A couple of weeks ago, we finished a six-session series of catechist formation. I’m sad I have not had time to write about this since it was such an enjoyable series. Around twenty catechists from our parish and the parishes nearby gathered together every two weeks for an hour and a half of formation. We followed the Echoes programme but (since this is the fourth time I’ve taught this programme) adapted it slightly. Margaret Wickware, Marie-Claire Kaminski (two wonderful ladies I love working with!) and I ran it together and we felt we needed more practical and deeper elements for the audience we had: how to evaluate resources, how our lives as lay people are priestly, prophetic and kingly, how the liturgical year leads us through the mysteries of Christ’s life, and how to structure a catechetical session. The participants were fantastic and reading the evaluations at the end was heart-warming. This course only scratches the surface of all the skills and knowledge you need to be a catechist, but it is a great place to begin.
