The Office of Evangelization and Discipleship (OED) held its fourth and final catechetical institute parish implementation workshop January 14 at the Catholic Center in Raleigh.
Last year, the diocese entered into a partnership with the Franciscan University’s catechesis program in order to offer support and education to catechists throughout the diocese.
Dubbed ‘an online hub for local learning,’ the Catechetical Institute is an online educational resource for all catechists, from clergy to volunteers. Within the program, catechists can become certified, they can be trained as mentors, and they can find a wealth of educational and practical resources.
The partnership allows for parishes to register and, in turn, invite parishioners to take online courses. The OED officially launched the partnership program in July. At that time, understanding that most parishes had already planned their upcoming faith formation curriculum, they set a ‘modest implementation goal.’
The goal was for 30 parishes and 100 individual learners to register by the end of the 2019. That goal was surpassed, as more than 250 individual learners registered from 34 parishes.
Terrie Baldwin, Adult Formation Coordinator, says, “There is still plenty of work to be done. Many people have registered, but most of those are not actively taking courses.”
These parish implementation workshops sought to address that issue. The four workshops were held in Fayetteville, Wilmington, Tar River and Raleigh and were geared toward parish directors of religious education and other faith formation leaders.
Baldwin led the workshop in Raleigh, where faith formation leaders from Durham to New Bern gathered for the training. The passion these leaders had for helping people within their parishes grow in knowledge and love of their faith was palpable. This training gave them a step-by-step implementation plan that would help them increase awareness of the opportunity within their parishes.
Those in attendance lauded the many benefits of the resource they have already witnessed, including:
- The program is free for users. The parish pays an annual registration fee and then can invite an unlimited number of parishioners to register.
- Users can take catechism courses on their own time and on subjects of their choosing.
- It provides university level education with local, personal support.
- It allows for registrants and catechists to learn without the feeling of intimidation that may come with walking into a classroom.
- It provides a safe space to ask questions.
- The content is created to be relatable to the user. Questions are formed so users are encouraged to think about how the material relates to them personally.
- Program tracks are for more than catechists; anyone who wants to learn more about their faith can find a course that is right for them.
With less than a year into this partnership, the OED is encouraged by the positive feedback and continues to work to ensure that anyone in the diocese who wants to learn more about their faith has an opportunity to do so.
To learn more about the program, visit:
