Five parishes merge religious education and energy

When some young Catholics in Schenectady begin religious education classes this fall, they may be surprised by the crowd joining them for instruction.

Three hundred children and teens from five parishes will meet up for weekly religious instruction at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady.

The program will serve young people from Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Adalbert’s, St. Joseph’s, St. John the Baptist, and St. Luke’s. 

The merger has been in the works for 18 months, prompted by the Diocesan pastoral planning process, Called to be Church.

“We began meeting as a Local Planning Group,” said Doreen Wright, coordinator of faith formation at St. Luke’s. “We worked on a common policy, mission, and registration. We researched publishers. We worked morning, noon and night.”

Best lessons

The new program, Mrs. Wright and others said, takes the best practices of each of the five parishes involved and melds them into one program.

“Everybody gets to do what they like to do the best,” said Donna Simone, religious education coordinator for St. Joseph’s and St. John the Baptist. The new program gives the young people the opportunity to experience the Church in a larger setting with more peers. 

Mrs. Simone said between St. Joseph’s and St. John the Baptist, she worked with a total of 25 children and teens. Compare that to the 300 young people registered for the new program, which Mrs. Wright called a welcome crowd.

“We can offer more opportunities,” she said. “It’s going to be a vibrant program.”
The larger number of participants has other benefits, explained Jackie Burgoyne, pastoral associate for faith formation at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Adalbert’s.
“The children can see that as Catholics we all do the same thing,” she said. “We all believe the same thing.”

There are many aspects of the new program that excite Mrs. Wright. The location is one. There is enough space at the school to allow all age groups to meet on the same night; a chapel; and space for the parents to wait.

Whole family

In some of the parish programs, parents would just drop off their children and come back to pick them up. Since parents can now be present, Mrs. Wright said the program will also offer faith formation opportunities for adults.

“This will be a very family-friendly program,” Mrs. Wright said. 

The new program will also offer more opportunities for youth ministry, Mrs. Wright said.
With the five parishes working together, speakers can be brought in, prayer services held and service and outreach performed.

While organizers are enthusiastic about the new program, they acknowledge that change can be difficult at first.

“The biggest difference for our program is that it is not in one of the home parishes,” Miss Burgoyne said.  “It’s hard initially because we’re used to staying in our own parish.”

Jump start

When the Called to Be Church process began, the Local Planning Group set 2009 as the year that the faith formation programs would begin a collaborative program. Miss Burgoyne said the plan was accelerated when the Schenectady City School District leased both St. Luke’s and St. Adalbert’s former school buildings.

Those involved in the planning are looking forward to using Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons.  “It’s located in a good spot with parking,” Mrs. Simone said. “It’s a beautiful building.”

Mrs. Wright said that Michael Piatek, principal of ND-BG, has eased the transition. She noted that he is giving them space to store chairs for preschool students and space for mailboxes for the catechists.

“The principal has been phenomenal,” she said. “He’s been very hospitable.”
The new collaborative faith formation program will begin with a prayer service on September 22 at 6:30 in the gym at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School.

(9/18/08)