THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 42, NO. 24 | JANUARY 29, 2021
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION REIMAGINED
It’s all in the family for Prince of Peace religious education program STORY BY SUSAN FOTOVICH MCCABE \ PHOTOS BY JAY SOLDNER
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Prince of Peace parishioner Michelle Heiman and daughter Jillian, 10, review a Bible lesson worksheet. With traditional classroom religious education not possible because of the pandemic, Prince of Peace has moved to a family-based program.
lot of what we learn at a young age begins at home. Learning the Catholic faith is no exception. So it was no surprise when Prince of Peace Parish in Olathe re-imagined its religious education program four years ago, placing a greater emphasis on in-home learning with parents. Today, of course, learning from home is the pandemic norm. But moving away from a regular classroom setting has taught Prince of Peace families so much more, said Shannon Cardaronella, the parish’s director of children’s ministry. “The goal of our familybased program is not attendance and grades, but to have faith formation enter your home,” Cardaronella said. “I’m committed to the family-based model. According to the data, if the faith is not studied at home, it’s gone in the later years.”
Outside the box thinking While the initial change was born out of a desire to streamline weekly logistics for families with multiple children, Cardaronella said a family curriculum has enriched conversations about faith at home.
Kevin Heiman and son Ben, 8, discuss a Bible story as part of Olathe’s Prince of Peace Parish’s family-based religious education program. Traditionally, religious education classes meet once a week in the classroom with an individual teacher leading the week’s lesson. The familybased program relies on a small team of volunteer catechists
to deliver the lessons through a closed parent network that families can complete at home. Prior to the pandemic, Prince of Peace’s religious education students met as a group at the school one day a month.
Ignite the faith The pandemic might have limited the annual Ignite pro-life event and Mass, but the faith was still strong virtually. Page 3
Since the pandemic, Prince of Peace relies on the closed network to incorporate a sense of community and spark engagement, Cardaronella said. “Because we already had a family-based program in place,
our parents kept going without a hiccup when the pandemic hit,” she said. “Now, we stay in contact with Zoom, text, direct message, email, phone and the >> See “RELIGIOUS” on page 13
Things to do during a pandemic The Leaven staff gives its readers some helpful ideas on how to make it to vaccination day. Pages 8-9