The Gatekeeper
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Level I October 4, 2011 - Level 1, Issue 01 |
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| Dear CGS Level I Parent, |  Welcome to the new year for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This year at St. Teresa's brings changes and new influences, as well as tried and true people and environments. The new mixed with the old opens the opportunity for invigorating change rooted in rich tradition. More on new and old below. We hope this newsletter will help parents relate to their child's catechetical experience. As parents, we've all experienced the deflating effect of the prototypical parent-child question-response interaction: - So, how was it? (parent asks with a smile and genuine eagerness to connect)
- We had carrots for snack. (child says with nary an indication of whether carrot snack is a positive or negative attribute of catechesis)
Wow, what's a parent to do with that information? This newsletter will let you know about the presentations your child is experiencing in catechesis. But far more importantly, it gives you some ideas of how to support your child's catechetical experience in the countless hours outside Atrium and Church. (The "Atrium" is the name for the space in which catechesis is held.) There's a beautiful blessing at the end of the Rite of Baptism over both the parents which says: "...they will be the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith. May they be also the best teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what they say and do, in Christ Jesus our Lord." The team of catechists at St. Teresa truly knows that the greater part of spiritual work is the work of the parent, not the catechist. We invite you to use these newsletters to build those meaningful and necessary bridges between the Atrium and the world. We look forward to a year of spiritual growth for all of us, not just the children!
Peace,
The Level I catechist team:
Betsy Peterson and Mairead Reidy on Tuesdays
Carol Cade, Geneva Gorgo, and Alyssa Hilko on Thursdays
Myrna Gomez and Gina Raffin on Sundays
and Lina Hilko (editor)
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Welcome to Atrium
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The formal presentation this first week is on the Bible. CGS has no textbook, as such. Our text is scripture. We read directly from the Bible for many presentations. In our first session, we'll look at this special book that we'll use so much during the year. What's it called? What does it look like? Are all Bibles the same? Different? We'll look at old illustrated Bibles. We'll look at Bibles written in different languages.
A good portion of our time the first day will also be devoted to learning how we act in this special space we call Atrium. We enter with a bow. We walk slowly. We quiet our minds, voices, and bodies so we can hear God's whisper. We take care of our space and respect the people who share this space with us.
An environment which helps the child slow down and quiet down is a real gift in this day and age. It can be quite counter-cultural, and this opens us up to hearing different things and thinking in different ways. I'm reminded of the question that is asked by the youngest child at each Jewish Passover dinner, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" When children perceive that a place and time is different from all others, they ask why. Catechesis is very much about wondering and asking: why? who? what? It's good to mix things up and change things around to inspire curiosity, awe, and wonder.
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Feed My Sheep
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The purpose of these newsletters is to help parents connect with and support their child's catechetical experience. Parents might naturally think "being connected" means "talking about what happen in Atrium today." Conversations are a good way to be connected with older children but not necessarily the most meaningful way for the 3-6 year old child.
Level I isn't actually very conversational. A common and beautiful response to Level I presentations, in fact, is simple silence. A lot of the work in Level I is manipulative. Materials exist to provide the 3-6 child, who often cannot yet read or write, the means to continue reflecting on the presentations. It's quite likely that, if asked, the child won't have the ability to convey in words anything approaching the depth of their work. But this does not mean that their work is without meaning.
Level I newsletters can help a parent understand the "underlying principles" of the catechesis. The parent is then open to natural opportunities to work with and support underlying principles, not necessarily so much through discussion as through activity or action.
For example, when the family enters church, they can bow to the Tabernacle which holds the Body of Christ and/or bow to the altar before entering the pew. This marks this space and this time as special. This simple gesture builds a bridge between Atrium and Church. What are other ways that your actions convey respect in Church? What are other ways that you and your child mark this place and time as different from all others?
So, the "stay connected" articles for Level I will be called "Feed My Sheep" in order to underscore action over conversation. It's what Jesus commissioned Peter to do. Jesus asked, "Peter, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord, you know I love you," answered Peter. And Jesus said, "Then, feed my sheep."
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Something Old, Something New
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We welcome newness in the year through Kate Lynch, St. Teresa's new Director of Religious Education. Please be sure to introduce yourself to Kate, as she is eager to get to know all our families. Also, we are excited to welcome a new Level I lead catechist on Thursdays, Carol Cade. We welcome three brand new assistants in Level I: Geneva Gorgo and Alyssa Hilko on Thursdays and Gina Raffin on Sundays.
We are deeply grateful for experience, stability, and comfort with our returning catechists: Betsy Peterson and Mairead Reidy on Tuesdays and Myrna Gomez on Sundays. We are also grateful for our third year in beautiful, dedicated Atria. Our children are very blessed that St. Teresa parish invests in them through the gift of beautiful space set aside just for them.
Betsy Peterson and Carol Cade deserve special mention because they are actually parishioners elsewhere - Church of Our Savior on Fullerton near the Cenacle. They have both provided training to St. Teresa's catechists - Level I training by Carol about five years ago and Level II training by Betsy the past two catechetical years. They deeply love Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Because they can't fully fill their CGS plate at their own parishes, they choose to serve at St. Teresa's, as well as being very active at Church of Our Savior. What an amazing example of the good and plentiful fruit of the True Vine!
Please be sure to meet your catechist face-to-face. |
Where's Jesus?
| If you felt this newsletter was more "business" than "spirit," you're right. Please be patient and read the newsletters regularly. They vary in content and approach. Your understanding of CGS and your own spiritual connection to your child's journey can unfold - through committed reading - like a plant in spring. Almost nothing in nature goes from conception to maturity in seconds (barring that Big Bang thing long ago). So too with newsletters.
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Is It I, Lord?
| St. Teresa's is still in need of assistant catechists. Our greatest need is a second adult in Level II (6-9 years old) on Tuesdays (4:30-6PM). We think we need a second adult in Level III (9-12 years old) on Thursdays (4:30-6PM). And we could use a third adult in Level I on Sundays (10:30-11:45AM). Lastly, we are starting a new teen program (7th-9th grade) that has a variety of new needs. Please consider whether God is calling to you.
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Feel free to comment on this information to Lina Hilko, LHilko@aol.com, the editor and/or Kate Lynch, kolynchdre@gmail.com, St. Teresa's Director of Religious Education. Thanks!
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