The group was asked what their expectations were and what they hoped to get from the meeting. Here are some of the expectations: to be revived in faith; to be revived in spirit; that there be a spirit of cooperation among all involved in catechetics. We looked at the way that catectetics were taught in the various parishes.
Some serious questions were asked, like the following:
1. who should teach catechism in our parishes.
2. Which books are we using presently and which ones should we use.
3. what brings joy in teaching catechism.
4. what are the challenges in the teaching of catechism.
It was stated that happiness is brought by the growing number of Faithful in the church as a result of catechism teaching, and seeing those who were taught to be willing to teach in return.
Some of the problems in teaching catechism were lack of co-operation in the parish and some people unwilling to teach. It was also noted that without catechism teachers, the church will not progress, and if there is a church it will be dead!!
The importance of catechism coordinators ws also noted. We do have coordinators in the Vicariate and their importance lies in the fact that a unified body of instruction can be taught throughout our Vicariate. It was also noted that we have various programmes that correspond to the growth stages of the ones learning. In discussing the importance of the co-ordinators the following questions were asked:
1. who is the area co-ordinator ?
2. what is her/his function?
3. what are the important signs of the said co-ordinator.
In small group work the following came to light: a co-ordinator should diligent person in his/her work and co-operate with all involved, priests, parents and church council. He or she should have a sharp eye to see the needs of the teachers and the learners as well. Co-ordinators should be of strong faith and be trained so that they can pass on the Faith to others., and it is good to know that the Vicariate has people trained for this. It is also pleasing to note that people are sent to Newcastle for training. The big chalienge now is to work together and share our knowledge as one family teaching one thing.
The way forward is to determine
a) what we must do,
b) how do we do it and
c) when do we do it.
