Not your average catechist

Why is Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) so awesome?  Two reasons: it respects the intelligence of the child and the catechists are awesome (I'm not tooting my own horn.  Really.)

I'll start by highlight a "problem" with regular religious education programs in parishes.  Most programs rely on volunteers who in the goodness of their hearts offer their time to the children of the parish - this is NOT the problem.  The problem comes down to training and the books.  A lot of the people I know who teach religious education have had the moment where they think, "What the heck am I doing?"  This is the problem.

When I was younger - long before a theology degree - I volunteered to be a catechist at my parish.  I was excited about my faith, but I didn't always know how to convey it to the 8th graders in my care.  Worse yet, I didn't even have a text to work from.  I was told to discuss topics which I was not informed of until the moment I arrived.  On top of this scary scenario, the Director offered no help.  I don't doubt the power of the Holy Spirit to swoop in a fill in all the many gaps, but this was a recipe for disaster.  I managed to flounder through the first part of the year and then I "resigned".  I felt the kids deserved better.  Looking back with the benefit of experience and education, it was a huge mistake that I was even placed with that class.  A significant background check was run on my non-existant criminal history, but there wasn't a background check on my theological and religious knowledge or my ability to teach.

Don't even get me started on the "textbooks" that are out there.  My biggest beef with the textbooks is that the writers don't respect the intelligence of the child and the faith is watered down.  And, this is why CGS will trump textbook religious education classes everyday of the week.  CGS respects the fact that kids, especially little kids, are sponges.  They delight in learning the proper names for the articles of the Mass or learning a song in Latin.  Furthermore, CGS actually fosters religious experience - communing with God - that a classroom setting can rarely create.

CGS catechists are often volunteers, but they have to make the commitment to complete training.  Each catechist goes through intensive training that is approved by The National of the Association Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA.  The training is either a 2 week intensive format or a weekend format meeting several times in a year.  Level I training (3-6 year olds) focuses on the most essential elements of the faith: the Mass, the Infancy Narratives, Baptism, several parables of Christ, the Good Shepherd, some of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ, and laying the foundation for the moral life.  Each catechist then creates an album page (lesson plan) for each presentation (lesson) and creates an album (lesson book).  Essentially, each catechist writes her own book that is used to teach the children.  The process of writing each album page helps the catechist to internalize the teaching.  

It is a huge undertaking for a parish to being CGS, but it is definitely worth the effort.  I have written before that Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) would start a revolution in the Church. I am part of what I like to call the "Rainbow and Sunshine Jesus" generation. American Catholics, of a certain age, were not taught the foundational theology and dogmas of Christ and His Church, rather we got a watered down, feel good, hippy-dippy catechism that had no substance to make us crave Christ and no backbone to support us when life got hard. An entire Catholic generation was lost under the banner of "experimentation".

The Church doesn't need any more experiments; it needs children who know the Good Shepherd.

The silence of 25 children

Sunday was a success! The first meeting of the Atrium at St. Brigid's in Memphis was fantastic. We have a rather unusual set up because we have 3 Atrium sessions happening simultaneously. The ages range from 3-8 and if you know anything about children, then you know there's a huge difference between a 3 year old and an 8 year old. I wasn't sure how it was going to work, but we did our best to divide the children up by age, and the Holy Spirit took care of the rest.

The children were so attentive and quiet; they knew in their hearts that this special place was for them. We ended our time together at the prayer table and I reminded the children about how to sit quietly without fidgeting. It was beautiful! The children closed their eyes and sat in silence. Complete silence. No one moved, no coughed or sneezed, no giggles, just silence. We could hear the wind blowing outside, the tick-tick-ticking of the clock, the buzz of the fluorescent lights. I taught them two versions of the Alleluia. They were so joy-filled with smiles all around. One of my fellow catechists told me that her kids were singing Alleluia for the rest of the day.

It was so wonderful to be in an Atrium again. I have 5 and 6 year olds and they learn things a lot faster than 3 year olds - I used to work in a 3 year old Atrium. I have spent the last week furiously reviewing and editing my "album pages" (lesson plans) and planning out the coming weeks for my class. I can't wait for Sunday to get here.

Opening an Atrium

This Sunday will be the first session of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) at St. Brigid's Catholic Church in Memphis, TN. I have had nothing to do with the planning, assembling, and setup of the Atrium (the room where the Catechesis is taught), I just happening to show up along the way and said, "Hey, can I get in on this?"

Late last summer my family decided to go to Mass at a different parish, sometimes a change is good. We had been floundering a bit at our parish, me especially. Mass at this new parish was lovely and reverent and then, at the end of the Mass, the pastor announced that CGS would be starting up in a few months. I had to contain my scream of excitement! My son would be three by the time the Atrium opened. I was elated and quickly asked my husband if he would mind if I volunteered with the program. Being that he's awesome, he said I should do it. And, before we had even talked about it, my husband grabbed a parish census form so we could join. "I figured," he said, "it was a done deal."

It has taken a little bit longer to get the Atrium together than hoped, but it's finally starting. It has been over 10 years since I have had the chance to work in an Atrium. Yesterday I met with the other two catechists who are newbies and I got a chance to walk around the Atrium. We will have about 28 children in the Atrium at one time - that's a lot! There are plenty of questions to be worked out, but I can't wait for Sunday morning.

The role of the catechist is serious and important. We don't watch movies or color cheesy pictures of Jesus. You can't just volunteer to be a catechist; you have to complete the CGS training.  The children learn about the chasubles (the robes worn by the priest), the chalice and paten (used by the priest during consecration), the liturgical colors and calendar, the Good Shepherd, and the altar just to name a few things. The catechist helps to form the child to participate at the Mass - even at three years old.

It's hard to explain what an Atrium is like, you just have to see it (I'm hoping to get pictures up in a few weeks). Everything is at the level of a small child. Everything is smaller than child-size. The Atrium is not a nursery or a play area; it is the workspace of the child and the work is to encounter God. As the catechist, my job is to journey along with the children to meet God. I'm a fellow Catholic Christian seeking the Good Shepherd who knows me by name.

It is a very beautiful place. It's a mini Kingdom of God.