FOLLOW the PATH to CATECHESIS of the GOOD SHEPHERD
Posted: 03-Jun-10
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FOLLOW the PATH to CATECHESIS of the GOOD SHEPHERD: In the fall, we will be inviting the children of our church into an atrium prepared for them in which every object is designed to help them know God. Our atrium will be a place of simplicity, order, prayer, work and community. The atrium will provide the setting for our children to touch the scripture, liturgy and history of the church. The atrium will become the place for the preparation of our children for their full participation in the life of the church. The activities in the atrium will be built upon the teaching of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. For more than four decades, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has nurtured the spiritual development of children ages three through twelve. Episcopal parishes account for half the Catechesis programs in our country. The program takes its name from the parable of the Good Shepherd (John 10:3-5,11-16). While the curriculum of the catechesis follows the liturgical year, what drives the program is the religious needs of our children at their various stages of development. Our children will be given time to listen, work, pray, sing and wonder in the baptism area, at the altar table, in the geography area or in the prayer corner. The foundation of the program resides in the room in which it occurs, the atrium. We will be creating this atrium during the weeks of summer in the room most recently used by the Youth Group. The initial repainting and cleaning of the room will be done by our middle and senior high students, our first volunteers! The catechesis materials, activities and environments will be the result of the offering of your gifts of time and talent. Please consider offering your help in one of the following areas: Making child-size shelving and tables
Making small materials from wood
Making small figures from clay
Painting small materials
Calligraphy
Sewing
Embroidery
Musical ability
Computer skills
Supply inventory/shopping
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd takes in our parish this is yet to be discovered. "Whom will it call, whom will it welcome, whom will it heal, how will it look and how slowly or rapidly will it evolve…" What we do know is that once children walk through the door of our atrium, something new is beginning. Information adapted from The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in a Parish Setting, Tina Lillig.Contact Ashton Williston (677-0872/ashton99@bellsouth.net) to join us on this journey. In the coming weeks, we will continue to share the steps we are making on this path that we are following.
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