Yesterday I had the privilege of giving a workshop on Advent for catechists at one of our regional catechist in-services. Almost 50 people attended my session, where I provided them with an overview of the meaning and symbols of Advent and ideas to teach them and share them with families of their students.
One of the truths I tried to communicate is that nothing we teach kids about Advent will make much difference unless their families are keeping Advent... so parent connection is key. Otherwise kids will see the season as only something we do in church - while the rest of the world celebrates a premature Christmas.
Here are the slides for my presentation - and below find links to the Pinterest board with classroom and home activities and the master for a parent take-home letter with tips for family Advent practices.
Pinterest: Advent Ideas & Crafts for Classrooms and Families
Parent Letter
Other Advent Resources - Videos and More on The Liturgical Catechist
Showing posts with label Families. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Families. Show all posts
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Monday, November 25, 2013
Gratitude... It Should not be Seasonal
Apologies for the long hiatus - some serious health issues and a very busy time at the office, plus I wrote a major article which will appear in the March issue of Ministry and Liturgy magazine. The other good part is that I found the time to add pages for all the liturgical seasons to my website The Liturgical Catechist. I have also been blessed to be working on a series of posts for the Loyola Press DRE Connect blog on ways catechists can reinforce rituals, prayers, music and other elements of the Mass in the classroom. (A new post should be published any day now. Links to previous posts are at the end of the current post.) The next major project is a book proposal for Loyola Press for a manual for new and untrained directors of religious education.
As Thanksgiving approaches and we prepare to enter Advent, 2013, I want to give particular thanks for all God's gifts, particularly for my healthy, beautiful granddaughter, Emma. She is proof that there is always the possibility of new life.
I am grateful for family, friends and my parish community, as well as the support of colleagues in the diocese. There is no substitute for a community of people who care. I am thankful to have a steady full-time job and a part-time job facilitating online classes for University of Dayton in an economy where so many are jobless. I am grateful for the beauty of golden-rose sunsets as I drive home from work these late November days, and for the quiet companionship of my cats. I thank God every time I am privileged to serve his people as a cantor at Mass, and for the continued strength and beauty of the voice given to me by the Holy Spirit, which I give back in praise.
I also give thanks for the new piece of the Cross I have been handed - the challenge of Celiac Disease. When I realized that the condition is serious enough that I needed to turn to low-gluten hosts, I was hit by the realization of how much I love the Eucharist. When I have been forced to receive only the Precious Blood because a host has not been available, I had a wrenching realization of the depth of my attachment to the Bread of Life. I know that the day I find myself at a Mass unequipped with my own host and pyx where the Precious Blood is not offered will be challenging. Yet, there is blessing in these new discoveries.
I may not give thanks for all this often enough... Thanksgiving is a reminder that I should be grateful all year 'round - as should we all.
As Thanksgiving approaches and we prepare to enter Advent, 2013, I want to give particular thanks for all God's gifts, particularly for my healthy, beautiful granddaughter, Emma. She is proof that there is always the possibility of new life.
I am grateful for family, friends and my parish community, as well as the support of colleagues in the diocese. There is no substitute for a community of people who care. I am thankful to have a steady full-time job and a part-time job facilitating online classes for University of Dayton in an economy where so many are jobless. I am grateful for the beauty of golden-rose sunsets as I drive home from work these late November days, and for the quiet companionship of my cats. I thank God every time I am privileged to serve his people as a cantor at Mass, and for the continued strength and beauty of the voice given to me by the Holy Spirit, which I give back in praise.
I also give thanks for the new piece of the Cross I have been handed - the challenge of Celiac Disease. When I realized that the condition is serious enough that I needed to turn to low-gluten hosts, I was hit by the realization of how much I love the Eucharist. When I have been forced to receive only the Precious Blood because a host has not been available, I had a wrenching realization of the depth of my attachment to the Bread of Life. I know that the day I find myself at a Mass unequipped with my own host and pyx where the Precious Blood is not offered will be challenging. Yet, there is blessing in these new discoveries.
I may not give thanks for all this often enough... Thanksgiving is a reminder that I should be grateful all year 'round - as should we all.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Catholic Families and Mass - The Challenge Begins at Baptism
Last week I had the privilege of spending two days conducting catechist formation for the 42 new Catholic school teachers of our diocese Probably about 2/3 of them will be teaching Religion, but all of them are catechists - because they will be sharing faith with children and their families. The entire experience was enfolded in prayer, ritual and liturgical catechesis and sprinkled with practical examples and discussion, tips for methodology, curriculum issues and more. Naturally, during all of this, we talked about the importance of Mass - and of course, we discussed the problem that so few families attend Mass with their children. There was great concern, and rightly so.
One teacher shared that her parish school "makes" parents sign a contract about Mass attendance and that there is an assignment on Monday mornings where students are asked to write about the weekend homily and the experience of Mass. Mass as "homework" - oh my! What a sad commentary on the state of the Church! While I have to grant that it may get families there, I am a bigger fan of strategies for attraction and invitation over coercion.
What has happened to faith formation in America that it has been more or less downgraded to a consumer commodity? Both in religious education programs and Catholic schools, we see a continuing increase in the "drop-off" mentality - parents seem to feel they are purchasing a service - the parish or school is being paid to make their kids Catholic, so the parents can feel they gave their children "a foundation in religion" - and can check that off the "good parent to-do list".
When children go home to families where faith is not practiced, where there is no family prayer or Mass attendance, there is no guarantee that anything the child experiences or learns will be effective in giving them a lifelong foundation for Catholic faith. In fact, in April of last year, the Pew Forum "Leaving Catholicism" report showed that the single most important factor in whether or not a person stayed in or left the Catholic Church in young adulthood was whether or not they attended Mass regularly as a teen. Obviously, the foundation for that begins in early childnood.
Complaints we typically hear are that kids are "bored" at Mass, or that Mass is not "family friendly." This, of course is the consumer mentality speaking. Mass, or course, is not something we should go to expecting to be entertained or where the poor behavior of children's who are no longer infants should be accepted just because they are there. It is public ritual worship, where all have the right and duty to participate, even the children.
It is clear to me that among the families who actually do attend Mass regularly, there are best-practices and not-so-good practices. Families who set an expectation of the children that they, too, will participate make a conscious effort to help their children learn how to pray the Mass - they open the missal and follow the prayers and responses with their finger. They open the hymnal and help their children to learn to sing at very early age with joy and enthusiasm.
Contrast them to the majority of families, who fall into either the "Cheerios and toys" crowd, who never graduated from distracting their kids when they stopped being infants (doesn't matter if they sit in or outside of a "cry room") or the parents who simply worship and ignore their children, allowing them to distract others, who have a right to their feeling that their worship has been disturbed. When these kids become teens, it is no wonder they actively resist coming to Mass, often making the experience of getting them there so unpleasant that parents cave in.
These, however, are the ones who are actually present at Mass as families with young children. If the young adult parents are not attending Mass themselves because they were disengaged as teens, the scenario simply perpetrates itself in the next generation.
What to do? I think we need to get to the new parents.... right at and immediately after baptism of their children. If we ignore them and trust them to show up when they wish their children to "get their sacraments" we enable them to have a consumer attitude - to come in to find out how much money and time it will cost to get the certificates. Our entire model - the predominance of private baptisms separated from Mass, handing the parents a certificate and waiting for them to come back - is disengaged from the intention of Baptism as the gateway sacrament into the community of faith's Eucharistic practice.
Yes, there are strategies out there where the parish sends out occasional letters to the families on the anniversary of baptism, etc. but this is not enough. We need to reach out, invite, and mentor young families to keep them connected. If every child were baptized at Mass, held up in front of the community of faith and embraced and welcomed every week, if young famlies were encouraged to connect with other young families, they would be less likely to disappear. If parishes had early-childhood Mass-participation coaching - mentor families showing parents how to help their children become a part of the community's worship.... well, you can see there are many possibilities. This might actually be a call for Family Ministry people to come out of their silos to work with religious educators, Catholic school principals and liturgy committees. That would be revolutionary!
One teacher shared that her parish school "makes" parents sign a contract about Mass attendance and that there is an assignment on Monday mornings where students are asked to write about the weekend homily and the experience of Mass. Mass as "homework" - oh my! What a sad commentary on the state of the Church! While I have to grant that it may get families there, I am a bigger fan of strategies for attraction and invitation over coercion.
What has happened to faith formation in America that it has been more or less downgraded to a consumer commodity? Both in religious education programs and Catholic schools, we see a continuing increase in the "drop-off" mentality - parents seem to feel they are purchasing a service - the parish or school is being paid to make their kids Catholic, so the parents can feel they gave their children "a foundation in religion" - and can check that off the "good parent to-do list".
When children go home to families where faith is not practiced, where there is no family prayer or Mass attendance, there is no guarantee that anything the child experiences or learns will be effective in giving them a lifelong foundation for Catholic faith. In fact, in April of last year, the Pew Forum "Leaving Catholicism" report showed that the single most important factor in whether or not a person stayed in or left the Catholic Church in young adulthood was whether or not they attended Mass regularly as a teen. Obviously, the foundation for that begins in early childnood.
Complaints we typically hear are that kids are "bored" at Mass, or that Mass is not "family friendly." This, of course is the consumer mentality speaking. Mass, or course, is not something we should go to expecting to be entertained or where the poor behavior of children's who are no longer infants should be accepted just because they are there. It is public ritual worship, where all have the right and duty to participate, even the children.
It is clear to me that among the families who actually do attend Mass regularly, there are best-practices and not-so-good practices. Families who set an expectation of the children that they, too, will participate make a conscious effort to help their children learn how to pray the Mass - they open the missal and follow the prayers and responses with their finger. They open the hymnal and help their children to learn to sing at very early age with joy and enthusiasm.
These, however, are the ones who are actually present at Mass as families with young children. If the young adult parents are not attending Mass themselves because they were disengaged as teens, the scenario simply perpetrates itself in the next generation.
What to do? I think we need to get to the new parents.... right at and immediately after baptism of their children. If we ignore them and trust them to show up when they wish their children to "get their sacraments" we enable them to have a consumer attitude - to come in to find out how much money and time it will cost to get the certificates. Our entire model - the predominance of private baptisms separated from Mass, handing the parents a certificate and waiting for them to come back - is disengaged from the intention of Baptism as the gateway sacrament into the community of faith's Eucharistic practice.
Yes, there are strategies out there where the parish sends out occasional letters to the families on the anniversary of baptism, etc. but this is not enough. We need to reach out, invite, and mentor young families to keep them connected. If every child were baptized at Mass, held up in front of the community of faith and embraced and welcomed every week, if young famlies were encouraged to connect with other young families, they would be less likely to disappear. If parishes had early-childhood Mass-participation coaching - mentor families showing parents how to help their children become a part of the community's worship.... well, you can see there are many possibilities. This might actually be a call for Family Ministry people to come out of their silos to work with religious educators, Catholic school principals and liturgy committees. That would be revolutionary!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Mandating Mass Attendance in Religious Education Programs
Oh my! Recently, we have learned of two parish programs in our diocese that are "mandating" Mass attendance for parents and children. One parish is requiring attendance on Sunday morning - with an hour and a half religious education class to follow. (The question arises whether Saturday Mass is not allowed?) The other parish is going so far as to require not only weekly Mass attendance, but weekly confession! Area parishes around at least one of these programs are reporting a huge influx of inquiries from families from that parish, as they attempt to flee to programs with more reasonable requirements.
With the trend in some few parishes to strong-arm families into attending Mass (we have seen it before with Confirmation youth being mandated to attend and to show proof of attendance) one might well ask if this is an effective tactic. Certainly, Mass attendance is part of who we are as Catholics. It is a duty to attend Mass - but it should be a joyful choice to fulfill this duty, not an obligation with negative consequences in this life rather than the next! Would it not be more effective to institute good adult formation, so that parents understand the Mass better, and are additionally provided with opportunities for personal conversion that can lead them back to a willing regular celebration of the Eucharist? Should we not evangelize about the value of the Eucharist in an inviting way, rather than punching a card at the door of the church?
What do you think?
With the trend in some few parishes to strong-arm families into attending Mass (we have seen it before with Confirmation youth being mandated to attend and to show proof of attendance) one might well ask if this is an effective tactic. Certainly, Mass attendance is part of who we are as Catholics. It is a duty to attend Mass - but it should be a joyful choice to fulfill this duty, not an obligation with negative consequences in this life rather than the next! Would it not be more effective to institute good adult formation, so that parents understand the Mass better, and are additionally provided with opportunities for personal conversion that can lead them back to a willing regular celebration of the Eucharist? Should we not evangelize about the value of the Eucharist in an inviting way, rather than punching a card at the door of the church?
What do you think?
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