What can I do to help protect children from the likes of the Larry Nassar’s of this world?
As a mother of three daughters, in the wake of the Larry Nassar sentencing and having listened to all the tragic, emotional testimonies of the beautiful, courageous women whose lives he impacted, I want to compel every member of our community, especially our parents, to consider participating in a couple timely, informative and relevant programs coming up here at CTR.
In the United States 1 out of 4 girls/women and 1 out of 7 boys/men are victims of sexual predators. The first step in lowering these appalling statistics is by becoming informed and aware ourselves.
The Catholic Church is, of course, no stranger to sexual scandals. In fact, the failure of our own leaders to protect the children in our care was one of the first big cover ups to come to public light. If you haven’t seen the movie Spotlight yet (which won the best picture Oscar in 2016), do. It is an important film about our own dark history that helps raise awareness of the insidious ways we sometimes unwittingly participate in systemic failure and abuse of power that can lead to such unfathomable tragedy.
Since the time of our own scandals, the Catholic church, to our credit, has lead the way in the research, development and prolific offering of some stellar, free programs that provide top notch guidance in how we can work together to keep our children safe from harm. Here are some that are coming up in the next few weeks here at CTR:
Circle of Grace
Sunday, Feb. 25th all are welcome to join us for a quick 20-minute presentation on safe environments and right relationships that will serve as an introduction to the curriculum being presented to our children at our March Faith Formation classes as required by the Archdiocese of Detroit. Some great safety tips, signs to look for and very helpful resources will be shared. Anyone who cares about children and/or has young people in their lives can benefit from this short course. No RSVP necessary. Just grab a donut, some coffee and join us after Mass in the chapel.
Called to Serve
This interactive safe environment training program designed for teens grades 9-12 will be held here at CTR on Sunday, April 15th from 1PM-4PM. The important information shared is empowering and absolutely essential to every young person in our community. It is an Archdiocesan requirement for all our teens who volunteer with children in our parish. Please register with Lisa Andridge at highschool@ctredeemer.org.
Protecting God's Children
This safe environment training program for adults will be held here at CTR on Saturday, March 3rd from 1PM—4PM. The Archdiocese requires that ALL of our adult volunteers who work with children attend this workshop which alerts adults to signs of child abuse but, more importantly, offers a variety of ways to ensure the safety of our children. It is an excellent program which ALL the adults in our community could benefit from. The kindness of an RSVP is requested to Gabriela at eduadmin@ctredeemer.org.
For both Called to Serve and Protecting God's Children we bring in (in mine and many other people’s opinion) THE best local presenter, Michelle Pittel, who works with teens at Notre Dame Prep. All participants WILL leave enlightened and informed. The three hours with Michelle truly flies by. This workshop is time well spent, not only for the good of our parish, but for the safety of ALL children in our lives.
These programs grew out of our own great failure. Let’s do our due diligence as a community to inform ourselves so we can be protectors and advocates for our children and work together to put an end to the horrors such as our own church scandals and those propagated by Nassar and others who pose a threat to our most precious gift; our children.
Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: http://crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Saturday, January 13, 2018
#128 - Greatest Need
I was very inspired by Ann Garrido’s visit last week and would like to support our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Faith Formation efforts here at CTR. What is our greatest need is at the moment?
If you are interested in taking Level I training, please contact Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org and/or visit www.cgsusa.org for more information.
(You can listen to Dr. Garrido's talk at this link: http://www.ctredeemer.org/we-form/education/adults/)
In a word, we need: CATECHISTS. More specifically, catechists formally trained in the CGS method.
Before I elaborate, I want to express how INCREDIBLY thankful we are for the OUTSTANDING current and past catechists we have here at CTR. We couldn’t be more grateful or blessed by your selfless service and care of our children and how eagerly and gracefully you have moved with us into the CGS style of formation over the past 3 years.
But we are still hopeful that some adults in our community will hear the call to seek formal catechist training/certification. Careful training of the catechists is core to the effectiveness of CGS. Rather than invest money in textbooks, the CGS method invests in training of our catechists. In order to receive official national certification as a Level I CGS catechist, (also recognized locally by the Archdiocese of the Detroit) the commitment is considerable; 90 hours of study and observation…but what a delight these hours are!
Parents, catechists, religious educators, clergy, and other interested adults are drawn to the very rich, retreat-like courses that focus on the essentials of our faith. I have yet to meet a single person who has taken the training that didn’t find it absolutely enthralling; providing a much appreciated enlivening of their own faith. There is a clarity, excitement and a kind of “falling in love” that just radiates from those who have taken the training.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is not a published program. Through the course, adults experience all the presentations that are given to the children. Led by a formation leader recognized by the national association, course participants also discuss the theological and pedagogical principles that undergird the children’s presentations. During the training, each catechist is guided in writing his or her own album of lesson presentations. This leads to considerable investment in time and labor by each catechist but also remarkable "ownership" of the material.
The catechist's role is to prepare the environment for the children and to present materials that encourage the children to respond to God's love. To that end, our CGS atria resemble retreat centers for adults, but the furnishings are scaled to the size of the child. One of the foundations of CGS is that God and the child have a unique relationship with one another and that the growth of this relationship should be assisted by the adult, but is directed by the Spirit of God within the child. The catechist serves as a co-witness with the children, listening to them and with them as they ask, "Who are You, God?" and "How do You love us?" The catechist is the initial go-between in this relationship through the presentations and dialogues during prayer time. The catechist suggests meditative questions that come from the Bible stories or parables for the children to grasp and hold in their hearts. These conversations together with the prepared environment help to foster the children's relationship with God as they express themselves through art, songs, and prayers.
"If we want to help the child grow near to God, we should, with patience and courage, seek to go always closer to the vital nucleus of things. This requires study and prayer. The child her/himself will be our teacher if we know how to observe him/her.”
In a word, we need: CATECHISTS. More specifically, catechists formally trained in the CGS method.
Before I elaborate, I want to express how INCREDIBLY thankful we are for the OUTSTANDING current and past catechists we have here at CTR. We couldn’t be more grateful or blessed by your selfless service and care of our children and how eagerly and gracefully you have moved with us into the CGS style of formation over the past 3 years.
But we are still hopeful that some adults in our community will hear the call to seek formal catechist training/certification. Careful training of the catechists is core to the effectiveness of CGS. Rather than invest money in textbooks, the CGS method invests in training of our catechists. In order to receive official national certification as a Level I CGS catechist, (also recognized locally by the Archdiocese of the Detroit) the commitment is considerable; 90 hours of study and observation…but what a delight these hours are!
Parents, catechists, religious educators, clergy, and other interested adults are drawn to the very rich, retreat-like courses that focus on the essentials of our faith. I have yet to meet a single person who has taken the training that didn’t find it absolutely enthralling; providing a much appreciated enlivening of their own faith. There is a clarity, excitement and a kind of “falling in love” that just radiates from those who have taken the training.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is not a published program. Through the course, adults experience all the presentations that are given to the children. Led by a formation leader recognized by the national association, course participants also discuss the theological and pedagogical principles that undergird the children’s presentations. During the training, each catechist is guided in writing his or her own album of lesson presentations. This leads to considerable investment in time and labor by each catechist but also remarkable "ownership" of the material.
The catechist's role is to prepare the environment for the children and to present materials that encourage the children to respond to God's love. To that end, our CGS atria resemble retreat centers for adults, but the furnishings are scaled to the size of the child. One of the foundations of CGS is that God and the child have a unique relationship with one another and that the growth of this relationship should be assisted by the adult, but is directed by the Spirit of God within the child. The catechist serves as a co-witness with the children, listening to them and with them as they ask, "Who are You, God?" and "How do You love us?" The catechist is the initial go-between in this relationship through the presentations and dialogues during prayer time. The catechist suggests meditative questions that come from the Bible stories or parables for the children to grasp and hold in their hearts. These conversations together with the prepared environment help to foster the children's relationship with God as they express themselves through art, songs, and prayers.
"If we want to help the child grow near to God, we should, with patience and courage, seek to go always closer to the vital nucleus of things. This requires study and prayer. The child her/himself will be our teacher if we know how to observe him/her.”
If you are interested in taking Level I training, please contact Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org and/or visit www.cgsusa.org for more information.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)