Office of Religious Education
Oficina de Educación Religiosa

617-779-3625

Our Mission Statement ~ 
Go therefore... Teach!       Matthew 28:19-20 

The Office of Religious Education 
            is delegated by the Archbishop to provide leadership in the catechetical mission of the Archdiocese of Boston. The Office is committed to the ministry of the Word centered in the person of Jesus Christ, and strives to lead people to ever more intimate communion with the Triune God.                           
The Office of Religious Education 
             promotes excellence in catechesis, that is, the life long Christian formation of the total person in heart, mind and will. The Office fosters a deep and systematic knowledge of the person and message of Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Catholic Church, so that the faith of the maturing believer becomes ever more living, explicit, fruitful, conscious and active.
The Office of Religious Education             
                supports the parishes of the Archdiocese by motivating, encouraging and preparing parish leaders and catechists for their mission of life-long formation of adults, youth and children toward the fullness of Catholic life. The Office plans, develops, implements and evaluates programs designed to serve parishes in a truly effective manner.
The Office of Religious Education               
             is committed to collaboration with other Archdiocesan agencies, especially with those responsible for elements of the Church’s mission closely related to the six basic tasks of religious education. These tasks are: teaching the message of Christ and the Church, teaching people to pray, forming people for worship, sharing and fostering community, moral formation, and motivating people to service in the name of Christ.

PLEASE NOTE our new address:  Archdiocese of Boston, Office of Religious Education, 66 Brooks Drive, Braintree, MA 02184; Phone and Email information will remain the same; our new fax number is 617-746-5702.

Welcome 
from Susan Abbott
Director, Office of Religious Education

Welcome to the Religious Education Office Home Page. This Office exists to support our parishes in their religious education ministry. Our Holy Father Benedict XVI, the writings of  Pope John Paul II, and the Bishops of the Catholic Church all have stated strongly that parish religious education is a life-long process of formation in the Catholic faith.  The Office of Religious Education offers resources for teaching the faith to adults, children and youth. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Get to know us...

Mrs. Janet Benestad
Cabinet Secretary for Faith Formation and Evangelization

Ms. Susan Lang Abbott
 Director of Religious Education
Susan_Abbott@rcab.org

Ms. Susan Kay 
Assistant Director for Catechetical Leadership
Susan_Kay@rcab.org

Ms. M. Pilar Latorre
Assistant Director for Hispanic Catechesis

Ms. Barbara Richards
Administrative Assistant

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Calendar

Our Calendar
  We learn from and are supported by each other and so we look forward to seeing catechetical leaders at our events.  

 * RSVP requested  (Susan Kay@rcab.org)  
* *RSVP REQUIRED   Lunch is included.  Pre-registration is required for the lunch count (Susan Kay@rcab.org)  

++ Annual Meeting Parish Religious Education Leaders and Pastors 
Seán Cardinal O’Malley has been asked by the USCCB to be part of a delegation that will visit Haiti.  The Cardinal will be out of the country on March 4.  In solidarity with this mission of compassion, we are still planning to hold the ...  

Annual Meeting Parish Religious Education Leaders and Pastors
Thursday, March 4, 2010
12:30 to 2:30 pm
Rev. David B. Couturier, OFM. Cap., PhD, DMin. 
Director, Office of Pastoral Planning
&
Mr. Joshua Phelps
Associate Director, Office of Pastoral Planning  

Topic:  Religious Education from the Abundance of God: Enlivening your Parish Pastoral Plan for Faith Formation

Rev. Michael Harrington 
Assistant Director of Vocations
Promoting Vocations in Parish Religious Education Programs

Light lunch will be served. RSVP to Susan_Kay@rcab.org

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Annual Women's and Men's Conferences
Women's Conference- The Women's Conference will be on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston (snow date is 3/6/10). It will be from 9am - 5:30pm and will feature as speakers Patti Mansfield, Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle, Leah Darrow, and Sr. Olga of the Eucharist. The BCWC will also include confession, adoration, Mass with Cardinal Sean O'Malley, and a great opportunity to gather with other Catholic women of faith. Tickets will be $20 ($30 including lunch). Click here for more speaker and program information. Click here to order tickets.
Men's Conference- The Men's Conference will be on Saturday, April 17, 2010 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. It will be from 9am - 5:30pm and will feature the team from EWTN's Crossing the Goal as speakers (Danny Abramowicz, Curtis Martin, Peter Herbeck and Brian Patrick). The BCMC will also include confession, adoration, Mass with Cardinal Sean O'Malley, and fun fellowship. Tickets will be $20 ($30 including lunch). Click here for more speaker and program information. Click here to order tickets.

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Passport to Success Summer Institute and Retreat
This four part journey for training and enrichment is designed for parish catechetical leaders and will take place June 25-27, 2010 (Friday through Sunday).  Catechetical leaders can sign up for all or some of the presentations.  The Institute will be held at the Immaculate Conception Spiritual Renewal Center, Putnam, Connecticut and is sponsored by the New England Conference of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education (NECDDRE).  
The brochure with complete information is available at: 
http://necddre.org/programs/passport/2010/Passport%20to%20Success%20Institute%20brochure%20revised%201-19-2010.pdf

CNAFF

The Catholic Network for Adult Faith Formation has a new web site devoted to promoting faith formation for Catholics.  From their web page:   

            The Network for Adult Faith Formation (NAFF) was created by the Emerging Technologies Committee, a standing committee of the National Advisory Committee on Adult Religious Education (NACARE) that, in turn, is a consultative committee of the Committee on Catechesis of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops on matters pertaining to adult religious education.... In April, 2004 the Emerging Technologies Committee was joined by the Adult Faith Formation Committee of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership (NCCL). These two committees now administer this web site.

Parts of the site are, or soon will be, password protected for use by committee members and diocesan staff.  The site provides excellent materials for parish adult faith formation including articles and links to organizations and Church documents.  These are available to all and the site is a great resource for parishes.  Visit the site  www.cnaff.org

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Religious Education Classes for the Deaf
Religious Education of Deaf Youth from First Communion through Confirmation age  are offered throughout the Metro Boston area: Brighton, Dracut, Framingham, Lowell, Middleborough, Newton, Randolph, and Stoneham.  To register or for further information, contact Father Shawn Carey or Father Jeremy St. Martin at 617-746-5645 (voice) 617-787-6083 (TTY). 
All classes are coordinated by the Deaf Catholic Ministries, Office of Cultural Diversity.  www.deafcatholic.org

Sacrament Preparation Resources for Persons with Learning Disabilities  
The Institute for Pastoral Initiatives at the University of Dayton has wonderful material available for children and young people preparing for sacraments.  The Network of Inclusive Catholic Educators (NICE) has student texts and resource binders for catechists and catechetical leaders and videos for catechist formation and enrichment in the are of inclusive religious education for persons with disabilities.  For more detailed information and price list, go to http://campus.udayton.edu/~ipi/nice

Local Resource Materials
The religious education program at St. Mary Parish, Winchester, has great resources for sacrament preparation especially for children with autism.  Designed by the mother of an autistic child, the material correlates with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  For more information, check out the website: www.autismreligiouseducation.net

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Who gets mailings .... and how?
How do we know to whom we should send things?  YOU  tell us.  The new procedure for mail going from the Pastoral Center to parishes means that individual mailings will rarely be sent in a separate envelope to parish catechetical leaders (PCL) and pastors.  Letters, brochures, fliers, and forms that are intended for the parish religious education office, will be included in the weekly mailing from the Pastoral Center.  Please ask the person who opens the parish mail to pass along anything with: Religious Education Office in the upper right corner of the page, to the PCL.  It may be helpful to check with the person who handles the mail periodically.

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Opportunities for Ongoing Education and Formation

 An Internet based E-learning initiative sponsored by The Institute for Pastoral Initiative of the University of Dayton and the Archdiocese of Boston

Master of Arts in Ministry Program
St. John’s Seminary
Degree and non-degree students are welcome
For information, call 617.779.4104

The Master of Arts in Ministry (M.A.M.) at St. John's Seminary invites you to consider taking an evening class at  the Creagh Library in Brighton (St. John Seminary campus). For a registration form or information, visit our website at www.rcab.org (click on Catholic Life) or call 617-779-4104.   Potential applicants is may come any Tuesday or Thursday evening during the school year and visit. We are happy to answer any questions over the phone: 617-779-4104. 

NEW!!!
MAM is offering a new Catechetical Certificate program which will lead to catechetical certification recognized by the Archdiocese of Boston. The program is directed by David and Angela Franks and will begin in the fall. To learn more about the program read the information brochure and register online, go to www.catecheticalcertificate.org 

Aldona Lingertat 
Associate Director, Master of Arts in Ministry Program 
Phone 617 - 779-4104
For more information email Aldona_Lingertat@rcab.org or Maryellen_Lenihan@rcab.org or call 617-779-4104.

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Spanish Programs and Activities

The Office of Religious Education continues to serve the Hispanic Community in the Archdiocese of Boston through a series of programs of formation in Spanish for parish leaders involved in catechesis and other ministries. These are some of the programs:

 BASIC COURSE FOR CATECHISTS

This course is offered to catechists who begin their ministry for the first time or those who are planning on sharing the gift of faith in a catechetical setting. Catechists meet for eight weeks to review the basics of their Catholic faith and also to acquire the skills to present the message of the Gospel in a more adequate manner.

INTERMEDIATE COURSE FOR CATECHISTS

This ten-week course is aimed to further the formation received in the Basic Course. At the end of this Intermediate class the students are invited to continue their preparation in the Archdiocesan Institute for Ministry – Spanish track.

AIM PROGRAM IN SPANISH – INSTITUTO DE FORMACIÓN DE LAICOS

The AIM program in Spanish is organized somehow differently from its counterpart in English. It consists in a program of four semesters in which the students receive theological, biblical, and pastoral formation. The students meet for ten weeks each semester and four hours each day. In the fourth semester they choose an area of pastoral specialization, according with the needs of their communities.

ARCHDIOCESAN CELEBRATION OF CATECHETICAL SUNDAY (Spanish)

Every September more than 200 Latino catechists gather in one parish of the Archdiocese to celebrate Catechetical Sunday and to kick off the activities of the year. These catechists are sent out to their parishes with a special blessing and the support of the Office of Religious Education to accomplish their calling.

 CATECHETICAL CONGRESS – Spanish component

This yearly event gathers catechists from most parishes in the Archdiocese. Normally, twenty workshops are offered in Spanish as well as two keynote presentations. The participation of Latino catechists in this event has increased significantly in the last few years. 
Other opportunities for growth are: 
        *    Lenten retreat for catechists 
        *    Regular meetings with Directors and Coordinators of Religious Education working in Spanish programs

To read about the offerings and calendar in Spanish, go to  Oficina de Educación Religiosa

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Clusters

"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am  there in their midst." (Matthew 18:20)
"I get by with a little help from my friends." (The Beatles)

Working, praying, and sharing together, Clusters make the joys more joyful and the difficulties much easier to bear.  Religious education Clusters will be impacted by reconfiguration; if you don't know what Cluster you belong to, please call our office. We can help you find your group.

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 The Office of Religious Education is supported by the Catholic Appeal.  
We are enormously grateful to all who have contributed or will contribute this year.
For more information about the Appeal or to donate online, click here:  www.bostoncatholicappeal.org

Thanks to the kind folks at  RCNet for hosting this page www.rc.net

This page was last updated March 1, 2010
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Copyright © 2009 Archdiocese of Boston; all rights reserved