Foundations in Faith

Specialist Module Choices - 2012

Specialist Module 1 – 2012 / Specialist Module 2 - 2012
Tuesdays at 7:15 – 9:30pm / Tuesdays at 7:15 – 9:30pm
January 10, 17, 24, 31 February7 / February 28, March 6, 13,20, 27
Liturgy / Catechesis
Philosophy / CatholicSchools and Religious Education
Youth & Family Life Ministries / Catholic Social Teaching
Interreligious Relations
  • Please indicate on the separate sheet your first and second choice for each module.
  • There needs to be a minimum number of 6 participants for each module to run.
  • All of the specialist modules will be advertised throughout the diocese as stand alone courses.

CATECHESIS

At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father …. who suffered and died for us and who, now, after rising, is living with us forever.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 426

Tutor: Mrs Linda Pennington

Welcome to the Specialist Module for Catechists of the Foundations in Faith course. This module is for both new and experienced catechists. In this module we will explore and discuss the nature of catechesis in the light of the Scriptures, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the General Directory for Catechesis. We will discover how Jesus helped his disciples to learn about God and how we can “echo” his message and his person.

Aim of the Module

The purpose of this module is to explore what it means to be a catechist in the light of experience, the scriptures and the teachings of the Church. There will be opportunities to share good practice and to discuss strategies for catechesis.

Learning Outcomes

Participants should:

  • be able to identify some of the key features of catechesis
  • be familiar with some of the main Church documents regarding catechesis
  • know that the RCIA is the model for all catechesis
  • be able to identify some of the key principles and strategies of working with adults
  • be able to identify the differences between evangelisation, catechesis and Religious Education

Learning Process

This will include:

  • reflection on personal experience
  • related input to deepen understanding
  • the gathering of information through reading and listening
  • group discussion.

Assessment

Participants will be credited with this module upon satisfying both of the following conditions:

  • Attendance for at least 80% of the ten hours' contact time
  • Successful completion of an assignment of 1500 word based on some aspect of the content of this module and related to one or more of the identified learning outcome

Module Content

Session 1: What Is Catechesis? In this session we will explore what is meant by catechesis and what it is to be a catechist. We will spend some of the time looking at the Church’s teaching about catechesis with reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) and the General Directory of Catechesis (GDC)

Session 2: Faith Growth:A Biblical Model for Catechesis – The Resurrection Story of Jesus meeting two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) is the focus for this session. We will reflect on this passage of scripture and then explore and discuss the model of catechesis which is presented within the story.

Session 3: The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA): Model for Catechesis – We will look briefly at the history of the RCIA/Journey in Faith, explore the stages of this process and discuss how and why it is the model for all catechesis.

Session 4: Working with Adults – We will examine some of the key catechetical principles of working with groups of adults and discuss and explore strategies of leading adult groups.

Session 5: Evangelisation, Catechesis and Religious Education –

We will define and discuss what is meant by each of these three areas of the life, work and mission of a parish community.

Recommended Reading

Reference

  • Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • The General Directory for Catechesis
  • The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

General

  • The General Directory for Catechesis in plain English – Bill Huebsch
  • The Priority of Adult Formation – Catholic Bishop’s Conference
  • On the Threshold - Catholic Bishop’s Conference
  • Soil for the Seed – Jim Gallagher
  • Whole Community Catechesis – Bill Huebsch
  • Our Faith Story – Patrick Purnell
  • Toward an AdultChurch – Jane E. Regan
  • The Art of being a Catechist – Michel Salamolard & Jean-Loys Ory
  • The Prophetic Spirit of Catechesis – Anne Marie Mongoven
  • Catechesis Revisited – Liam Kelly

Assignment Titles

Please choose one. In your answer make reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the General Directory for Catechesis

  1. “At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a Person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son from the Father …. who suffered and died for us and who, now, after rising, is living with us forever.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 426) Describe the role of the catechist.
  1. Describe how the Emmaus story in Luke 24 provides an effective working model for catechesis today.
  1. Outline the process of the RCIA and explain how this model can help to inform all adult catechesis.
  1. Explain how the Parable of the Sower can help our understanding of evangelisation, catechesis, and religious education.

CATHOLICSCHOOLS AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

“That which … distinguishes a Catholic school, is that in it everything is understood as the desire to follow the example and the life of Christ.”

Tutor: Dr Chris Devanny

Welcome to the CatholicSchools and Religious Education Specialist Module which forms part of the Foundations in Faith course.

The Aim of the Module

The purpose of this module is to deepen participants’ knowledge and understanding of the nature and purpose of Catholic schools. The module will provide participants with an opportunity to reflect on the theology and Church teaching which underpins Catholic schools and to explore practical ways in which Catholic schools exercise their ministry.

Learning Outcomes

Participants’ should:

▪be able to identify the distinctive features of Catholic schools

▪understand the nature and purpose of religious education in a Catholic school

▪understand the nature of self-evaluation and know the requirements of S48 inspections

▪understand the distinctive features of Christian spirituality

▪deepen their knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures and Christian theology and symbolism

▪be able to identify the features of effective Collective Worship

Learning Process

This will include:

▪reflection on personal experience

▪relevant input to deepen understanding

▪the gathering of information through reading and listening

▪group discussion

▪written assignment

Syllabus Outline

  1. The distinctive features of Catholic schools. Explore foundation in Scripture and Church teaching. Explore contemporary challenges within and without the Church.
  2. The importance of religious education in a Catholic school. The purpose of religious education. The expectations of classroom religious education. The role of the teacher.
  3. The nature, areas and purpose of self-evaluation in a Catholic school. Outline of the inspection process in Catholic schools.
  4. The importance of the Bible for ‘western’ culture. The importance of the Bible for Christians. Using the Scriptures & art as a source of beliefs & teachings. Interpreting passages, stories & art.
  5. To explore the principles of effective Collective Worship with children.

Assessment

Participants will be credited with this module upon satisfying both of the following conditions:

▪Attendance for at least 80% of the ten hours contact time

▪Successful completion of an assignment (1500 words) based on some aspect of the content of this module and related to one or more of the

identified learning outcomes.

Module Content

Session 1: will explore the distinctive features of Catholic schools and the source of these features in Scripture and Church teaching. We will look at why the Church provides Catholic schools and the challenges to this provision both within and without the Church.

Session 2: will outline the nature and role of religious education in the Catholic school. Participants will review the expectations of good classroom RE and the importance of the teacher’s role.

Session 3: will explore the nature and purpose of self-evaluation by the leadership and management of a Catholic school. The session will explain the legal framework for inspection and why Catholic schools have two inspections.

Session 4: will explore the Scriptures & art as a source of Christian beliefs and teachings. We will explore the content of Scripture for specific beliefs and themes and interpret passages, stories & works of art.

Session 5: will set out the principles of effective Collective Worship. We will explorethe legal framework and the terminology used in the Education Acts. The session will draw attention to the Catholic understanding of worship andpresent practical ways of worshipping with children.

Reading List

Essential reading

‘Schools of Discipleship’ Guidance for Leadership and Governance in Catholic

Schools in the Diocese of Leeds. Vicariate for Evangelisation, Office for Educationand Schools, Diocese of Leeds, 2008.

‘Christ at the Centre’. A summary of why the Church provides Catholic Schools. Archdiocese of Birmingham, 2005

‘The CatholicSchool on the Threshold of the Third Millennium’. Congregation for Catholic Education, 1997

‘Religious Education in Catholic Schools’. Catholic Bishops’ Conference, 2000

Recommended reading

‘The Common Good in Education’. Catholic Education Service, 1997

‘The Religious Dimension of Education in a CatholicSchool’. Congregation for

Catholic Education, 1988

‘The CatholicSchool’. Congregation for Catholic Education, 1977

‘Guidelines for Section 48 Inspection in a CatholicSchool’. NBRIA, September 2010

‘Levels of Attainment in Religious Education in CatholicSchools and Colleges’. Bishops’ Conference, 2007

‘Theological Literacy and CatholicSchools’ Nick Weeks, 2007.

Leeds Diocesan Guidelines on Collective Worship, Diocese of Leeds website.

Worship in Catholic Schools, in Contemporary Catholic Education, Ed., Michael A. Hayes & Liam Gearon, pp. 79-90.

‘Spiritual and Moral Development across the Curriculum’, Catholic Education Service, 1995.

Don’t just do something sit there, developing children’s spiritual awareness.Mary K. Stone, RMEP, 1995.

Assignment titles

Please choose ONE of the following

  1. ‘A Catholic school should be seen as a genuine alternative.’

What are the possibilities and challenges of making this a reality?

  1. “The goal of the Catholic school is the promotion of the human person”.

Explore the meaning of this statement and its implications for Catholic schools.

  1. “That which … distinguishes a Catholic school, is that in it everything is understood as the desire to follow the example and the life of Christ.”

What are the implications of this for the Catholic school?

  1. Why is religious education so important in a Catholic school?

5. Select 3 Scripture passages/works of art and present a commentary on their Christian theology and symbolism. Explain how your selection relates to contemporary experience.

6. Produce two acts of Collective Worship each for a different year group. Usethem to outline the principles of effective Collective Worship.

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING

Tutors: Shelagh FawcettMargaret Siberry

Welcome to the ‘Catholic Social Teaching’ Module. In this module you will be inspired to learn about a God of Justice whose one desire is to Liberate all peoples so that they my experience ‘life to the full’ (John 10:10)

The key focus will be the understanding that the Church as the Body of Christ subsists within society. It therefore has the responsibility of engaging its members in renewing the face of the earth by being the leaven for bringing about human flourishing, the common good and right relationships with creation. From this module you will appreciate more deeply that

“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.”

(1971 Synod of Bishops – Justice in the World)

Aim of the Module

The purpose of this module is to enable participants to explore the Church’s key teaching on social, economic, political and cultural questions

Learning Outcomes

Participants should:

  • be familiar with scriptural passages that relate to social justice and peace
  • have a knowledge of key Church documents on social teaching
  • begin to understand the far reaching and often complex issues of peace and war, economic justice, international development, racism, ecology, the dignity of persons and respect for human life.
  • be able to communicate what they have learnt from an adult stance.

Learning process

reflection on personal experience within a local and global context

teaching and study of key texts to increase knowledge and deepen understanding

research, wider reading, group discussion and reflection

Syllabus Outline

  • Exploring themes of social justice in Scripture (Old and New Testaments). Jesus – an icon of justice and peace.
  • Outline of key documents and their impact upon the world.
  • Reading ‘the signs of the times’ – prophets through history, and key social movements.
  • Exploration of Liberation Theology and the Pastoral Cycle.
  • The relationship between International Economic Growth, Human Development and Environmental Justice
  • Issues of Peace, power and powerlessness.
  • Striving for justice in our own context – an overview of Catholic Social Justice Organisations.

Assessment

Participants will be credited with this module upon satisfying the following conditions:

  • Attendance for at least 80% of the ten hours contact time
  • Successful completion of an assignment (1500 words) based on some aspect of the content of this module and related to one or more of the identified learning outcomes.

Module Content

Session 1: Introduction.

An overview of the components of Catholic Social Teaching:Scripture,The Documents of the Church, The Tradition and the lived experience of people. An articulation of key concepts such as global solidarity, stewardship, the integrity of creation, transformation, the common good the preferential option for the poor and An exploration of the pastoral cycle as a basic methodology for engaging with social justice issues.

Session 2: Scripture

This session traces the development of significant themes in the Old Testament that reveal a God of Justice, including Creation, covenant, liberation, the mosaic precepts and the role of the prophets. The New Testament revelation of Jesus as the New Covenant, the incarnation of the liberating God of Justice.

Understanding these as the means for reading the signs of the times and interpreting the reality of today in order to discern an authentic orthopraxis.

Session 3: Church Teaching and Practice

An overview of key documents and their significance.

Identifying prophets in more recent times and describing social justice movements and trends.

Session 4:Contemporary Issues

Enumerating social justice issues in global national and local contexts.

How the Church as community has responded and is engaging with these issues such as Caritas International, CAFOD, SVP etc.

Session 5:Future Directions

“All those who hear the cries of human suffering all those who work to set the world aright are true apostles. The daily bread they bring to people is a sign of more than human love. It is a sign of Providence.” Populorum Progressio. Para 86.

In response to these words of Pope Paul VI, there will be an analysis of the relationship between our action as individuals, our involvement as a community and the importance of working with other Christians, those of different faiths and all people of good will.

Consideration will be given to the Live Simply community challenges as a practical method of personal and community engagement with social justice issues.

Recommended Reading

Church Documents

  • Gaudium et Spes (Vatican II) 1965
  • Populorum Progressio (Pope Paul VI) 1967
  • Octogesima Adveniens (Pope Paul VI) 1971:
  • Evangelii Nuntiandi (Pope Paul VI) 1975:
  • "Justice in the World" (Synod of Bishops) 1971:
  • Laborem Exercens (Pope John Paul II) 1981:
  • "Economic Justice for All" (US Bishops) 1986:
  • Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (Pope John Paul II) 1987:
  • Centesimus Annus (Pope John Paul II) 1991:
  • The Coming of Third Millennium - Tertio Millennio Adveniente
  • The Common Good – Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
  • The Call of Creation – Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
  • Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church – Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (Burns and Oates)
  • Proclaiming Justice and Peace – One hundred years of Catholic Social Teaching - Michael Walsh & Brian Davies (CAFOD)
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church (Geoffrey Chapman)

Suggested Reading

  • A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, Salvation - Gustavo Gutierrez
  • Jesus the Liberator (Liberation & Theology) by Jon Sobrino
  • Mission in Today’s World – Donal Dorr
  • Time for a Change – A Fresh Look at Spirituality, Sexuality, Globalisation and the Church – Donal Dorr
  • Facing the Changes – CAFOD
  • To Care for the Earth – Sean McDonagh SSC, Geoffrey Chapman
  • The Cry of the Earth – Leonardo Boff , Orbis Books
  • Must Catholics be Green? - Margaret Atkins (CTS)
  • Introducing Liberation Theology - Leonardo & Clodovis Boff (Burns and Oates)
  • A Place of Redemption – A Christian Approach to Punishment and Prison - Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (Burns and Oates)
  • Justice that Restores - Charles Colson (Inter-Varstiy Press)
  • Parables as Subversive Speech - Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed - William R. Herzog II (Westminster/John Knox Press)
  • The Parables of Jesus – Denis McBride (Redemptorist Publications)

Assignment Titles

Please choose ONE of the following

1. Given that Liberation Theology was born out of and took root in circumstances where political and economic systems clearly delineated the oppressor and the oppressed, does it have any relevance in present day Britain?

2. Is action to reduce global warming a theological and moral imperative or a matter of human and environmental expediency?

3. Describe the Church’s teaching on socialism and capitalism. Since both ideologies have their own way of being found wanting, does an analysis of the teaching offer an alternative paradigm for a moral and economic order?

4. Populorum Progression is considered to be a seminal text for many within the Church. Mindful of the context in which it was written, explore its genesis and assess its impact on the Church forty years later.