Catechetical Sunday is this weekend, the unofficial kick-off to another year of religious education, and parish catechetical leaders (PCLs) in the Diocese of Camden have already been at work and preparing for these unprecedented days. The mission remains constant: to help others encounter Christ and his meaning for their lives.
“These leaders have not lost contact with their communities” throughout the crises that began in March, when COVID-19 necessitated the closing of parishes, said Mary Lou Hughes, director of Lifelong Faith Formation for the Diocese of Camden.
Indeed, as she says, “the church has not been closed, but has been deployed. The PCLs are being supportive and present to parish families.”
Soon parish communities will begin their fall religious education programs.
Hughes and the 62 PCLs throughout the six counties of South Jersey have been discovering ways “to best meet our people,” and she praised the imagination of catechists that has been strengthening the domestic church.
Portions of the one-week virtual summer classes offered by Absecon’s Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish have been beneficial for not only students in first through eighth, but also older parishioners, says Diane Keenan, the parish’s PCL.
Each morning, the parish priests —Father Cosme de la Pena, pastor, and Father Josh Nevitt, parochial vicar — appeared on Facebook’s livestream to preach on a topic related to Catholicism, or provide insight on the physical church or on parts of the Mass.
It was these programs on the church or Mass which connected with generations of her parish’s Catholics, Keenan says.
“We’ve found many blessings” through the different creative ways the parish is providing formation and sacraments to students, she said.
The usual first Communion ceremony in the spring was held during four separate Masses last June to allow for social distancing. A joint backpack blessing/Mary crowning on the Blessed Mother’s birthday took place on Sept. 8, outdoors. On the last day of the summer religious education programs, the traditional rite of the pastor giving out Dairy Queen bars to students was replaced by parents and their children making their own trips to the ice cream shop, with the cold treats still provided by the parish.
Virtual fall classes for Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s 187 first- through eighth-graders begin next week.
On Catechetical Sunday, families will arrive at the parish to pick up their books for the semester and meet and be greeted by — from a distance — parish catechists.
When restrictions hit the parish community of Sewell’s Holy Family, its Office of Faith Formation created “pastoral, family faith-focused” programs, says Julianne LaRosa, the parish’s director of Faith Formation.
Monthly, grade-appropriate formation bags have been distributed to families, with fun activities for parents and children to complete together, like baking a cake for Mary’s birthday, or making apple crisp on the feast of Saint Crispin.
LaRosa’s catechists have “shown their dedication and commitment” through this time. “There’s been a lot of prayer and preparation. It’s a team effort,” she said.
She praised parish parents who are “learning, living and embracing the faith with their children,” and have told her even “how much they’ve learned” with their children.
“They’re living out their baptismal promises,” she said.
Father James Bartoloma, pastor, has been “the key” to what Holy Family is doing currently, she emphasized. “His support has been very instrumental.”
The parish’s fall religious education curriculum, which begins next month, includes a mix of online classwork, textbook material and parish-developed programs, LaRosa says. Families have the option of participating in a weekly virtual parish-guided program, or a monthly home-based model.
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