Catechist: New Year, Here We Come!

Yesterday, Kendra and I received our class list for the new Faith Formation year. That's CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) for some of you.

Wow! We have 19 students (so far). It is a little sad though to know that approximately half of the students who received their First Communion last year will NOT be returning this year. And they probably won't be back until it's time for Confirmation.

Hey, if you're one of those parents, shame on you! If you're one whose child is returning, thanks for caring enough about their Faith.

Alrighty, moving on. This week we will meet the parents, have the opening meeting and watch a Safe Environment video.

This will be my 11th year teaching the Faith (at various levels from K-11) and the 2nd consecutive year that my wife Kendra and I will be a team. Looking forward to it.

Catechist: A New Year Begins

This will be my 10th year as a Catechist, although not consecutively. Previously, I have taught 9th, 10th, and 11th Grade youth in Louisiana. At the time, Catholic youth prepared to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in their Junior year of high school, and we referred to the 3 year program as the "High School of Religion". On a larger scale, religious education in Louisiana was (and I believe still is) referred to as CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine).

In North Texas, we refer to such religious education as "Faith Formation". I like this term better. This will be my 4th year teaching Faith Formation in my parish, and the second that I teach the 2nd Grade, preparing them for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion.

A Year of "Firsts"

There are 2 very important "firsts" for me though. It will be the first year that my youngest son Brandon is in my class. It will also be the first year that my wife Kendra assists me. We teach on Sunday mornings at 10am.

Two weeks ago, we met our class and our parents. This past Sunday, we had our first full-length class. The lesson was "Who is God?" and covered the story of creation along with a "nature walk", Jesus as God's greatest gift to us, the Holy Trinity, and practicing the Sign of the Cross!

Seriously, that's a lot to cover, but I am thankful that having a little experience has taught me that at this age, keeping it simple is most effective. I am very pleased with the response from the children and especially considering this is all such a new experience for them.

Please keep us all in prayer as we continue through the year.