Parishes go on annual hunt for religious ed teachers

At one point, the coordinator of youth faith formation at St. John's and pastoral associate for faith formation at St. Joseph's needed four catechists for this year; announcements in the bulletin and from the pulpit helped fill two of these spots.

Mrs. Hall wasn't worried about finding two more catechists because she's been in this situation before, and things always seem to work out.

"I have never had to begin a season without a catechist, no matter how many I needed come August," she said. "If you ask at the right time or the right way, there never seems to be a vacancy."

Help wanted

Patricia Gratton, from St. Joseph's Church in Greenfield Center, needed to replace only one catechist this year, and she will continue working with two grades as she has during her two years there.

There hasn't been a problem finding new catechists because so many of them return each year, and most don't even have children in youth faith formation.

"I only have three catechists who have children in the program," Mrs. Gratton said. "The rest are teachers in the parish who are willing to volunteer their time and concerned people who want to work with children. We're lucky because we've got great people who are willing to help." One woman comes from Clifton Park just to help prepare children for first Eucharist and Reconciliation, Mrs. Gratton pointed out.

Calling

"This is a special ministry, not just volunteer work you have to do to make the parish survive," she said. "If you choose to do this, you're touching children who are going to grow up and keep the parish alive."

She buys spiritual books and calendars for catechists to help them in their work with youth and see that faith formation is essential.

"I'm trying to do what I can to keep it vital and part of their life," she said. "I want them to know that this is what it's all about, no matter what parish you're in."

Openings

"We pray a lot, continue to put notices in the bulletin to have people come in and talk to us, and invite them to come to catechist enrichment," Sister Sheila said. "In the end, we always seem to have enough; but this is the time of the year when you start to worry."

Most catechists are parents; but even after they've moved up with their children through the program, moms and dads stay involved in other ministries.

"We're involved in all areas of faith formation, and when their children move on, sometimes they're ready to do something else, so we always have another place for them to move into," Sister Sheila said.

Catechists at St. Madeleine Sophie see their work as a vocation, not just a position to fill a need temporarily. "They are helping in the teaching ministry of the Church. It's much more than a volunteer position," she said.

Job search

"You do it a certain number of years and decide you want to do something else, or you don't have the time for it, or the time frame isn't good," she said.

Some catechists continue at the secondary level, causing vacancies at the primary level, or they decide to get involved in another ministry with their children. "I usually have to look for one or two catechists," she said, "but once in a while, you find yourself looking for a great number."

Bulletin or pulpit announcements often attract parents of children in grades in which catechists are needed or people who are new in the parish, but Mrs. Hall thinks "a personal invitation is the best way to get a new catechist. Somehow, whether it's the Holy Spirit or people's consciences, it all comes together."

Once people become catechists, most stay involved in this ministry for the long-term, Mrs. Hall pointed out.

"I accept a one-year commitment, simply because sometimes you're down to the wire and a person may have been hesitant," she said. "Most people stay three or four years, sometimes five or six years."

Filling in

"They often want to be a catechist with their child in the session, and then they move up, so there seems to be a need at different levels for that reason," Mrs. Morone said.

The idea of catechists living out a vocation and not just fulfilling a volunteer commitment is important if they are to understand their ministry fully.

"We keep hearing that because we're baptized, we're all called to promote the reign of God. But I think they have to hear the message over and over," she said. "You have to empower and let them know what it means to be a catechist."

Mrs. Morone also hopes those involved with youth faith formation no longer think of their ministry as teaching students in a classroom, but as something greater.

"We don't want them to think of it as Sunday School or CCD class, but sessions. It's an ongoing process, not just something that begins in kindergarten and ends with Confirmation," she said.

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