Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
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Contact
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Tanya Muscarellatmuscarellaholynamechurch.orgDirector of Children's Ministry - PreK3-5th
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Adult Volunteers Needed
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Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
ON HOLD for 2024-2025 / Contact Tanya Muscarella -
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WHAT IS CATECHESIS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD?
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a Montessori-based religious formation program for children, beginning at the age of three. It seeks to create and facilitate a sacred “hands-on” space for children called an Atrium, in which both the children and the catechists can hear, ponder, and celebrate the most essential mysteries of the Christian faith as revealed in the scriptures and the liturgy. Originally developed in Rome by Dr. Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi in 1954, the Catechesis continues to spread worldwide and is used with adaptation in various Christian traditions.
Much prayer, planning, and hard work went into the training of Catechists and creation of the materials for the Level 1 Atrium. The Lord provided all that was needed to open our Atrium on September 15, 2019. We are now in need of trained catechists in order to continue to offer this program to our children. If God has placed a calling on your heart about this beautiful program please contact the Children's Director. Please visit the links provided to discover more about CGS USA!
Courses in The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd have a variety of formats as often they are structured to suit the needs of a particular community. Some courses are monthly, while others are quarterly, and, still others are one-two weeks over two summers.
Level I catechist formation is for adults seeking to serve children who are three to six years old. This training is at least 90 hours. This is the foundational training for all succeeding levels of catechist formation. All the key themes and presentations that are essential to this method of catechesis are introduced at this level so it is important for an adult to begin at this level. It is also valuable for the adult in understanding the child’s developmental needs and religious capacities at this level.We are very grateful for the Diocesan funding for our Level 1 CGS Atrium and training. Most of the funding for the CGS Level 1 Atrium has come from The Catholic Foundation of Northwest Florida Grant and Elizabeth Seton Grant.
