Upcoming Evangelization Webinars

Paulist Evangelization Ministries is offering two online courses in April:

Faith That Engages: Why Do You Believe? April 16 - May 13 (4 sessions)

This four-session course, with Fr. Tony Krisak, explains why we need to develop new ways to talk about our faith and to explain to others why we believe. You mak know the faith, but can you explain it so others understand? The course also offers practical suggestions for how parishes can shape their current programs to reach seekers, those who have questions about human life. You will learn a way of sharing and explaining faith (often called apologetics) in a way that will help others see the enefit of faith and in a way that touches upon the longings of people in our culture.

Keys to Reaching Inactive Catholics April 16 - May 27

Over this six-week course, John and Therese Bocher will discuss ways to reach today's inactive, marginal and unchurched Catholics. They will explore six keys for develping a new model of everyday missionary outreach that goes beyond programs and relies on God's presence in each person's journey of faith.

For more information, or to register, go to www.pemdc.org.

Finding God Video Contest

Loyola Press is inviting schools and parishes to enter the Finding God Video Contest by submitting short videos answering the question: Where do you find God? Online voting will determine the winners, who will be announced at the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership on May 8th.

The contest encourages children to see God's presence in their everyday lives. Gather your students to create a short video.

• First prize: Parish-wide adoption of the new edition of Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts (grades 1-6)
• Second prize: $1,000 Loyola Press product gift certificate
• Third prize: $500 Loyola Press product gift certificate

Videos must be at least thirty seconds in length and no longer than 2 minutes. Parish staff members must upload entries at www.FindingGod.com/contest by April 20.

For more information about the contest, you can check out the website, http://iframe.wizehive.com/contests/finding-god-video-contest.

Celebrate Religious Education Month

November is Celebrate Religious Education Month for all of New England. Look for a special section of the Catholic Transcript's November publication for articles and stories.

For clip art, suggestions on how to celebrate, go to www.orehartford.org and www.catholicnh.org/education/religious-education/rem/

Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children

The Archdiocese of Hartford is participating in the Family Day Dinner, initiated by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Statistics show that children and adolescents are much less likely to abuse alcohol, drugs and tobacco when their families regularly share meals together.

This is an opportunity for families throughout the Archdiocese to come together for a meal on Monday, September 26, 2011. We are encouraging every family in the Archdiocese to take the time to be together, share a meal, and enjoy each other's company.

Check out our website - http://www.orehartford.org/ - which includes suggestions for parish religious education programs (in English and Spanish) and copies of a poster (8 1/2 by 11) (also in English and Spanish). The Archdiocesan website - http://www.archdioceseofhartford.org/ - contains copies of Archbishop Mansell's letter to parishes, prayers, bulletin notices, homily hints, and other helpful articles.

Let us know how it is implemented in your parish. We would like to feature some families in the various publications of the Archdiocese. Contact Pat Keck - pkeck@adh-ore.org or 860-243-9465 - with the names of families who would be interested in sharing their experiences of Family Day.

Early Childhood Religion Readiness Webinar

A webinar for kindergarten teachers, pre-school catechists, teachers, principals and catechetical leaders on early childhood religious education will be presented Wednesday, September 21, 3:30-5 pm (EST) and repeating Saturday, September 24, 11 am-12:30 pm (EST).

The event is the first in a series hosted by RCL Benzier.

The webinar will be offered by faculty from the University of Dayton's early childhood program and from the university's early childhood demonstration school, the Bombeck Family Learning Center.

Each webinar session is limited to 100 computers. Catechists, DREs, parents, teachers and pastors are encouraged to gather in locales to view the webinar as a group.

Registration will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

The deadline for registration is September 16. If interested, send an email to Dan Mulhall, dmulhall@rclbenziger.com, to receive a webinar invitation and access code. Participants will need access to a computer with speakers and be able to receive downloads in a timely manner.

Catechetical Sunday

Catechetical Sunday is being celebrated across the country on September 18, 2011.



The theme this year is "Do This in Memory of Me".



Free downloadable resources (clipart, poster, commissioning ceremony, homily hints, bulletin notices, articles, in-services for catechists/teachers, prayers, intergenerational retreat, etc.) are available at http://www.usccb.org/ and look for "Catechetical Sunday" in the right column.



This is a wonderful opportunity to honor your catechists and better catechize the whole parish on The Eucharist.

Getting Started as a Catechist - Free Webinars

As the new catechetical year approaches, catechists are focusing their attention on how to best engage their students in faith formation. In the United States alone, roughly 150,000 catechists are new to the job each year! With that in mind, Joe Paprocki (remember him? - he was our keynoter at last year's Congress) will once again be hosting a series of free Webinars through Loyola Press called "Getting Started as a Catechist."



He will be hosting four webinars in the series, each focused on teaching a different age group. All will air from 8 pm to 9 pm, EST.

• August 17 (teaching primary age children, grades 1-3)




• August 24 (teaching intermediate age children, grades 4-7)




• August 30 (teaching junior high and high school)




• September 6 (teaching adult faith formation)

In these webinars, you will look at the basic skills of being a catechist, how to plan effective lessons, ways to lead compelling prayer, tips on how to organize a variety of activities, and how to maintain order and discipline in the learning environment, in addition to other topics, all tailored to the specific age group you are preparing to teach.

These webinars are free and give catechists, and those interested in becoming catechists, the opportunity to learn more about this wonderful vocation from the comfort of your own computer.

For more information or to register, or to see what else Joe has to offer, go to his blog - http://www.catechistsjourney.com/.

Getting Started as a Catechist - Free Webinars!

New England Convocation for Catechetical Leadership

Last chance to register!!!




The biennial New England Convocation for Catechetical Leadership is being held at the Springfield, MA Marriott on August 5-7, 2011 (Note: there is a Pre-Convocation on RCIA on August 4-5.


Eight good reasons to be at the Convocation:

• One day registrations - come either Friday, Saturday or Sunday only - meals and events and parking included in the one day




• Great speakers of international renown (e.g. John Allen, Vatican Correspondent and author). You don't need to travel any farther than Springfield for this opportunity




• Multicultural perspective - speakers in Spanish and simultaneous translation available




• Bishop Richard Malone will facilitate the panel discussion on Saturday about the future of Religious Education




• Wonderful opportunities for conversation about pastoral work




• Great food!




• Camaraderie with those of us who "labor in the vineyards" of New England




• And most importantly, we will miss you if you don't come - your perspective will be missing.

Please consider being with us, and bringing or encouraging staff members or parish members who would benefit from this.

Go to http://www.necddre.org/ for copies of the brochure and registration forms

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