The Gatekeeper
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Level III October 5, 2012 - Level 3, Issue 01
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| Dear CGS Level III Parent, |  It was great for catechists to kick off the year by meeting and conversing with parents this past week. Thanks for participating! The catechesis e-newsletters are intended to give parents insight into the topics and underlying principles which children are experiencing so that, particularly in Level III, parents can expand the conversations that start in Atrium into home and everyday life. From time to time, we'll include Level III articles called "Continued Conversations" that relate to this process of connecting Atrium to home. Of course, making connections is great however it occurs - articles should never limit you. This year in Level III we want to encourage children to use more of their Atrium time in a consciously prayerful manner. So, we'll begin the first week talking about prayer. What is it? How do we do it? We will also work with one new approach to prayer that I learned about this summer from a book called Praying in Color. If you are interested in the concept, try visiting prayingincolor.com to get a glimpse. I have yet to work with someone on this who wasn't intrigued by it! Welcome to the year. We hope it's a great one for every member of your family!
Peace, Lina Hilko, Editor |
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Overview of the Year
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This year's Level III presentations will mostly revolve around four main areas:
- The Plan of God;
- structure of the Mass;
- sacraments; and
- study of Moses and the Exodus.
A little more information on each of these is given in following sections.
Keep in mind that each CGS level is designed as a three-year cycle. A child receives the fully-intended richness if the child attends all three years of a level. Also, each higher level builds upon or deepens work from previous levels. Nonetheless, all presentations and materials are rich in and of themselves. So, a child (and parents) can enter in at any moment. After all, even as adults we are constantly learning (hopefully!).
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The Plan of God
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Many Level III works revolve around the Plan of God strip. In Level II, children worked with the Fettuccia, a long ribbon representing the timeline from Creation through Redemption (the time initiated by Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection) to Parousia (the time when God will be all in all). In Level III, the Plan of God strip focuses on a portion of this overall history - the part related to human beings. Although Plan of God works are rich and complex, with many avenues of exploration, there are two strong messages that are repeated throughout Plan of God presentations.
- A plan has always existed in the mind of God to bring all people, all things, all of creation into the full enjoyment of God in a cosmic communion of love.
- The history of the Kingdom of God has been, and continues to be, written by people all over the world, of all types and all ages. We are each called to contribute to this history.
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Structure of the Mass
| | In Level II, children learned that the Bible in one book made up of many books. In Level III, children learn that the Mass is one prayer composed of many prayers - 49 prayers, to be exact. In previous levels, children have been exposed to gestures (movements with meaning) and articles (items such as the chalice and paten) of the mass. Now, they will see this earlier information come together with spoken prayers through a specific order and structure which comprises our Mass. This year, some presentations will focus deeply on the Eucharist and portions of the Eucharistic Prayer.
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Sacraments
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This year, along with general learning of the seven sacraments, we will also study more closely the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Our sacraments use tangible symbols, such as water and oil, to represent deep mysteries of our faith. As early as Level I, children have contemplated such tangible symbols, which we refer to as the gifts of Baptism: the light of Christ; water; the white garment; the Word of God; oils. Here, like in the study of the mass, children will see the earlier information come together with prayers and gestures following a specific order.
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Moses/Exodus Study
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In Level III, the children begin to work deeply with the Old Testament. Earlier levels focus on the New Testament, with the only Old Testament touch points being the prophesies related to Jesus (and some Psalms). This year, we will devote a series of five sessions, largely during Lent, to study Moses, the Passover, the Exodus, and the time when the Jewish people traveled through the desert. Part of this study will be something brand new for St. Teresa's CGS program: an adapted Passover celebration and dinner to be shared amongst Level III children and their parents.
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In Case of Absence
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Please remember to e-mail Kate Lynch and your primary catechist if your child will be absent in advance of the absence. This is both for the safety of all our children and out of respect for your catechist's time and presentation planning. Your child is welcome at another session in your same week in order to receive the full richness of the presentations. Particularly in Level III, we sometimes work on a series of related presentations over 3-5 weeks.
Sunday: Tom Kinsella (t.kinsella@sbcglobal.net), Tom Micinski, and Michelle Michel
Tuesday: Kate Lynch (kolynchdre@gmail.com) and Susan Burke
Thursday: Lina Hilko (lhilko@aol.com) and Seth Alexander
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Please feel free to contact Kate Lynch, St. Teresa's Director of Religious Education ( kolynchdre@gmail.com), or Lina Hilko, newsletter editor ( LHilko@aol.com), if you have questions or comments about this information.
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