A Catechist's Prayer

"Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God... For through him God

created everything in heaven and on earth." (Col. 1:15-16 The Good

News Bible).  Christ is the key to life, the giver of faith, the one who

recreates us through his Spirit.

Let us pray: Jesus, BreAK into our hearts, Wash over us.

Bring stillness to our private storms.

Spirit of God burst into our church.

Come stir the Broth of life and sacrament.

Holy One, Teach us..Touch us. Bless us.

Hear our Voices. Jesus breaK into our hearts.

                          

Evangelizing Unchurched Children: A Pocketbook for Catechists

"A major contribution to catechesis...  I predict that this work will nourish both the catechizer and the catechized."  Maria Harris

Discover practical ways to help children from unchurched families. Chapters include: prayers, saints, websites, lesson ideas.

Find out - how to share faith stories and the drama of Scripture. Discover ways to introduce vibrant sacraments and symbols. Learn

how to reach out to families. 

REPRINTED through www.catholicevangelizer.com   with Five New Activities 8.5x11  60 pages                                                                                 $11.95

Try This: Something from the Bible

DId you know that some of the earliest versions of the Bible were written on scrolls?  Children can appreciate the history of the Scriptures and discover it's personal meaning by making scrolls.

Scripture Scrolls *

This activity works best when done in conjunction with journaling.  Each week a few lines from Scripture are copied into a personal journal.  Then about twice a year the children choose a favorite passage from their journals to mount on a scroll.  I like to do this near the end of Advent and Lent to give them a sense of these two liturgical seasons as a time to draw near to God.

Steps for making a scroll:

1. Use good quality paper, about 3 times as many pieces as the number of students. Crumple individual pieces into balls and secure each ball with a rubber band.  Soak the balls for at least an hour or two in a strong batch of tea that has cooled down.

2. Take the balls of paper out of the tea and let them dry for at least half a day before you take the rubber bands off.  Be careful not to rip the paper.  Smooth out the sheets and iron if necessary. The brown stain should give the paper an uneven, antique appearance.  Don't worry about scorching the paper.  It only adds to the effect.

3.  Glue two pieces of the treated paper end to end the long way.  Glue dowels or cardboard tubes on the ends of each joined set. (This step can be done by older children.)

4.  During your session with the children ask them to write out their Scriptures on a smaller sheet of good paper so that the edges of the scrolls are visible after glueing.  I like to use a light weight paper so that the stains show through the text.  After the passages are copied, let the children glue them to the scrolls.  After the scrolls dry the children can tie them with ribbon.

* For another idea that uses scrolls see page 33 in the catechist's book above.

Try This:  St. Francis of Assisi and the crowded cross

St Francis is known as a lover of animals and nature.  But did you know that he loved Jesus most of all?  Try a lesson plan build around a famous cross that St. Francis discovered in San Damiano. 

Try This: Global Saints,  Suitcase Saints,

Festival of Saints, Saint Trivia

                  Bring Jesus to Children

     Resources, Try This, Meet Saints, and Something from the Bible

     Parents & Catechists on the Internet: workshop and handout

Try This: Headline prayers for children and families

Try This: Body Building with the many names for Jesus

WORKSHOP When Families and Children Don't Go to Church

It's no secret that textbooks, parents and parishes expect teachers to instill faith in children from unchurched families. This challenge raise a host of questions. But it also contains the seeds of an exciting solution - evangelizing catechesis. Click here to learn more about this workshop.

Resources for Catechists: Cyberfaith - extensive list of resources, lesson ideas

and links. For an updated list of links for catechists click here

www.catechist.com      My Friend Magazine               Realfaith TV

www.zenit.orgVirtual Learning - Dayton  homefaith  pew internet research

THE KEY TO LIFE IS CHRIST

Catechist Page

Children's Mass book that highlights the search for Jesus through religious art like crucifixes, and stained glass, as well as, the parts of the Mass. Designed to meet the particular needs of children from inactive and unchurched families.

Find out more about this book.

Try This: Lenten Trouble Tree

Lent begins with a winter state of mind, a time when we are down to the bare bones of what we believe. Try creating a Trouble tree, a bare tree branch mounted in a tin can full of plaster or sand.  Use it as a focus for prayer. Our class talked about feeling empty and cold when we set the tree up.  Each week our class wrote prayer petitions for people who might be experiencing emptiness - family members scared about an illness, someone in need, a country on turmoil.  We used long, thin strips of paper that we "curled' with a pair of scissors and put on one of the braches of our tree.  At the end of Lent we made the connection with the cross of Jesus which is the most important trouble tree, but is also the "tree of Life."  We put all the curled prayers around the base of the tree and airbrushed them green. Then we  imagined Jesus standing beside one of the people each of us had prayed for. Finally, we thanked Jesus for hearing our prayers and added butterflies and flowers to our "tree of Life." for another variation of this lesson

and for more about a

Lenten Yardstick Cross

Looking for Jesus at Church -- a video and a mass book for ages 4 -7