael.org
March/April 2004 | Volume 15, Number 1
Harcourt Religion Publishers
STAFF RELATIONSHIPS continued from page 11 place the necessary processes (i.e. meeting agendas, program reviews, workload evaluations) to foster the engagement of all staff. Fear of Conflict/Repressed Dialogue Fear of hurting someone’s feelings—or wounds cause by previous hurtful remarks—result in polite, guarded interactions that skirt real resolution of organizational problems. Differences of opinion divide staff rather than opening up discussion. Creative options are not generated, welcomed, or analyzed. Morale is seriously impaired. There is an underlying fear that the atmosphere will become emotionally charged and result in a further deterioration of staff relationships. A facilitated event can provide a safe harbor where staff can learn how to relate to each other in a non-threatening manner. The facilitator helps staff establish ground rules for expressing ideas and handling disagreement so that they can focus on problem solving rather than blaming. FACILITATED GROUP WORK OFFERS HOPE FOR POSITIVE CHANGE. Well-functioning parish staffs recognize the value of spending quality time together in a retreat setting, integrating prayer and reflection into the process of developing a plan of work that will promote the welfare of the parish. (Staff will also find great benefit in an annual retreat for their own ongoing spiritual formation scheduled at another time.) It is good practice
to involve all members of the staff who are in regular communication with one another. Regular (at least annual) staff development days provide parish staff an opportunity to address strategic issues, implement needed changes, and authentically model its evangelizing mission. But achieving that potential can be challenging, particularly when the staff is faced with some of the obstacles described above. The most significant outcome of a skillfully led staff development retreat is that staff learn how to work together creatively, observing how to communicate with one another in a respectful, problem-solving way. This staff will be better able to deal with difficult issues that will inevitably arise in the future. Skillfully facilitated retreats are not a panacea for every staff situation, but they can contribute significantly to healthier staff relationships. Bob Bright, parish and diocesan consultant and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin Extension, has thirty-plus years of teaching and conflict management experience. His company is Bright Development Enterprises. E-mail: rdbright@facstaffwisc.edu. Michael Nachman, former director of the offices of Religious Education and Family Ministry for the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, has worked for thirty-five years as a campus minister, college theology instructor and diocesan administrator. E-mail: nachman@gdinet.com.
Dates and Themes of Catechetical Sunday through 2008 2004—Stewards of God’s Gift (Sept.19) 2005—Christ is Life (Sept.18) 2006—Who Do You Say I Am? (Sept.17) 2007—Seek the Lord (Sept.16) 2008—Summon the Laborers (Sept. 21)
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
www.nccl.org
19
COMMUNICATION continued from page 10
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R EDITOR: Joyce A. Crider
skills for participating in group discussion. There are tons of fencesitters who don’t like making decisions.” In facilitated dialogue and decision making, hope begins to emerge, says Bright, when staff can see that their interactions are directed toward deeper understanding of each other, and that each person’s opinions and perceptions are valued as contributions to the larger picture. “There’s no magic bullet,” he cautions, “ but over time the culture of decision-making will change and there is a disciplined way of doing that.... We don’t have to walk around wounded. We can be far more attentive to each other as human beings.... We owe it to the people we serve to conduct our business in as Christian a manner as possible, and model to any observer that this is what best practices look like. We can offer hope to a world that is looking for better ways to do business.” As a source of hope, Nachman recalls the number of scholars in the years preceding the Second Vatican Council who were doing important work and forbidden to publish. They mimeographed their papers and sent them round robin among colleagues, preparing the ground for Vatican II. “The Council didn’t come from nowhere—it came from years of work. I keep in mind people like Yves Congar and Karl Rahner as I think about what we’re going through now.... We need to keep working at whatever level we can to get things done. The Spirit moves. Things are going to change.”
EDITORIAL CONSULTANT: Mary Kay Schoen DESIGN: Ring Leighton Design Group PUBLISHER: Neil A. Parent Catechetical Leader (ISSN: 1547-7908) is published six times a year by the National Council for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), 3021 Fourth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017-1102. Authors’ views do not necessarily reflect those of NCCL. Letters to the editor and submissions of news items are encouraged. Send to Catechetical Leader at the address above or email nccl@nccl.org. Phone: (202) 636-3826/Fax:(202) 832-2712. Contact NCCL for reprints. Copyright © 2004 by NCCL Subscription rates: (U.S. addresses): One year $24; two years, $21/year; three years, $18/year. NCCL members receive Catechetical Leader as a part of membership. Bulk rate subscriptions: 2-5 subscriptions—$22 each; 6–10 subscriptions—$20;11–20, $18; 21 or more—$16. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NCCL, 3021 Fourth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017-1102.
—Mary Kay Schoen
We at Silver Burdett Ginn Religion congratulate NCCL on C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R .
St. Mary’s Press sends best wishes to NCCL on the occasion of the launch of C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R .
Congratulations
Visit E-NEWS on our website
on your new publication
www.nccl.org for new items
from RCL.
that concern catechetical leaders.
A Great New Resource for Catechists
WRITTEN BY God’s Word Today EDITOR STEPHEN J. BINZ Threshold Bible Study is an exciting,
informative, inspiring, dynamic, and life-changing way to learn about the Bible, and it does what it suggests; it crosses the threshold of biblical understanding and spirituality with both individuals and groups. The first two volumes:
People of the Passion (112 pages • $12.95 • 95-314-8)
Pilgrimage in the Footsteps of Jesus (112 pages • $12.95 • 95-318-0)
THRESHOLD BIBLE STUDY To order call 1-800-321-0411
FROM THE PRESIDENT
LOOKING TO EARN YOUR PH.D.? M.A., M.S., A.P.D. (Post M.A.), Ph.D. in Rel. Ed. DEGREES: BEGIN 2004: June 24, Aug. 30 Applications by Apr. 4 Notification May 1 or sooner for earlier acceptances. CONTACT: Graduate School of Religion Spirituality, Traditional and Contemporary Fordham University 441 East Fordham Road Bronx, NY 10458 Tel: 718-817-4800 Fax: 718-817-3352 Web: www.fordham.edu FIN. AID: Extension Scholars, for first 36 cr. (MA), if to work in one of Home-Mission Dioceses (76) Fordham’s Doctoral Program offers interdisciplinary strengths for personalized programming and innovative research. The selection of Master’s and post-Master’s programs: ➤ Family, Youth, Parish/Pastoral Ministries ➤ Adult Psychological and Educational Devel. ➤ Spirituality, Traditional and Contemporary Counseling and Pastoral/Spiritual Care ➤ Social Ministries, Peace and Justice ➤ The Arts Built on solid biblical-theological foundations this doctoral program directs serious research to the cultural problems and issues of religious education today and tomorrow.
WE
HAVE HAD AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO THIS YEAR’S NATIONAL CONFERENCE! There is still time to register. Visit us online for more information and to register.
www.nccl.org
See you in Albuquerque!
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Title
AUTHOR
People in the News
Edward Kiefer, SM
Deacon James Campbell
Brother Edward Kiefer, SM, director of religious education for the
Deacon James Campbell, director of the Office of Catechesis and
Archdiocese of New Orleans since 1993 and a longtime NCCL member, succumbed to cancer January 7, 2004. He was 56. Kiefer served as NCCL’s treasurer from 1999 to 2003, helping to oversee a period of major growth in the association’s membership and services. He was frequently hailed by peers as someone who exemplified the servant leader in catechetical ministry.
Leadership Development for the Diocese of Palm Beach since 1997, died on December 15, 2003, from multiple brain tumors. He was 67. Campbell immigrated to the United States from Jamaica, where he was ordained a deacon in 1987. He served as religious education director at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Parish in Royal Palm Beach prior to assuming his diocesan post, where he was highly regarded as a competent and caring catechetical leader. His wife Audrey and his children Desiree, Chester, and Konrad survive him.
Sister Rosa Monique Peña, OP Congratulations to Sister Rosa on her election to the General Council of the Adrian Dominicans. After thirty-five years in the Archdiocese of Miami, Sister Rosa Monique will be leaving her position as diocesan director of religious education at the end of June. Sister also served on the board of directors for NCCL and on the committee for Catechesis and Culture. Sister Rosa will be greatly missed. We ask God blessings on her as she assumes her new role in her community.
Sister Adria Connors, CSC Sister Adria has been named the Interim Director of Religious Education
for the Diocese of Palm Beach, FL.
Etta Finn, Ph.D. Dr. Finn has been named the Director of Religious Formation for the
Richard Cheri
Diocese of Rapid City, SD.
Richard has assumed the position of Acting Director of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, LA.
Judith Caviston, Ed.D. Dr. Caviston has been named the Secretary for Catholic Education and the Director of the Office of Catechesis for the Diocese of Trenton, NJ.
Bernadin Awardee Connects Faith With Justice A college freshman who helped change Illinois law so that undocumented teens can qualify for in-state college tuition is the 2003 recipient of the Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award. This award is presented each year by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), a program of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that attacks root causes of poverty.
Diana, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was five years old, has worked for two years on behalf of undocumented students like herself. Her Chicago parish, St. Ignatius, is a member of the Organization of the NorthEast (ONE), a community organization that advocates for social justice and receives financial support from CCHD.
“This work is easy for me,” the eighteen-yearold recipient said at the awards ceremony, “because I am undocumented myself. That is why I must come to you with only my first name, Diana, instead of with the full identity that everyone else in this room enjoys.”
Diana co-chaired ONE’s Immigration Strategy Team for the past year as it focused on three issues regarding undocumented students: legalization, in-state tuition, and access to financial aid. She has spoken about the issue with elected officials and leaders of Illinois universities. Her meeting with Cardinal Francis George of the Archdiocese of Chicago led to his writing
C AT E C H E T I C A L L E A D E R
about the issue in an opinion piece published in the Chicago Tribune. Of her active involvement in asking for justice for undocumented students, she says, “Everything has to do with my Catholic faith. This is what the Catholic faith stands for, that all people have the same rights and deserve to be treated with dignity....I know that the support for undocumented people is not universal within the Catholic Church and I know this from personal experience. However, I would like to encourage you, as bishops, priests, and lay people, to put yourselves in the shoes of undocumented immigrants and to go back to your communities to stand in solidarity with the undocumented in your parish communities.” www.nccl.org
23
CROSSWORD: HERALDS OF HOPE BY MEGAN ANECHIARICO
ACROSS 1 7 11 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 25 26 30 32 33 34 37 39 40 42 46 48 49 51 52 54 57 58 59 60 61 63 64 65 66 68 70 71 72 73 74 75 77 78 80 81 82 83 84 86 88 89 90 91 93 94 95 96 98 99 102 105
1
Liturgical herald of hope NT herald of hope w/ 80 D Vatican II’s herald of hope Carmen or Tosca “_____ and see” Beach treasure A long, long way to run? Peepers Agreement Grippe Has childlike faith Heavenly herald of hope Sound Lit. music co. Key changer Sacramental renewal of hope Old-time you Circles Best estimate OT musical herald of hope Ecclesial sacrament of hope Laura Ingalls’ father “The ____ of St. Mary’s” A deer, a female deer? Pull Divine sign of hope Choose Court Area Chest or pea? A needle pulling thread?–Var. ___ Grande ___ of the Knowledge of Good and Evil A key to rural catechesis Simpson’s judge Linger A note to follow 61 A? Season of hope Elegant Biblical sign Catechetical trend of hope, _____ faith formation Liturgical season of hope Painting or sculpture __ Joe A name I call myself? Life–pre. Celestial herald of hope What Jesus preached Distant “__ Affair to Remember” OT boat builder Tropical house Negative vote OT prophetic herald of hope Candid Pioneer mother NT herald of hope w/ 87 D Liturgical Instr. Repellent Vatican II’s Joy and Hope? A drop of golden sun? Unity
March/April 2004
|
2
3
4
5
6
7
16
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
17 21
20 23
40
25
30
1
1 35
31
1
1
1
1
1
1
42
43
1
1
1
1
1 56
1
57
1
1
1
1
60
1
61
1
1
64
1 1
1
1
1
1
1
74
1
1
82
1 1
89 1
1 75
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 1
1 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
108
109
110
1
1
119
1
1
1
32
1 1
45
DOWN Hope–Ger. Translucent gem __, myself, and I Anger Herald of hope for catechesis, Growth in ______ Martha to Lazarus Lion’s share Assoc. Rds. Yearning Tolkien creature 26 Liturgy translation grp.
29 1
1
1
1
1
51
1 65
1
58
62
1
1
1
1
1
1
72 77
67
1
1
1
1
1
80
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
97
1
29 31 33 35 36 37 38 41 43 44 45 47 50 53 54 55 56 62 65 67 68
1
1
91
15 17 19 24 27 28
1
1
1
1
1
1
84
87
1
1
111
1
120
1
1
1
37
38
1
39
1
52
1
59
1
1
68
69
1
1 63
73 78
1
1
1
1
100
101
88 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
113
96 97 100 101 103 104 109 110 111 112 114
1
85
95
87 92
70
1
1
69 70 71 72 76 79 80 85
1
1
94
Man or Wight Franciscan cross NT Journey of hope Mother’s brother Gelling agent Genesis’ colorful herald of hope A key to rural catechesis Samuel’s mentor A key to rural catechesis Automobile Solidifies Three–pre. Monumental Employ Divine sign of hope Regarding Hope–Fr. Till __ Angeles, CA Earth–pre. Naomi’s daughter-in-law Crucial sign of hope No place for Mary and Joseph? Parents’ patron saint of hope Doctor of catechetical studies A drink with jam and bread? “___ and Peace”
1
1
1
1
1
81
1
1
53
1
1
1
48
1
1
105
52
1
1
1
112
1
1
1
1
33
1
1
99 1
1
1
47
1
1
104
1 46
1
1
1
1 1
1
Succeed 8–Sp. Soda Les ___ Unis OT Journey of hope “Joy __ the World” Hope–Sp. Attention-getters Christmas log Half a child’s farewell Patron saint of hope, Jude?
28
71
116 1
Volume 15, Number 1
1
50
96
98
1
1
76
1
1
1
44 49
90
93
118
27
83
1
107
1
65
1
26
36 1
55 1
6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14
1
34
54
1 2 3 4 5
1
1
55
106 107 108 111 113 115 116 117 118 119 120
1
1
41
79
1
1
40
19
22
24 1
18
1
1
1
1
86 1
1
92
1
1 102
1
106
114
1
115
1
1
103
117
Patron saint of hope? Sayings attributed to Jesus Phases Impartial Wine-producing estate “Hope seeking understanding” With 7 A Christian community of hope, communion of ______ With 94 A “Where ______ prevails, there is always hope. Holy Spirit Ash The “Show Me” State–Abbr. The Lone Star State Eve’s grandson Hamlet or Horatio Globe Not ordained Consume ___ carte Elizabeth Johnson’s “____ Who Is”
[Find the solution on our web site: ww.nccl.org]
cl
SCHOOL • PARISH • BILINGUAL
“We Believe is a program whose text truly engages the children to understand that faith gives meaning to life.” –Sr. Joan Burzichelli, RSM, DRE St. Patrick Parish, Woodbury, NJ
“It's the best program I've seen in my 31 years in religious education.” —Alice Hughes, Director of Faith Formation, Church of the Nativity, Longwood, FL
“It is overwhelmingly evident that top priority was given to the crafting of We Believe. This program has brought a contagious energy and enthusiasm to our catechetical setting.” —M.J. Heggeness, DRE St. Michael Parish, Poway, CA
The parish and school texts and guides are judged to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church by the U.S. Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism