What does the Church need?

[faithandlove13]

Hello! I have to do a semester-long research/graphic design project for school on a topic of my choosing. I want to find a way to use my design skills as a solution to a problem relating to the Catholic faith. Does anyone have any ideas of potential project ideas I could look into creating? I am trying to think of something the Church needs. One of the initial ideas I came up with is finding a way to present teachings in a way that is a little more visually captivating for young people. Another idea is to create a resource for younger people that explains why we believe what we believe. Do you think any of those ideas are important enough to keep exploring? Any and all thoughts/ideas would be appreciated!!

 

[Avila123]

It would be helpful if you could explain why you were asked to do the project and whether the school is Catholic or a public school. Is it part of your studies or are you being asked to do this as part of job? I couldn’t see from your profile if you were a student or working person, so I don’t know if I am “teaching granny to suck eggs”.

My immediate thoughts are to start with (1) Who is the intended audience/s e.g. children aged X to Y and the project assessors (2) What do they want and need (3) Why do they need the product you are producing (4) Where e.g. Diocesan or parish website etc and (5) When e.g. is there a particularily good time to go public e.g. at the start of the first Holy Communion program or does it not matter?

If you are being judged on the project by peers or teachers, then I would suggest having solid research to back up the rationale for your end product e.g. evidence of the problem, why other efforts have failed etc (assuming you stay with a solution to a Catholic faith problem). You will need to demonstrate that you have researched thoroughly and be able to rationally and robustly explain your choice of subject (irrespective of what subject you chose even if it were about the decline of the snail population). If it is a marked project, it may be helpful to have a marketing plan e.g. making the resource available parish by parish, school by school, acting on feed back and re-branding for different age groups and cultures.

Sorry about this, all part of my job which involves handling, presenting and analyzing information.

With regard to your idea of what we believe is an excellent idea. You can “cut” that up in so many exciting ways e.g. Jesus, New and Old Testament, Mass, Sacraments, stories about Saints, worldwide church and all the awesome things the Church does throughout the world as part of our global unified faith.

On an aside, CF Catholic on Pinterest is a good starting place to find a lot of links on faith issues. I use it to gather information on a variety of Catholic issues (including myths e.g. the Church is anti-Science, has tons of spare cash etc) and although I don’t collect children’s resources, there are a lot of pins on resources for children which may be helpful to you.

These are just some thoughts. I hope that your project is a resounding success.

 

[rfournier103]

The Church needs disciples, not members. Followers of Christ, not spectators. Get the idea?

THAT’S what the Church needs.

 

[ChurchSoldier]

The Church needs disciples, not members. Followers of Christ, not spectators. Get the idea?

THAT’S what the Church needs.

Thank you.

The first thought I had after reading the headline is that the church needs every member to go talk to three non-members, preferably non-Christians, each week for a year. It would help a little with the attendace numbers but it would provide huge amounts of spiritual growth and deepen personal faith of the believers. The reflection of this in the lives of the believers would do wonders for the church.

 

[pianistclare]

Hello! I have to do a semester-long research/graphic design project for school on a topic of my choosing. I want to find a way to use my design skills as a solution to a problem relating to the Catholic faith. Does anyone have any ideas of potential project ideas I could look into creating? I am trying to think of something the Church needs. One of the initial ideas I came up with is finding a way to present teachings in a way that is a little more visually captivating for young people. Another idea is to create a resource for younger people that explains why we believe what we believe. Do you think any of those ideas are important enough to keep exploring? Any and all thoughts/ideas would be appreciated!!

Love your enthusiasm, but I really have to say…that project is WAY too big in scope.
By the time you get into it, you’ll realize that you’ll have to present on grade level for too many grades. There’s the issue of source material, is it approved, what doctrines are you going to cover, who is going to review for conformity to the Catechism, etc. etc. etc.
This project you propose is more than I think you realize, and your target audience can not really be a real class for the above reasons. This is why the creators of approved textbooks and programs take years to develop, reference and obtain approval .
On the other hand…you might take a smaller IMMEDIATE need of your local parish and run with it, and in the process actually facilitate the actual procurement of something worthy, like for example, the installation of a railing for the handicapped or something similar. The need for creative storage in the Sacristy, something like that. Not visually terribly exciting perhaps, but also you’d have to design something compatible with existing spaces. This is a monumental project, and I wonder if in your zeal to something fun and colorful, you’d be biting off too big a chunk.

But>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Having said all that:
There is VERY little in the way of formation materials for toddlers. It’s a tough crowd.
I think your original idea could fit this demographic and be a very enjoyable project for you. One needn’t worry about misquoting the Church Fathers when the audience is only 3 yrs. old. It really doesn’t come up.

So, when you say “young people” do you mean Sunday School? Or Nursery school in a Sunday School environment?

Good luck to you. How cool that you want to incorporate your faith into your area of study.

 

[faithandlove13]

Thank you all very much for your replies!! The project can target any audience so it is very open ended. We have to do a substantial amount of research both online and through speaking to people. Hopefully I can come up with something that will work out! Thanks again!

 

[jmr_1985]

Hello! I have to do a semester-long research/graphic design project for school on a topic of my choosing. I want to find a way to use my design skills as a solution to a problem relating to the Catholic faith. Does anyone have any ideas of potential project ideas I could look into creating? I am trying to think of something the Church needs. One of the initial ideas I came up with is finding a way to present teachings in a way that is a little more visually captivating for young people. Another idea is to create a resource for younger people that explains why we believe what we believe. Do you think any of those ideas are important enough to keep exploring? Any and all thoughts/ideas would be appreciated!!

Someone in the St. Thomas More Society recommended I read George Weigel’s book Evangelical Catholicism. It is so full of ideas for the Church! Highly recommend you check it out.