| I work with Junior or Senior High School Young Adults How do they fit into "whole community" catechesis? And what kind of resources have you got for me? |
| Resources offered on this site |
Dear Junior or Senior High teacher, catechist, or youth
minister,
You're in luck! When we speak of the parish as a whole community, we're not
forgetting you! In fact, your work among the young people of the parish is
setting the stage for where this parish will be in a few years. The impact you
have on the lives of these young people is phenomenal!
We have several strong ways for you to be involved and even a leader of
whole community catechesis in your parish.
First, young people are ripe for the parish based retreats that we provide
on this web site. And these retreats are, to be honest, drawn directly from
the kind of youth retreats being used all over the church! TEC (Teens
Encounter Christ), Quest, Search, LifeTeen - these were all our inspiration. In
fact, what we hope the rest of the parish will start doing, youth ministers and
junior and senior high school teachers and catechists have been doing for
four decades! You're our teachers!
Second, we strongly believe that youth and young adults should be part of
the parish-wide Faith Gatherings. The young people have a lot to give to
the adults of the parish - faith, questions, energy, and even - sometimes -
doubts which they feel free to express! But if the adult Faith Gatherings
are not yet underway, why don't you as young people start them for
the parish? We provide completely worked-out Faith Gathering outlines on
this web site, complete with schedules, music, handouts, a PowerPoint
presentation, and leader's notes - 100% of what you need.
Third, youth ministry and junior & senior high school faith formation has
really come of age recently. For a few years, we were mostly about activities
and experience, but now we see a need to actually add an element of real,
profound catechesis to each gathering. To help you do this, we have some
powerful resources.
Fourth, and this is very important, we offer a fantastic Presentation on
Vatican II in five hours of film, with discussion guides, that will help you
introduce your junior or senior high, or youth and young adults, to this great
historic event: The Second Vatican Council.
minister,
You're in luck! When we speak of the parish as a whole community, we're not
forgetting you! In fact, your work among the young people of the parish is
setting the stage for where this parish will be in a few years. The impact you
have on the lives of these young people is phenomenal!
We have several strong ways for you to be involved and even a leader of
whole community catechesis in your parish.
First, young people are ripe for the parish based retreats that we provide
on this web site. And these retreats are, to be honest, drawn directly from
the kind of youth retreats being used all over the church! TEC (Teens
Encounter Christ), Quest, Search, LifeTeen - these were all our inspiration. In
fact, what we hope the rest of the parish will start doing, youth ministers and
junior and senior high school teachers and catechists have been doing for
four decades! You're our teachers!
- And the good news here is that these retreats are inexpensive! They won't
break your budget. Once you download it, you get a Word document which
contains 100% of what you need - prayers, handouts, talk outlines, schedules -
everything! You're free then to reproduce it (for your own needs). Pretty good
deal, huh? - Click here to find them!
Second, we strongly believe that youth and young adults should be part of
the parish-wide Faith Gatherings. The young people have a lot to give to
the adults of the parish - faith, questions, energy, and even - sometimes -
doubts which they feel free to express! But if the adult Faith Gatherings
are not yet underway, why don't you as young people start them for
the parish? We provide completely worked-out Faith Gathering outlines on
this web site, complete with schedules, music, handouts, a PowerPoint
presentation, and leader's notes - 100% of what you need.
- And the good news is that these retreats are inexpensive! They won't break
your budget. Once you download it, you get a Word document which you can
change any way you like and photocopy as you need. I'm telling you - this is
fantastic. If you have one Gathering like this a month, your entire budget for the
YEAR would be only about $140, plus the Growing Faith booklets which are only
$1.25 apiece or less. - Click here to find the Faith Gathering outlines and materials.
Third, youth ministry and junior & senior high school faith formation has
really come of age recently. For a few years, we were mostly about activities
and experience, but now we see a need to actually add an element of real,
profound catechesis to each gathering. To help you do this, we have some
powerful resources.
- One is a Bible study that is downloadable. What you get is a Word file, which
is all you need (plus a Bible, of course) to do this. This Bible study is in plain
English and if you do all 18 of them, your students or young people will get a
complete tour of the Bible, from front to back! It's really fantastic. It's an active,
chatty, and fun study.
- And it's really inexpensive! Only 99 cents per session and completely
reproducible. Your young people will beg for more! Trust me. (Can you even
believe these prices?!) - You can find the Bible Study in Plain English if you click here.
- A second catechetical opportunity that young people just love is Growing
Faith. This resource was written with young people (among others) in mind and
it's a terrific experience. Growing Faith is the entire Catechism in plain English
(También es disponible en español.)
- Growing Faith is the "content" portion of those Faith Gatherings discussed
above. But it also stands alone as an excellent youth program. For an example
of this, here is a complete layout for Confirmation preparation (which could also
be post-Confirmation formation) using Growing Faith. And best of all, it's
unbelievably inexpensive to use, about $1.25 per booklet. - For a free sample of Growing Faith, click here and send us an e-mail with your
name & address. Or click here to download a free .pdf file of Booklet #1: "The
Inborn Hunger for God" (in either English or Spanish).
Fourth, and this is very important, we offer a fantastic Presentation on
Vatican II in five hours of film, with discussion guides, that will help you
introduce your junior or senior high, or youth and young adults, to this great
historic event: The Second Vatican Council.
- We also offer plain English presentations of every Council
document, easy to follow and read. - And we offer an incredible CD-ROM of the Council, including the
documents, the history, the background and interviews with key players. - All of this makes for an interesting and ready-to-use resource.
- And we also offer complete and fantastic PowerPoint
presentations on the Council. Ready-to-use - an entire course on
Vatican II at your disposal!
- Click here to go the Vatican II segment of this web site and browse what's
there. It will change the lives of your young people forever to know about this
Council! - And once again, we keep our prices low!
| If you're using a resource that you would like to share with others, click here to tell us about it! If you are the creator of this resource and we post it on this web site, you will receive a 50% royalty for you or your youth group! (provided we get it in useable form). |
| Pastoral Planning A step-by-step guide: Dreams & Visions: Pastoral Planning for Lifelong Faith Formation by Bill Huebsch A new book which includes a chapter outlining those all-important Planning Team Meetings. Sold in bundles to save you 20% New Book! Welcome the People! Ways to Gather & Nourish Adult Catholics by Jim Smith A parish team workshop-in-a-book. Helps you create the team you want for lifelong formation. Sold in bundles to save you 20%. New book! Good News Parish Leadership Trust-Building Guidelines, Tools, Ideas by Michael Papesh This rich resource helps you form your parish team with the very same pastoral theology in which we all believe. Sold in bundles to save you 20% Training How to teach your parish about lifelong formation including excellent PowerPoint presentations to download and use, complete with presentation notes. A series of FREE articles Reproduce these to put in your bulletin or to use for team & committee training. They're all in plain English! Into the Fields: Catechist & Ministry Formation Create a "religious community" with formation, prayer, & study right in the midst of your parish. This is the engine of lifelong faith formation, the foundation in your parish. Implementation How to start and sustain faith sharing throughout the parish using the Question of the Week With free prayer sheets and suggestions for training and use. A guide for using Growing Faith A powerful resource for doing adult faith formation in the parish. It's the Catechism in plain English! También es disponible en español. Communal Prayer for Parish Councils & other groups to accompany faith sharing. You can download and use these in 5 minutes! Rooted in the Second Vatican Council. Outlines for adult or intergenerational Faith Gatherings linked to your children's textbook series. Outlines for adult Bible Studies which are in plain English! Download each session and get all you need in one item. Complete plans for Parish Based Retreats in several practical scheduling formats. |