Family catechesis program strengthens family and pastorate bonds

By Laura Iunghuhn for The Catholic Moment

We often talk about the domestic church as a form of children’s catechesis. We also seek
opportunities for adult catechesis – prayer groups, bible studies, or service opportunities. Yet, the
term “family catechesis” is less frequently discussed and feels like a newer concept.

However, family catechesis occurs within the family during all stages of life; as parents,
children, and siblings interact with one another, they learn to love, the root of Christ’s Gospel.
Therefore, St. John Paul II writes in Catechesi Tradendae, family catechesis “precedes,
accompanies and enriches all forms of catechesis.”

Since family catechesis occurs alongside other types of catechesis, a family’s relationship with
Christ is further strengthened with the help of a Christian community. Most of us find this within
our home parishes or pastorates. By developing family catechesis programs, parishes can help
families learn to discuss their faith together, establish ongoing faith practices within family life,
strengthen the relationship between the family and the Church, and integrate the family into the
parish community.

St. Patrick and St. Joan of Arc are in the midst of their third year of family catechesis, which has
replaced the traditional CCD program. Overseen by Tami Maurer, the SRE Ministries
Coordinator, and her team, the pastorate has been blessed by the program’s fruits.

Tami Maurer works part-time as the Kokomo pastorate’s SRE Ministries Coordinator and full-
time as a Kindergarten teacher at Eastern Elementary School. When Maurer and her family
moved to Greentown, they joined St. Joan of Arc, and when her children were both old enough
for religious education, Maurer and her husband became catechists. “Becoming a catechist
helped me go back to how I first began my teaching career,” Maurer shared. “Sharing my faith
with children was a part of teaching for the Catholic school that I missed.”

When the position for SRE Ministries Coordinator opened, Maurer felt called to apply. “I
believed my organizational skills, understanding of curriculum, and lesson planning abilities
would be beneficial to the position,” she explained. Maurer accepted the job in 2012.

At that time, Maurer worked solely at St. Joan of Arc and only collaborated with St. Patrick for
the summer Vacation Bible School Program. However, with the creation of the pastorate, other
staff members seeking job opportunities elsewhere, and COVID, “my job has morphed,” Maurer
said, “and now I oversee SRE and Sacramental Prep classes for the entire Kokomo Catholic
Community.”

In her position, Maurer hopes to provide opportunities and resources for all members of the
pastorate – families, adults, and children – to grow in their faith. A key element of this was to
align the religious education programs across both parishes to create consistency pastorate-wide.
“Chad Grube, our Associate Director of Fatih Formation, drafted a plan that focused on adults,
parents, kindergarten to eighth graders, and high school students,” Maurer recalled. “We were
tweaking it when COVID hit.”
During church closures, Maurer and her team worked to ensure that online resources were
available to families to assist a family’s catechism at home. “We had a specific topic for each
month,” Maurer said, “and knew we wanted to improve on this format once we were able to be
face to face again with our parishioners.”

Once COVID restrictions were reduced, Maurer met with Therese Bath, Director of
Evangelization; Chad Grube; Fr. Shocklee, pastor; school administrators; and the high school
youth group director to develop a family catechesis program. “Father Shocklee was able to share
what his previous parish had implemented,” Maurer said, “and with his help, we were able to
come up with a program for our pastorate.”

Switching from a traditional CCD program to a family catechesis model better helps families live
and teach the faith as part of daily life, rather than setting it apart as church-based or classroom-
based. “Many parents don't feel prepared to teach different aspects of the faith to their children,”
Fr. Shocklee pointed out, “and through family-centered catechesis, we are aiming to give parents
the preparation they need to integrate the faith into their daily family life.”

For the program’s first year, the Kokomo pastorate adopted Loyola Press’s Family Catechesis
textbook to provide a starting point and resource for the catechists. “This helped us to see how
we could implement content and how to intertwine the topics being presented so that it was
beneficial for the parents and the children,” Maurer explained.

The following year, Maurer and her team revised the program so that it would better fit the
pastorate’s needs and goals. Now in its third year, the team determines a topic for each month
and compiles the most effective resources to offer families. Maurer works through the sequence
and scope of information for each grade level (K-8) to guide families in catechesis at home. “I
then write lesson plans for my catechists to use on the Sundays that we meet that focus on that
same topic, as well,” Maurer said.

Families then meet as a large group once per month, attending a session at either parish. Some
families prefer to attend at their home parish and others move between the two, depending on
scheduling. At the large group sessions, attendees are separated by age, and education centers on
a presenter, a video from the Formed website, small group discussions, or even a board game.
Parents attend a specialized lesson as well.

Parent-centered education is an essential part of ensuring ongoing catechesis. The General

Directory for Catechesis reminds us of the attention that must be given to this group of
parishioners: “By means of personal contact, meetings, courses and also adult catechesis directed
toward parents, the Christian community must help them assume their responsibility…of
educating their children in the faith” (227).

Parents at the Kokomo pastorate have appreciated the opportunity to speak with other adults
about their faith, learn from each other, and share ideas on faith formation within the family.
“I’ve seen parents gaining confidence in their understanding of the faith,” Fr. Shocklee shared,
“and a few parents have told me about creative ways they did something as a family to reinforce
the month's topic.”

In the weeks between the large group sessions, Maurer and her team provide online resources for
Sunday Gospel reflections and materials that relate to the month’s topic. “I hope that we are
giving our families lots of resources to grow in their faith together,” Maurer said.

Creating a pastorate-wide family catechesis program not only helps families live Christ-centered
lives together, but it also provides an opportunity to build fellowship between the communities at
St. Joan of Arc and St. Patrick. “Sometimes parishioners have known families from the other
parish but didn't realize they were Catholic, so there has been that opportunity for connection,”
Fr. Shocklee said.

When relying on a classroom-based catechetical program, there is the danger of forgetting that
faith formation is a lifelong effort. Catechesis does not end with Confirmation but continues as
we enter into each new stage of life. A family catechesis program, therefore, has the potential to
impact and shape family life so that is Christ-centered and serves as a foundation of faith for all
its members. “Together, we are pushed to learn and grow, becoming stronger in our faith,”
Maurer said.