In mid-March Bishop Dennis Sullivan closed all of the Catholic schools in the diocese. A little less than a week ago, Gov. Murphy ordered the closure of all of the New Jersey schools. This, of course, meant the cessation of all parish-based religious education classes for our children in public schools. Like our school principals, our parish catechetical leaders (PCLs) were confronted with a problem they had never faced before. How do they maintain contact with families, offering support and direction at a time when many parents are already overwhelmed assuming the new role of being their child’s academic school teacher and primary catechist?
While the publishers of most of the religion series have been very generous with online access to all of their materials, the question still remained, how can we help parents navigate this “new normal”?
Mary Lou Hughes, co-director of Faith and Family Life Formation, and I invited all of the parish catechetical leaders to join us in weekly online brainstorming to share what they are doing to support the families in their parishes. These virtual meetings have opened up a new horizon in the area of faith formation.
Yes, each Parish Catechetical Leader helped parents stay abreast of weekly lessons that have not been covered by making sure they had the information to log onto their publisher’s website and utilize the family materials for each lesson. Fortunately, publishers have been developing online family materials for the past several years, so parents have a rich resource to support them.
But, PCLs are also aware that formation is as much about integrating experience as it is about memorizing material. So, they wanted to embrace the opportunity to support and to help strengthen the domestic church while, at the same time, keeping families connected to their parish faith communities. These PCLs are reaching out to their families, offering simple ways to recognize and celebrate the sacredness of everyday family life. As an example, Anita D’Imperio from Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, Haddon Township, invited parents to create a journal of blessings where they can record all of the daily blessings received as a family and share them with each other.
Realizing the added stress on parents with this “new normal,” Mary Ann Exler, from Saint Charles Borromeo Parish, Sicklerville, invited parents to take some time for themselves by introducing meditation through coloring. She posted the directions on the parish Facebook page for easy access. This same parish invited families to create their own stations of the cross and send them in. The parish will edit and compose the stations and pray them online one of the Fridays in Lent.
Jim Hemshoot from Saint Andrew the Apostle, Gibbsboro, partnered Google Classroom with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd posting the Bible stories online with reflection questions for the families. Julia LaRosa from Holy Family, Sewell, sent activities home, inviting families to do what they can and send pictures in to post on the parish Facebook page. Jessica Gettings from Saint Joseph’s Parish, Somers Point, invited families to participate in a drop off food collection for their parish food pantry.
Sacramental Preparation has also been a challenge. In-person sacramental retreats for confirmation and first Eucharist were suddenly cancelled. Again, creativity and the gift of the internet became invaluable assets. Many of our parish catechetical leaders have created online retreats, using such resources as the three-minute retreat from Loyola, YouTube videos and reflections.
Now, more than ever, our Parish Catechetical Leaders have realized that their role has shifted from being the formator of children to the coach for the parents. The drop off mentality of leaving our children at church for one hour and returning to pick up Catholics (Dr. Thomas Groome, Boston College) no longer exists. Rather, the most recent events have challenged our parish catechetical leaders to become accompanists, walking in faith with each of the families of their parish, helping them to walk more firmly in faith until we all celebrate again around the Eucharistic Table.
Sister Kathy Burton, SSJ, is co-director of Faith and Family Life Formation, Diocese of Camden.
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