Faith Formation and Education
Religious Education for Youth
Program Summary | Class Details | Schedule and Expectations | Registration and Fees | Volunteers | Links------------------------------------------------------ We're so glad you're associated with the Newman Center! Are you associated with another agency or program that helps the Diocese fulfill its mission? The 2008 Annual Catholic Appeal grant application process is active. For more information visit The Diocese/ACA. And, local nfps that help the Diocese fulfill its mission are invited to contact Mark Callahan to reserve table space in the corridor after Mass. Among the local NFPs we hope to see are: Homework House. Provides free after-school tutoring and mentoring for children in Holyoke, Massachusetts who are at-risk for academic failure and dropping out of school. Visit their website at Homework House and look for their information table after some Sunday Mass. Birthright. Helps any girl or woman regardless of age, race, creed, marital or economic status, who feels distressed by an unplanned pregnancy. Visit their website at Birthright International. The Amherst phone number is 413-549-1906. ------------------------------------------------------ Dear Religious Education Families:We have sent home a Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl and Home Calendar Guide. We have studied many of the countries featured on this year's Rice Bowl campaign. Thank you for contributing over $200 this year. For more information see Operation Rice Bowl. ------------------------------------------------------ Catholicmom.com offers solid resources. Check out the Stations of the Cross coloring book for example or other links (like the USCCB) for your older children.------------------------------------------------------ "Leaven in the World" -- thinking of voting in Commonwealth of Massachusetts elections or otherwise participating in the political process? Why not visit the Commonwealth's election page. Why not visit prayer and reflection resources offered by the USCCB around the challenge to exercise faithful citizenship. For the USCCB statement on Catholic teaching and political life visit The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.------------------------------------------------------- Budget Squeezed, Hungry? Help is close at hand. See our "Free Groceries and Meals in Amherst" list on the bulletin board in the main corridor. Or call the Baptist Church, 549.3596, Not Bread Alone, 256.0128, (seniors only call Bangs Center 259.3060), and the Amherst Survival Center, 549.3968. The Amherst Survival Center is close by, on the bus line at 120 No. Pleasant St, 413.549.3968. See the ASC website,. See schedule for food pantry, meals served, free store (warm clothes, yes!) Tough times? Get in touch with a local human service agency like the ASC to put in motion the kind of help you'll need for the fall and early winter months. Serve New England: Good Food, Little Money. SNE is a non-need-based, service-based food collective. Check out the Amherst Chapter of Serve New England, hosted by the Newman Center, UMass. Info/order at the Newman Center on scheduled Saturdays. Phone 413.256.2621 or visit Serve New England online. ------------------------------------------------------- Greetings from the DRE: Chris Clark I am delighted to greet you as the director of religious education and a campus minister at the Newman Catholic Center. I serve all in the Newman community in both capacities. As the administrative and pastoral director of REY, I offer particular support to parents and guardians in their role as the primary educators and spiritual formators of their children, to catechists and volunteers, and to the children of our community. Stop by my office off the main entrance of the Center, call 549.0300 x14, or email me at cclark.newman@gmail.comSee you around Newman! What's the Point of Religious Education? Consider the story Chris tells:A girl asked me "What Sacrament will I be preparing for this year? I mean, I've received First Communion and it'll be years before I'm confirmed." I said "Yes. But Sacramental prep is part of a bigger thing. We're all disciples of Christ and we're always learning how to be true to God and neighbor. All of the classes help us learn how to respond to God's offer." "I'm a disciple," she mused. "Yes," I paused and continued, "and so we study, pray, worship, practice. Sacramental preparation is part of it. But there are other parts, too. This year you'll be learning about God's Law ? that's one of the big ways we know God and stay in right relationship." She looked over her class description for the year. We talked about the way we proceed in REY: using books and handouts with parents to learn lessons; testing and trying out understanding in class by review, games and activities, song and dance; coming together for meals and fun a few times in the year; and choosing to do Christ-like actions like the Thanksgiving Food Drive. "First there were twelve," she asserted, "and now there's me." "Yes." "I think I'll like this."
In 2005-06 the REY program was redesigned to integrate the classroom experience with the wider life of faith in the community. We circled in and out of class, in and out of Sacramental celebrations, in and out of everyday life, and in those circles practice our intentions to be true to God and neighbor. And in that process, we experienced some growth, happiness and satisfaction. But more importantly we experienced the Peace of Christ and Joy of the Kingdom of God. Not bad, that.DREContact Chris Clark at 413.549.0300 x14 or cclark.newman@gmail.comUpdate: 4/24/08Back to top
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472 North Pleasant Street - Amherst MA 01002 - Tel. 413.549.0300 - FAX 413.548.9182 - Email: newmanumass@gmail.com
Last update: Tue, 13 May 2008
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