Jesus had a habit of sending his followers out to do ministry
in pairs--"two by two" (Mk 6:7, Lk 10:1 Mt 21:1).
We are blessed to have two catechists for most grade levels! Each person brings
their specific gifts to the classroom; we are pleased to have such teams
ministering in Jesus' name here at Holy Trinity.
Catechist, catechesis, and catechize all derive from a single Greek verb.
Its first meaning is "to charm, to fascinate."
Its second meaning is "to teach orally, to instruct."
If you put these two meanings together in a Christian context,
the catechist is one who teaches orally,
but in such a way as to dazzle, charm, fascinate those being taught!
Catechesis, in other words, cannot be reduced to the contents of a book (catechism)
which the catechist simply communicates to students. That would be dreary indeed!
The catechism will come alive only through the personality and faith
of committed catechists who are on fire with the message of Jesus, one of love and peace.
This means they embody in their very persons those truths and values,
and proclaim a faith that is in their heart and which they burn to share.
This is not to deny the value of catechisms. It is simply to say that they achieve
their potential only when translated by teachers who, through the use of story,
image, symbol and their own life experiences of faith,
make this transformation possible!
Additionally, computer competence has become established as a fourth basic skill,
as necessary as the 3 R's!
With that in mind, Holy Trinity believes that this
"binary age" can help make religious education more available
and attractive to all ages, promoting it as a lifelong
learning experience--an experience as important as breathing,
lifelong!
Already, there's a considerable amount of religious educational
materials available on CD-ROM software--and an even vaster amount
on the Internet.
Therefore, in addition to providing our '07-'08 calendar of classes
and programs, this homepage offers some recommendations for
learning on line!
For a look at what's available, see "PREP Links" and "Paul's Picks"!
Enjoy!
