C
crisleem
Guest
I’m the DRE at our parish. This week Father decided (and I’m finally happy with it too) that we will move our Confirmation from 10th grade to 8th grade. We started this discussion about 3 years ago but we finally decided it was a good move for our students.
So, now it’s time for us to redo our program. We are what just about everyone in our dioceses refers to as the “orthodox” parish (as if that’s a bad thing). So keep that in mind while you consider my questions here.
I don’t want to keep using the same ‘biblical history’ texts we always have for our 7th graders even though they are great, they’ve had the same series since 1st grade. This will now be our Confirmation I program which now we have a teacher that uses the Youcat but basically just makes up his own curriculum as he goes along. He’s good so no worries, but we have to move teachers around too. I won’t allow ‘winging it’ from anyone else. But I think our Confirmation II text is just limited. We use Confirmed in a Faithful Community. And while that’s ok for just twice a month. I want them to now meet weekly like these two grades always have. I don’t think this text is enough. AND we are going to keep RE for High Schoolers (call it something else) but I want it to be a group study and not using a textbook. I want them engaged more. I want this to be all about how they can now go out and live their faith, DEFEND their faith. Some say make this the Youth Group. But those in our Youth Group made it utterly clear this year they don’t want it to be like class. We are in UTAH and they want CATHOLIC friends. But they need to learn what their faith is and how to defend it to their peers here too. Our Youth Group is a social and service group, not a study group or class. But I’m sure some of them will be in the HS class too. I want to use many different programs so that as the years go by those in class don’t get a repeat each year. We have Theology of the Body for teens. I want to use it. We have had, but i worry its missing, T3 also.
I need suggestions on some Confirmation I and II programs that are more engaging but orthodox at the same time. And suggestions on great teen programs for our HS program. I fear though that I’ll order something expensive only to find out they teach like in the 80s and 90s as if we’re Protestants (which I was) and that God is love and that’s it. I want it to teach the faith fully and TRUTHFULLY without boring them with a textbooks and workbooks. I want a program, DVDs, something they understand. Something that will teach them how to take the history we’ve given them for years and now start living it everyday. How to put their faith out there and remain ‘cool’ at the same time without all the ‘relativism’ we see way too much of.
SUGGESTIONS? Has anyone (on the more orthodox side) done Teen Life? Or their Confirmation Program? What is the bad, what is the good?
Sorry that was so long. I have two weeks to make a plan on paper! And I’m desperate for advice and suggestions that won’t freak out our orthodox families (self included)!
So, now it’s time for us to redo our program. We are what just about everyone in our dioceses refers to as the “orthodox” parish (as if that’s a bad thing). So keep that in mind while you consider my questions here.
I don’t want to keep using the same ‘biblical history’ texts we always have for our 7th graders even though they are great, they’ve had the same series since 1st grade. This will now be our Confirmation I program which now we have a teacher that uses the Youcat but basically just makes up his own curriculum as he goes along. He’s good so no worries, but we have to move teachers around too. I won’t allow ‘winging it’ from anyone else. But I think our Confirmation II text is just limited. We use Confirmed in a Faithful Community. And while that’s ok for just twice a month. I want them to now meet weekly like these two grades always have. I don’t think this text is enough. AND we are going to keep RE for High Schoolers (call it something else) but I want it to be a group study and not using a textbook. I want them engaged more. I want this to be all about how they can now go out and live their faith, DEFEND their faith. Some say make this the Youth Group. But those in our Youth Group made it utterly clear this year they don’t want it to be like class. We are in UTAH and they want CATHOLIC friends. But they need to learn what their faith is and how to defend it to their peers here too. Our Youth Group is a social and service group, not a study group or class. But I’m sure some of them will be in the HS class too. I want to use many different programs so that as the years go by those in class don’t get a repeat each year. We have Theology of the Body for teens. I want to use it. We have had, but i worry its missing, T3 also.
I need suggestions on some Confirmation I and II programs that are more engaging but orthodox at the same time. And suggestions on great teen programs for our HS program. I fear though that I’ll order something expensive only to find out they teach like in the 80s and 90s as if we’re Protestants (which I was) and that God is love and that’s it. I want it to teach the faith fully and TRUTHFULLY without boring them with a textbooks and workbooks. I want a program, DVDs, something they understand. Something that will teach them how to take the history we’ve given them for years and now start living it everyday. How to put their faith out there and remain ‘cool’ at the same time without all the ‘relativism’ we see way too much of.
SUGGESTIONS? Has anyone (on the more orthodox side) done Teen Life? Or their Confirmation Program? What is the bad, what is the good?
Sorry that was so long. I have two weeks to make a plan on paper! And I’m desperate for advice and suggestions that won’t freak out our orthodox families (self included)!