Religious Education

[JD1789]

As a 20 something year old man, my firsthand knowledge of religious education is limited. CCD, PSR, or whatever religious education is called was emberasingly weak when I experienced it. For those who has been around longer and have some experience with religious education, was the parish-based youth education ever a good system? Has it improved or regressed at all in your opinion? Thank you!

 

[pianistclare]

Our program is great, I can’t speak for others, but many of my colleagues put their heart and soul into their programs, and parishes invest a lot of money into quality materials.

In the past, when many folks attended Catholic school and received their instruction there, they didn’t feel much need to go to Religious Ed.
So, it was left to the kids in public or private schools to fill the classrooms.
Also, many pay people did not have the catechetical training we offer today, so there were a lot of well-meaning mothers who stepped up to cover the Bible stories, and not much else.
Volunteers are only so good as their own background. While many were good practicing Catholics they might not have been totally equipped to field the many questions that get asked by kids and teens, especially regarding sensitive subjects.
Today, the Church in the US places a high priority on Religious Ed. There are oodles of resources available, there are workshops for catechists to better serve their families, and pastors are taking a more active role.

Media plays a huge role in kids lives. We now use it in the classroom to present them with great speakers, messages from the Pope, skits online that illustrate a virtue, etc.
There’s much more that can be done than when you simply showed up and read from a handout and made a collage.
God bless those catechists…they were working with a budget that didn’t provide more materials than a dixie cup and a string. Money isn’t everything to be clear, but you’ve got to invest in time and resources to ensure your catechists are properly formed on a number of topics before you turn them loose on kids.

Parents are the first and primary educator to their children in the faith. The challenge TODAY, is convincing the parents that we are there to help them, we care, and that Religious Ed is a worthy endeavor. One that a person should continue throughout their lifetime. Many people skip Mass and think nothing of it. How easy is it then, for them to simply skip religious ed in favor of soccer, or ballet?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

For too many children, religious education consists of a couple of years preparing for First Communion and a couple of years spent preparing for Confirmation. And then – voila! – they know everything they need to know about their faith for the rest of their lives.

Obviously not a model that works when it comes to faith or anything else that matters.

Parents should be the primary educators and models for their children and parishes should support them in that endeavor by providing faith formation for children, and also for adults. It should be a lifelong activity, not something that ends with high school graduation (or earlier).

 

[patmiron]

=JD1789;13192646]As a 20 something year old man, my firsthand knowledge of religious education is limited. CCD, PSR, or whatever religious education is called was emberasingly weak when I experienced it. For those who has been around longer and have some experience with religious education, was the parish-based youth education ever a good system? Has it improved or regressed at all in your opinion? Thank you!

It’s a case by case; parish by parish variation.

I’m a Trained Catechist and taught PSR / CCD and RCIA … each of which rely heavily on non-trained people out of a necessity, as a lack of trained religious teachers is the NORM.

I have seen an improvement and a fervent desire to continue to improve; especially in the past few years; as a result of the “New Evangelazation”. But this too relies heavily upon the Local Bishop and the Pastors active involvement.

Now retired after teaching for nearly 30 years, I continue my Ministry from home through a FREE OF ALL COST HOME STUDY e-mailed course that covers far more topics than any of the above mentioned programs *; ALL in FAR greater depth AND I provide the evidence of our Beliefs and practices, so others then can also share our faith with confidence.

What is clear is that both the Parish AND those seeking catechizes must play an active role.

Much prayer for continued improvements is needed.

Father Hardon use to tell us: “YOU CAN’T SHARE WHAT YOU YOURSELF DON’T HAVE”

There is an URGENT need for Informed Faith Teachers, so lear our faith and share it:thumbsup:

God Bless you,

Patrick*