eCatechist

Top Reasons for Using Leadership Institute

The Leadership Institute is sponsored by the Departments of Chief Administrators of Catholic Education and Religious Education (NCEA), the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), and the Secretariats of Catholic Education and Evangelization & Catechesis (USCCB).

Why should you consider using Leadership Institute resources as part of your catechist or catechetical leader formation? Check out these 8 top reasons, and then see for yourself.

1)    Content approved by the Committees on Evangelization & Catechesis and Catholic Education

2)    Relevant and timely categories and topics: Administrative, Adolescent Catechesis, Adult Catechesis, Catechist as Evangelizer, Cultural Diversity, Diocesan Director Formation, Family, Moral Life, the New Evangelization, Spiritual Life, and Strong Catechesis

3)    Nationally recognized presenters

4)    Convenient  online format

5)    Brief segments and discussion questions

6)    Flexible applications: individuals; small and large groups; catechist and parish catechetical leader certification; and independent study

7)    Free of charge

8)    This past quarter, Leadership Institute webinars were viewed over four thousand times!

For details, go to: www.usccb.org/leadership

Commandments for Making Friends by Ron Rolheiser, OMI

More than twenty-five hundred years ago, Moses gave us the ten commandments. The centuries since, the Enlightenment notwithstanding, haven’t given us a single reason to doubt the validity and importance of any of those precepts. However, as we struggle to live out them out, it might be helpful if Moses again descended from that same mountain with two new tablets of stone, spelling out some rules for better befriending each other, God, life, and ourselves. Perhaps this second set of commandments might read like this:

 

Intentional Disciples

I would say that an intentional disciple is a person — child, teen, young adult, adult, or oldster — who has heard the call of the Gospel, is seeking to make a real difference in the world, and therefore lives a particular way. What does that way look like? Well, down through the ages persons, families, and entire Christian communities have done the same or similar things that show they are truly growing in faith.

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From Vibrant Faith by Leif Kehrwald

Pope Francis - Latest News from Catholic News Agency (CNA)

The Catholic News Agency (CNA) maintains an ongoing collection of news stories about Pope Francis.

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27 Ways to Increase Participation

Of all the posts on Pinterest on the board for Catholic Catechists and DRE's this is the one that is most often repined.

Favorite Quotes from Pope Francis' Visit to the United States from Busted Halo

Pope Francis may be back in Rome, but the loving and powerful words spoken throughout his time in the United States aren’t something we’ll soon forget. Busted Halo has compiled a list of some of their favorite quotes from his visit. Read

The Catechist: An Artist Disciple by Peter Ductram

As the year came to an end, many catechists and Catholic school teachers dialogued about the current changes in the U.S. Church landscape. One of the most interesting conversations happened around the topic of the priority of systematic formation for catechists. Some commented on the "importance of living our faith," to which others added the priority of knowing the faith and the art of sharing it with our children and youth in our religious education programs and in Catholic schools.

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Peter Ductram is the Archdiocesan Director of Catechesis, Archdiocese of Miami. He was born in Lima, Peru. Earned a MA in Theology in from Catholic Theological Union and is a Candidate for a MDiv. in Bible. He served in the Archdiocese of Chicago as Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry, Director of Religious Education, Adjunct faculty at the University of Mundelein, and Coordinator of Evangelization Initiatives. Proactive bilingual leader with experience in faith formation and enrichment in multicultural environments.

TED Talk Topics

TED Talk Topics have become increasingly popular. They address a variety of subject areas including, spirituality, growth and development, learning, culture, leadership, etc. Here are a few talks that I have found very interesting. They could be used for personal and professional enrichment, as part of one-hour adult education session, recommended to catechists and included in the parish bulletin. For a complete list of TED Talk Topics, go to this page on the TED website.

http://www.ted.com/topics

 

What we’re learning from online education by Daphne Koller

Why 30 is not the new 20 by Meg Jay

How books can open your mind by Lisa Bu

Your brain on video games by Daphne Bavelier

What we learn before we’re born by Annie Murphy Paul

Reconnecting with compassion by Krista Tippett

Kids need structure by Colin Powell

A teen just trying to figure it out by Tavi Gevinson

The tribes we lead by Seth Godin

Less stuff, more happiness by Graham Hill

The mysterious workings of the adolescent brain by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

Sr. Rose Goes to the Movies

I find Sr. Rose's  movie reviews very insightful. She is serving as an excellent editor and curator of the best in media and especially for connecting faith to everyday life.

Sr. Rose Goes To the Movies

Dan Pierson, founder
www.eCatechist.com
www.faithAlivebooks.com

Coauthor with Susan Stark of Reflections from Pope Francis: An Invitation to Journaling, Prayer and Action.

https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2015/09/reflections-from-pope-francis-an-interview-with-susan-stark-and-dan-pierson/

The Church in the 21st Century (C21) Center at Boston College

 

The Church in the 21st Century (C21) Center at Boston College is a catalyst and resource for the renewal of the Catholic Church in the United States.  Drawing from both the Boston College community and others, the C21 Center engages in critical conversations facing the Catholic community focusing on four critical issues: handing on the faith, roles and relationships in the Church, sexuality in the Catholic tradition, and the Catholic intellectual tradition.

Handing on The Faith

Videos

School of Theology and Ministry Online: Crossroads

Great resource for education and catechist and catechetical leader certification. Check with your local diocesan office.

Catechist's Learning Page

A Spirituality for Busy People by Sr. Joyce Rupp, OSM

U. S. Catholic

All of us are pushed in a thousand directions over the course of a single day. Spouses, children, parents, work, friends—it can be hard to find the time for daily maintenance, much less the mental space to practice any kind of spirituality.

Having any kind of deepened spiritual life can often seem impossible. But Sister Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., an award-winning author and retreat leader, says that in fact, quite the opposite is true. The process is two-fold. We have to allow ourselves to be present in the moment and where we are in life, committing ourselves to our families and letting go of any guilt we feel for not being able to accomplish everything. But we also need to take the time to be kind to ourselves: to find those small moments of stillness where we can take a deep breath and remind ourselves that we still have a meaningful interior life.

In this web-exclusive excerpt of her interview with U.S. Catholic, Rupp teaches us how to start being aware of those small moments of spirituality in our daily lives.

- See more at: http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201508/spirituality-busy-people-30284#sthash.z1nMKagX.dpuf

All of us are pushed in a thousand directions over the course of a single day. Spouses, children, parents, work, friends—it can be hard to find the time for daily maintenance, much less the mental space to practice any kind of spirituality.

Having any kind of deepened spiritual life can often seem impossible. But Sister Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., an award-winning author and retreat leader, says that in fact, quite the opposite is true. The process is two-fold. We have to allow ourselves to be present in the moment and where we are in life, committing ourselves to our families and letting go of any guilt we feel for not being able to accomplish everything. But we also need to take the time to be kind to ourselves: to find those small moments of stillness where we can take a deep breath and remind ourselves that we still have a meaningful interior life.

In this web-exclusive excerpt of her interview with U.S. Catholic, Rupp teaches us how to start being aware of those small moments of spirituality in our daily lives.

- See more at: http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201508/spirituality-busy-people-30284#sthash.z1nMKagX.dpuf

Catholic Catechists and DRE's

Go to Pinterest and check out Catholic Catechists and DREs board.

This is a contributor board for sharing ideas, lesson plans and crafts that would be useful in Catholic Religious Education.

 

 

Francis of Assisi: Ordinary Saint