Posted on 05/31/2006 7:26:49 AM PDT by Juana la Loca
I was hoping some of my fellow Catholic Freepers could provide me with some direction. I attend a small parish in NE GA. The RCIA director has announced that he is retiring from his post, and they have asked me to take his place. I have been scouring the Internet for RCIA lesson plans and course outlines, but haven't found anything all that stellar.
Does anyone have any suggestions or resources that they could recommend to help me plan an orthodox Catholic RCIA curriculum?
Congratulations on "Coming Home", Joe
Thank you. I've become a daily Mass person and every morning I come away with more wonder than the day before.
bttt
Keep me posted on how you like this method. I gotta get off of this computer. Bad storm is coming.
F
The offspring were very positive yesterday, and I was impressed with the lower-grades' content level. Our parish program wasn't teaching the kindergarten about natural revelation and divine revelation!
If either of you decide to go more into this, could you let me know what you think? I love the family discount and the Board of Advisors is stellar. I don't know if any Diocese has adopted this, but I'd love to know.
I have a keen interest in this for some reason. Perhaps it is because I have seen children graduate from parochial schools who can't say the prayers of the rosary.
F
I have enrolled our five "school age" children. They're thrilled already, and haven't even been through a full week.
Our parish does not have classes after Confirmation year (9th grade) although the older teens participate in the youth activities, some of which are educational :-). I think this is a great way to have Anoreth continue with a structured religious education program which brings in many important and interesting aspects of Catholicism. She reads lots of Catholic books, but I believe that having the lessons follow the lectionary will help to "integrate" the material she's reading with what she has learned in the past and with what goes on at church.
The level for the youngest children (K-2) is excellent. It's roughly at the reading level of a bright 2nd grader, so I'm having to read it to my 6-year-old, but that just makes it more fun for her. The second level (3-5) is comprehensible for my 8-year-old, but still contains plenty of new material for my 9-year-old, who was booted out of 4th grade RE halfway through this year because he already knew everything.
The 3rd level is challenging for my 12-year-old. Having links to different sites with articles, pictures, or music is a good structure, with his short attention span.
Since our church has no classes for children during the summer, other than one week of VBS, I think this is a great way to keep them learning throughout the year. I passed on the site to a friend in Oklahoma who also has 8 children; it will be interesting to see what she thinks.
Ah, well, if it's going to be Son Treasure Island which EVERY church in America will be using this summer, then CatechismClass will be a welcome relief.
Try driving through the countryside this summer and look at the banners outside the church advertising VBS and tell me if they don't say Son Treasure Island. *rolls eyes*
Sounds great, Mrs. Tax. You opinion is highly valued. I just wish this would catch on more at the Diocesan level. But then, either the DREs are in total control or the Bishops want children to use that dreadful series out of New England, I believe. Can't recall the company but it has beautiful art and little religous ed.
F
LOL! I've seen that on lots of churches already! I think our parish is having "Arctic Adventure," or something like that. Must be from a competing Protestant publisher :-).
We haven't participated in VBS for a number of years. The children for whom it's age-appropriate have Scouts day camps, and I'm happy to skip a week of driving to and fro.
Our Bishop is very good, as far as I've seen. He doesn't seem to have much involvement in RE at the parish level. My pastor is also the Diocesan Vicar for Education, and he's theologically sound, but old.
Our DRE is a good woman and a good Catholic. I think she does a great job, under the constraints of the position, which includes totally inadequate facilities. My 5th grade class this past year, which at one point included *14 boys*, met in the parish conference room. It was very difficult, especially when I was enormously pregnant and took up a good part of the room :-).
You did 5th grade RE? Amazing. So did I!
But I'm moving this fall and have to give it up. I'll miss it.
Maybe you can be a replacement when you get settled in your new parish. Parishes often lose teachers during the year ... moves, babies, illness, schedule crises.
The 5th grade was fun, in spite of the crowding. It was funny how they reacted to the baby: "You're older than my mom, and you have a BABY!"
I'm teaching 5th grade on a different night (we have classes Mon-Weds) next year, so maybe I'll get a smaller class and a better room.
I had a tiny class this year (we have two different classes for some of the grades.) But the second grade class was really full.
When I get settled down, I hope to get really involved with my new parish.
I am surely going to miss the parish where I am at. We just got our new church opened. Beautiful. The crucifix has a 5 foot corpus! The tabernacle, against the wall behind the altar is large and gorgeous. The altar is handsome and contains a relic of the Cure of Ars, which I just found out about. St. John Vianney is one of my favorite saints. Our old chapel, which was supposed to be temporary, had chairs and no kneelers, but was carpeted, and we kneeled on the floor. It's so nice to have kneelers and pews. There is the most beautiful statue of St. Joseph and the child Jesus there and a lovely statue of Our Lady of Grace.
It's a great example of how one can build a devout church with modern materials. I am going to take my digital camera there soon and take some pictures.
I will miss this and our pastor, who is conservative, young, witty, and an excellent teacher a lot.
He put a no liturgical dance logo on the parish's webpage:
http://www.stjamescatholic.com/
website needs to be updated, but it has pictures of the construction of the church.
Where are you moving to, KAC?
Boise, ID. We will be in the parish of Our Lady of the Rosary.
God bless on your move. I hope that it'll be a fresh start for you and your family.
Second grade is always full! I don't have one in 2nd grade this year :-).
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