The items listed under Documents on the left sidebar are especially for SRRE catechists.
If you want to find out more about becoming a catechist or co-catechist, read on and then contact Mary Beaudoin at mbeaudoin@straphaels.org
What I Gain from Being a Catechist
I’ve been teaching Religious Ed for twelve years, always with three- or four-year olds, and it’s been an incredible part of my own faith formation during that time. I started with pre-school children when my own boys were that age, but I’ve learned to love this age group because they absorb absolutely everything. To make concepts like the Trinity, or forgiveness real and understandable to a four year old requires a certain amount of soul searching yourself. So as much as the children learn by way of Bible stories, I think I am enriched even more. No matter how many years I teach the Parable of the Lost Son, or The Road to Emmaus, I get something new from the details that I had overlooked before. Someone once asked me if teaching pre-schoolers was like glorified babysitting, but when I hear these kids recite the Our Father, or re-tell the events of Holy Week, or express thankfulness to God from activities we have done in class, I know I’m making an impact on these children’s faith development too. I know that many of the children will forget the details of our class, and even forget who “Mr. Steve” is, soon after our year is over, but I believe they retain the important things: how much Jesus loves them, how people trusted God throughout our Bible stories, and how to talk to God about almost anything. Sure there are lots of other demands on my schedule, but I can’t think of anything more important or rewarding than helping children start to discover their own personal relationship with God.
-Steve Mister, a.k.a. “Mr. Steve”
Why I Love Being a Catechist
When I was a kid, my mom taught two classes of religious education at St. Raphael's each week. With six children, a noisy dog, and a large, chaotic household to run, this was no simple feat! But my mom's message and example as a parent were crystal clear, "Spread the Word of Christ to young Catholics, and teach children about their faith." My mom also knew the importance of giving time to her church, and she knew she could help change the world a little bit each week by reaching out to young people to help them understand their faith and beliefs. I now teach in the very same classroom where my mom taught for nearly 20 years. I love teaching your children because it increases my faith in Christ and my hope for a better world. Please sign up to teach a Religious Education class at St. Raphael's because this experience will bring you even closer to Christ. That's a promise! Thank you!
- Peggy Weldon
Why I Am a Catechist
As a cradle Catholic, I always “knew” I had a treasure, a key, a safe place in my faith - simply because I believed in our salvation. I felt special, privileged, lucky to be a Catholic. Yet I had spent little time or energy trying to understand why.
It wasn’t until I became a parent that instinctively I was moved to instill that same assuredness of God in our children. But how? As a parent, I needed to turn to the Church. Community life in the Church provided many grace-filled opportunities for teaching kids but also for great growth in faith and understanding for me as a parent. We were fortunate to have our kids in Catholic elementary school where focus on faith matters permeated school and home life. Therefore, we felt a huge void when we moved and our children entered the public school system. In our case, we didn’t know what we had ‘til it was gone. It was great to get the kids “back home” in the religious ed. classes where they could continue to learn about “the important things.” At the time, I could see clearly that the Catechist was a lifeline to the tradition and treasures of our Church for my family. I wanted to support our families and help all of our children grow into deep love and understanding of our faith.
I understand that the majority of Catholic children in the US attend public schools and miss out on many chances for grace-filled learning about our faith. They are the majority of the future of our Church! I am a Catechist simply because I wish to share our faith’s treasures and contribute to building the Kingdom.
-Judy Henry