Maryvale Institute

Higher Institute of Religious Sciences

in collaboration with the

Diocese of Shrewsbury

2013 - 14

Certificate and Diploma

In the

New Evangelisation and Family Ministry

New Evangelisation and Youth Ministry

New Evangelisation and Parish Ministry

New Evangelisation and Ministry to the Sick

Copyright: Maryvale Higher Institute of Religious Sciences

February 2013
Contents

1. Basic programme information

Distance-learning

Those involved

Who are the courses for?

Aims and outcomes of the courses

Module 1: Foundations for the New Evangelisation and Ministry

1. Pathway in New Evangelisation and Ministry for the Family

Module 1: Foundation module

Module 2: Family Ministry and Evangelisation in the Home

Module 3: Family Ministry and Evangelisation to the World

2. Pathway in New Evangelisation and Ministry for Youth

Module 1: Foundation module

Module 2: Evangelisation Principles for Current Youth Culture

Module 3: Evangelisation Skills for Current Youth Culture

3. Pathway in New Evangelisation and Ministry for the Parish

Module 1: Foundation module

Module 2: Parish Evangelisation and Ministry 1

Module 3: Parish Evangelisation and Ministry 2

4. Pathway in New Evangelisation and Ministry for the Sick

Module 1: Foundation module

Module 2: Evangelisation and Ministry to the Sick 1

Module 3: Evangelisation and Ministry to the Sick 2

Assessment

Entry requirements

Course costs

How to apply

1. Basic programme information

Whichever one of the four pathways in the New Evangelisation and Ministry you are interested in, they are all offered as one-year, distance-learning courses by Maryvale Institute starting on Saturday January 18, 2014.

Distance-learning

Distance-learning means that most of your study and learning is done at home in your own setting. This is important because the course is designed to help you precisely in your family, your parish, your community, your situation.

Each pathway consists of three modules. A module consists of a specially prepared coursebook to help you with everything you need to study and learn at home. A module also includes an initial day or days at Maryvale Institute which introduce you to the module coursebooks and enable you to meet your fellow participants on the course, as well as the staff at Maryvale Institute.

Each module would normally take12 weeks of home study, as long as you can set aside about 5 hours a week. If you cannot set aside this much time the module will take a little longer for you to complete.

The courses have one common foundational module that explores ‘At the Beginning of the New Millennium’ (Novo Millenio Ineunte) by John Paul II. You choose the pathway you are interested in - Youth, Parish, Family, or Ministry to the Sickand there are two further modules written especially for the pathway you choose.

The Certificate is intended for those who assist, or would like to assist, in one of the areas of the particular pathways.

The Diploma is for those who lead, or aspire to lead, in one of the areas of the particular pathways.

The same modules are followed for the Certificate and the Diploma but the work is assessed at a higher standard for Diploma level.

The foundational module for all is called‘Foundations for the New Evangelisation and Ministry’. This is based on the marvellously inspiring and practical letter of Pope Paul II giving his desires and guidelines for ministry and evangelisation at the start of this new Millennium.

The specific pathway modules give you knowledge and understanding of the principles for working in the pathway area. The guidance and principles given are drawn from the Bible and the teaching of the Church.

These modules also guide you in the practice and development of skills and help you to reflect from a Christian point of view on what you do. Written exercises on this are gathered in a portfolio of work.

Those involved

All the pathways of this course have been developed by a team of practitioners in evangelisation and ministry in the different areas:

  • the foundation module was written, and guidance given, by Mgr Keith Barltrop, former Director of the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
  • for the Youth pathway, special guidance was given by Michelle Moran and Fr Simon Penhaligon of the Sion Community and updating since the original by Teresa Kehoe, the Course Director and trustee of the Kenelm Trust, the youth board of the Archdiocese of Birmingham
  • for the Family pathway, special guidance was given by Elizabeth Davies (the Bethany Institute for the Family), Dr. Petroc Willey (Deputy Director of the Maryvale Institute) and Mary Killeen(Director of the Department for Marriage and Family, Maryvale Institute)
  • for the Parish, special guidance was given by members of the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE), particularly Clare Ford (formerly of CASE) and the Nichola Hurley, the Advisor for Evangelisation for the Archdiocese of Birmingham
  • for the ministry to the sick pathway, special guidance was given by the Advisor to the Archdiocese of Birmingham’s Advisor on Health Care, who is also an experienced Hospital Chaplain, Fr. Jeremy Howard, and a number of his team
  • many others in diocesan positions, experienced in parish and diocesan-based ministry and evangelisation programmes were involved in the consultation, including staff of Maryvale Institute, who are leaders in successful study by distance-learning in the Church.

Who are the courses for?

  • All parishioners and especially those working in parish ministries in the areas of ministry to the sick, evangelisation, youth, and family
  • Those involved with parish groups, such as prayer groups, SVP, Legion of Mary, Justice and Peace groups, and so on
  • Parents, who have a key role in the evangelisation of, and ministry towards, their children
  • Those involved in ministry at a supra-parish level: those in deanery or diocesan positions; chaplains and visitors in hospitals and schools and prisons, youth ministers in diocesan centres, deanery catechists working with youth and families
  • Those caring for family members at home and those working in Hospitals, Care Homes and Schools etc.
  • Members of Religious Communities, Priests, Brothers, Sisters and members of New Communities, at all levels, from leaders of communities to those offering their commitment and service for a limited period

Aims and outcomes of the courses

At Diploma level, the courses encourage, and provide opportunities for, you to:

  • develop an understanding and appreciation of the Church’s spiritual resources, and reflect sensitively upon the significance of these for your own development and for those with whom you are working
  • know and understand the key pastoral principles which underpin ministry in the Catholic Church, and their application to particular areas of ministry
  • understand the nature and significance of evangelisation in the mission of the Church, together with the range of skills needed for the work of evangelisation in a variety of settings
  • acquire a comprehensive and detailed understanding of John Paul II’s document, Novo Millennio Ineunte and its significance for the mission of the Church
  • gain the knowledge, understanding, qualities and skills needed to be able to exercise responsibility in ministry and evangelisation

At Certificate level, the courses encourage, and provide opportunities for you to:

  • begin to develop an understanding and appreciation of the Church’s spiritual resources, for your own development and for those with whom you are working
  • know and begin to develop an understanding of the key pastoral principles which underpin ministry in the Catholic Church, and their application to particular areas of ministry
  • acquire a broad understanding of Novo Millennio Ineunte and its significance for the mission of the Church
  • begin to understand the nature and significance of evangelisation in the mission of the Church, together with some of the skills needed for the work of evangelisation in a particular setting
  • gain the knowledge, understanding, qualities and skills needed to be able to participate in ministry and evangelisation

Module 1: Foundations for New Evangelisation and Ministry

This presents the late Pope John Paul II’s overall vision for all pastoral action and work in the Church. It looks especially at the basic proclamation of the Gospel, at the call to holiness which is directed to all in the Church, and at the imperative of evangelisation and mission. The centre of this module is a contemplation of the face of Christ, Crucified and Risen, and the module helps us to see all work in the Church in the context of drawing people into communion and faith in Christ. This module is a pre-requisite for taking a specialist double-module.

1. Pathway in New Evangelisation and Ministry for the Family

Module 1: Foundation module

See above for details of this module.

Module 2: Family Ministry and Evangelisation in the Home

This module examines the importance of life within the Christian family home as a context for developing ministry and evangelisation. The Christian family is often described as the domestic church; this module provides a framework for exploring the major themes connecting the family to the broader church.

The course book examines some major themes in Christian family life: both spirituality and the threefold mission of the baptized Christian are put into the context of family life. The connections between family communication and communication with God are explored and the group dynamic of family life is examined, with reference to the life of the Trinity and the model of the Church as one body. Other chapters look at marriage and parenting. A basic theology of the Sacrament of Marriage is offered and the importance of parents developing their relationship with God is explored. The module also contains a section on the celebratory life of the family.

Module 3: Family Ministry and Evangelisation to the World

This module situates family ministry and evangelisation in the world outside the home. The relationship between individual families and the world in which they live is often one of tension and some ambivalence; this is explored along with the particular calling of the Christian family to minister and witness to the world, drawing on the documents of the Church.

The course book examines the impact of the wider world on individual families and the advantages of adopting a ‘preferential option’ for the family, particularly within the Church. Having explored some of the characteristics of the domestic church in the previous module, we also examine the particular ways in which this theology has been expressed. The module concludes with a practical examination of the techniques of family-centred parish renewal and the support that parishes can offer families in crisis.

2. Pathway in New Evangelisation and Ministry for Youth

Module 1: Foundation module

See above for details of this module.

Module 2: Evangelisation Principles for Current Youth Culture

This module looks at the relationship between evangelisation and young people. There is an examination of young people in the Church and the current trend towards believing without belonging.

The student is referred to Scripture, Church teaching and some recent studies in contemporary youth culture. These provide a foundation for examination of Catholic approaches to the evangelisation of young people. In light of this, effective ways of reaching young people with the Gospel message are explored.

Module 3: Evangelisation Skills for Current Youth Culture

This module explores links between catechesis and evangelisation. Drawing upon studies in faith development, the student is encouraged to recognise the uniqueness of each person’s faith journey, whilst reflecting upon their own story and its place in the evangelisation of others.

The module has a strong skills base to enable the student to evangelise young people. It focuses upon essential tools, which will enable youth leaders to communicate the Gospel effectively.

3. Pathway in New Evangelisation and Ministry for the Parish

Module 1: Foundation module

See above for details of this module.

Module 2: Parish Evangelisation and Ministry 1

This module aims to deepen and expand students’ personal understanding of the Gospel message and how to prepare and share their own and the Church’s journey of faith. The module encourages and deepens the students’ reliance on prayer as the basic foundation for all evangelisation projects.

Module 3: Parish Evangelisation and Ministry 2

This module looks more specifically at methods of evangelisation in parishes, helping students to gain the necessary skills to take up the responsibilityof sharing in, or helping to lead, evangelisation in the parish. A number of models for parish evangelisation are considered, and parish structures examined for ways of using these to bring about a new evangelisation. The module also includes an understanding of the importance of the family, as both recipients and sharers in evangelisation.

4. Pathway in New Evangelisation and Ministry for the Sick

Module 1: Foundation module

See above for details of this module.

Module 2: Evangelisation and Ministry to the Sick 1

This module seeks to provide a solid background for those wishing to reflect upon their existing ministry to the sick or who are contemplating becoming involved in it. Students are referred mainly to Scripture and papal documents, which examine the meaning of suffering and explore the modern ethical context of sickness and suffering.

Consideration is given to the meaning of suffering and death. A basic ethical framework is given concentrating on the choice between the Gospel of Life and the Culture of Death. The difference between spiritual and religious care is discussed and the module concludes with a consideration of Sacramental and non-sacramental ministry to the sick.

Module 3: Evangelisation and Ministry to the Sick 2

This module seeks to move the reflection begun in the first module into the practical context of visiting the sick in various settings including private homes, hospitals and homes for the elderly and the sick. Basic listening and communication skills are explained and discussed. The impact of our own experience of death and sickness is explored.

The content of the Church’s ministry to the sick is analysed, with a consideration of the vital role of the Sacraments as well as ministry to those who have fallen away from the practice of their faith, to other Christians and to members of other faiths.

Students are encouraged to prepare prayerfully and carefully for visits and to be aware of their need for support in an often-stressful setting.

Books for the course

The course recommends only really good books! In this way, you receive a valuable guide about great books, either to read during the course or at some time in your life.

For each module the main texts which are essential reading will be provided for you. These will normally be selections form Church teaching and other key materials.

There are, however, two essential texts that you will need in order to do the course. For the first module and for all the pathways you will need:

  • the Holy Bible
  • the Catechism of the Catholic Church

There is a recommended reading list for the Catholic Youth Ministry pathway which can be obtained upon request prior to the start of the course. If you wish to receive this list please email the Course Director on .

Course Calendar 2013-2014

January 18th 2014A Saturday to introduce Module 1

January – MayStudy of module 1

May 31st 2014Saturday to introduce Module 2

June - SeptemberStudy of Module 2

September 13th 2014Saturday to introduce Module 3

September - DecemberStudy of Module 3 and completion of course

Placement

Students undertake a ‘placement’ during the period when they are studying the specialist, pathway modules. This will not normally be a formal arrangement, but rather a way of stressing the importance of having a ‘setting’ within which you can be carrying out activities related to what you are studying. ‘Placement’ here, then, corresponds to the arena of work relevant for particular pathways and may include family or parish life, work in a youth centre or hospital, and so on.

If you are following the family pathway, for instance, you will need to be reflecting upon family life around you and, if you are taking the Diploma, be able to work with the parish priest in preparing some family-related items. If you are taking the course in evangelisation and ministry to the sick you will want to be visiting and supporting the sick in some way, perhaps as an Extraordinary Minister of Communion for your parish, or as a hospital visitor as part of a chaplaincy team. The difference between taking a Certificate and a Diploma is partly reflected in the kind of work you will be able to undertake and upon which you will be reflecting: those taking the Certificate are assisting or helping in the area in which they are studying; those taking the Diploma are exercising more of a leadership role. You will see that the application form asks you to identify the kind of setting within which you will be working. If you are not sure as to whether you should be applying for the Certificate or the Diploma do contact the Course Director who will be able to advise you.