Here’s a good sign that my students are starting to feel at home with me. I put my Advent candles and purple cloth into place on the prayer table in the center of the room. One of the girls said, “I love purple! It’s my favorite color!” She walked over to the prayer table, took one of the purple candles, and carried it back to her desk, where she set it down and admired it as though she had just purchased it for herself. I said with a big smile, “I’m glad you like it, but you can’t just take one of my candles!” She replied, “Then can the Advent table be my desk today?” It’s that kind of playfulness that creates a very comfortable atmosphere for learning.
When I entered a doctor of ministry program a few years back, some people asked me what I would do when I was finished with the program. “Will you be changing jobs? Will you be getting a promotion? Will you teach at a University? Will you be getting a raise?” Well, recently I finished the course work for my D. Min. So what’s the first thing I did?
I volunteered to serve as an eighth-grade catechist!
All too often, advanced studies take people farther and farther away from actual practice of what they have studied. Many of our catechetical experts in the United States are professors in universities, directors of various catechetical organizations, or on the staff of diocesan catechetical organizations. Don’t get me wrong: we need people in such positions, and many fine people are serving in these capacities. However, I felt very strongly that if I was going to be seen as a trusted voice in the ministry of catechesis, the best thing for me to do was to be a catechist. The catechetical community needs to have a voice coming directly from the “trenches,” and that’s exactly where I want to be: embedded with the church’s catechetical “troops.”
I’m one of you. I’m with you on this journey. I share the same joys and challenges of forming our young people in faith. The purpose of this blog is to reflect on this journey; to identify strategies, tools, and tips for increasing our effectiveness as catechists; and to deepen our spirituality so that the well never runs dry.
I’m honored to be accompanying you on this journey. May the wind of the Holy Spirit be at our sails!
Catechists are my favorite people. Why? Because catechists are intentional about their faith in a way that many Catholics are not. Catechists are very much aware of the call to live and preach the gospel in word and deed. Catechists are hungry to learn. Catechists are eager to get others excited about their faith in the same way that they are. And catechists like to have fun!
I consider myself lucky to be part of the community of catechists in the United States—nearly 500,000 of us. That sounds like a lot, but when you consider that there are approximately 65 million Catholics in the United States, catechists make up less than 1 percent of the population of Catholics!
I am an eighth-grade catechist in a parish in Evergreen Park, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. (For more about me, click here. To watch my introductory video clip, see below.) We are several months into our program, and things are coming along very nicely. I am teamed with another catechist, Patty, and together we have established a rapport with the kids. Rapport is so important—and so elusive. The key to good rapport in teaching is to remember that we, as catechists, are not called to be the kids’ friends. We’ve gotten to know all their names. We treat them in a friendly manner, with courtesy and respect, but with an air of authority that comes from being entrusted with proclaiming the gospel. To teach with authority, as Jesus did, is not to be authoritarian. Rather, it is to teach in such a manner as to make it possible to act on what is being taught. Patty and I have made it clear that we take our roles very seriously. The kids seem to respect that—they don’t want their time wasted. With this approach, we have been able to nip some immature behavior in the bud and establish an atmosphere that communicates deep respect for our faith.
How is your catechetical year going so far? What kind of start did you have? What challenges are you facing? What joys are you experiencing? What does it mean for you to teach with authority?
