Catechetical Congress
Posted By Carlos on October 27, 2009
This weekend, I was blessed to have attended the Archdiocese of Boston’s annual Catechetical Congress. It proved to be a wonderful opportunity to meet and share ideas with other catechists from all across the area. The congress was kicked off with a prayer service that was led by Archbishop Seán Cardinal O’Malley, which was both beautiful and multi-lingual to celebrate the diversity that can be found in the Archdiocese. In fact, Cardinal O’Malley offered his reflection in both English and Spanish, switching between the two throughout his reflection.
Our keynote speaker for the English program was Joe Paprocki from Loyola Press. My loyal readers will recognize him from my frequent referrals to his blog, Catechist’s Journey; but besides being an insightful blogger on catechesis, he is also an author as well as an 8th grade catechist. His address, “Catechesis That Enters Through ‘Their Door’ but Leaves Through ‘Your Door’” was all about connecting with your students’ lives with practical tips for overcoming the generational gap that can exist between catechist and student. I think his insights were spot on since I experience what he pointed out each week with my 6th graders.
Aside from Joe’s address, there were a number of workshop options available throughout the rest of the day. I attended a morning session called TIPS which shared creative ways to make that class more interactive and more organized to help foster a higher level of learning while keeping the students active and engaged through the class session and throughout the year. For the afternoon session, I chose to attend a presentation by our diocesan Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults. This session was a perfect compliment to Joe’s comments because it explored the mindset of today’s youth when it comes to God. It focused on reading the signals that the youth are sending us and offered some practical approached to strenghting our own signals back to them regarding the Good News.
In reflection, I’m glad that I atteneded this year’s congress. Not only did I learn a lot from those presenting at the event, but I benefited greatly from the interaction with and participation of the attendees, many of which are more experienced that me in catechesis. As an added benefit, I got to meet some really great people there and was inspired by the focus and support that the Archdiocese of Boston places on this ministry.
Until next time, keep sharing the faith!
About the author
Comments