VOLUNTEER TEACHER-CATECHISTS (Religion Teachers) NEEDED FOR 1st TO 8th GRADE
(Volunteer Teacher Catechists must be at least 18 years of age.)
A volunteer teacher must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, sustained by daily prayer, otherwise, that person will find it difficult, if not impossible, to lead their students to follow Jesus Christ in their lives. We need faithful, dependable, and responsible Catholics. Volunteer teachers attend Sunday Mass each week. A person should not feel they presently know all that is necessary to pass on the Catholic faith but are willing to learn.
For in person classes, we need:
A Level 6 Volunteer Teacher Catechist for Mondays 5:00-6:00p.m.
Level 3, Level 4, Level 6 & Level 8 Volunteer Teacher Catechists for Wednesdays 5:00-6:00p.m.
Possibly Level 7 & 8 Volunteer Teacher Catechists, if enrollment warrants, for Thursdays 6:30-7:30p.m.
For online classes, we need:
Volunteer Teacher Catechists who will respond weekly, in writing, in Google Classroom, to every student in Levels 1 to 8.
Those Volunteer Teacher Catechists take one level, but we need Volunteer Teacher Catechists for all levels online.
The Faith Formation Office posts assignments on Mondays and students must answer questions in Google Classroom by Sunday night.
Do you feel called to this ministry? Then, read “Are You Called to be a Volunteer Teacher-Catechist?” below.
Finally, read the information on the Calendar and Registration tabs, so you know about our program. If you are not Virtus trained, we provide Virtus training here. In addition to Virtus training,
you must complete an online background check. Feel called? Email our DRE John Fruner at FaithFormation@stelizabeth.org. Classes start Monday October 17, 2022.
ARE YOU CALLED TO BE A VOLUNTEER TEACHER-CATECHIST?
The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization issued a worldwide Directory for Catechesis in July 2020. Prior to this “new” Directory, each individual country wrote its own Directory for Catechesis with a focus on the specific needs of that country. This “new” Directory is now being used worldwide, written in Rome, expressing what this ministry is today. Chapter 3 speaks specifically about the ministry of the catechist.
If you are prayerfully considering serving as a teacher-catechist, please reflect on these qualities, tasks required, and the spirituality of the teacher-catechist. Realize that God could be calling you to this ministry. (You are reading this page for a reason!) The Holy Spirit moves a person to respond to God’s call to serve as a teacher-catechist.
The Qualities of a Teacher-Catechist
The teacher-catechist has patience.
The teacher-catechist is able to listen.
Teacher-Catechists, through their presence in the world, “carry out their ministry in the ordinary surroundings of the world.” (Lumen Gentium, #35)
The teacher-catechist bears witness to the Gospel in different worldly contexts.
The teacher-catechist has the opportunity to give a Catholic interpretation to the realities of everyday life.
The personal call of Jesus and the relationship the teacher-catechist has with Jesus is the “true engine of the catechist’s activity.” (Lumen Gentium, #122)
The Tasks of a Teacher-Catechist
The teacher-catechist provides an introduction to the Catholic faith.
The teacher-catechist introduces others to God.
The teacher-catechist helps others journey to God.
The teacher-catechist shares the content of the Catholic faith.
The teacher-catechist leads others into the mysteries of the Catholic faith.
The teacher-catechists accompanies and educates his/her students.
The teacher-catechist knows the joys and hopes of human beings, knows their sadness and distress but is able to situate others in relation to the Gospel.
The teacher-catechist participates in ongoing formation.
The Teacher-Catechist’s Spirituality
The teacher-catechist belongs to a Christian community and is thus renewed and sustained by the church’s liturgy.
The teacher-catechist witnesses the Catholic faith by the way the teacher-catechist lives out his/her life.
The teacher-catechist models himself/herself after Jesus.
Are you able to place your name where the word teacher-catechist is in each sentence?
After prayer, reflection, and discernment, do you feel God calling you to this exciting ministry?