Religious Education - About Us - National Catholic Educational Association

Thank you for who you are and what you do in contributing to the Catholic Church’s work of evangelization and catechesis.

The NCEA Religious Education Department provides national leadership, direction and service in fostering effective religious education/catechesis at all levels—youth, adult, family, parish and school. Through consultation, publications, assessment tools, and projects, the department encourages education and catechesis that are evangelizing, ecclesial, collaborative, and responsible.

The department serves all NCEA members and is especially committed to the support of catechetical leaders in diocesan offices, parishes and schools. A principle membership group is the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors (npcd).

The department works to advance excellence in catechesis in Catholic parishes and schools across the country as we:

· celebrate the good fruits of local catechetical efforts and excellence in ministry,

· discern faithful and effective methodologies for Catholic religious education and lifelong

faith formation now and into the future, and

· exemplify effective practices in the formation and development of high-quality

catechetical leadership for Catholic parishes and schools.

Department Vision
As part of NCEA, the Religious Education Department serves as a lead agent in advancing the artistry of catechetical ministry. Through listening, learning, and collaboration, members and a broad range of partners build generative, mutual relationships to promote ongoing formation toward mature Christian discipleship.

Department Staff
The staff of the Department of Religious Education are ready to assist you in advancing excellence in the art of handing on the Catholic faith.

Lori Dahlhoff, Executive Director

Religious Education Department

National Catholic Educational Association

Lori Dahlhoff

Lori Dahlhoff has worked in religious education for almost 20 years.

Dahlhoff was faith formation coordinator of the Church of St. Peter in St. Cloud, Minnesota, from 1992 to 1996, and consultant for ministries for persons with disabilities and catechist formation for the Diocese of St. Cloud from 1996 to 2001.

From 1994 to 2003 she also served as an adjunct instructor in the ministry formation program for the Diocese of St Cloud, in collaboration with St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Beginning in 2001 she served as a parish services team member for catechesis for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, where she helped develop and implement an interdisciplinary department to provide planning, consultation and strategic support for the archbishop, parishes and schools of the Archdiocese.

Previously she held positions at the Archdiocese as director of leadership formation for catechesis and director of adult faith formation.

She was an NCEA Catechetical Scholar in 2003 and 2004.

Dahlhoff obtained a bachelor of arts degree in biology from Southwest State University in Minnesota, and a master of arts in pastoral ministry from the School of Theology and Seminary, St John’s University. She holds a certificate in dispute resolution from Hamline University School of Law and is a doctoral candidate in education at Hamline University.

Katherine Schmitt, M.Div., Director of Religious Assessments

Religious Education Department

National Catholic Educational Association

Kathy Schmitt

Katherine Schmitt, M.Div., is the director of religious assessments for the NCEA Religious Education Department and associate editor of the Seminary Journal for the NCEA Seminary Department. She assumed both positions in Spring 2011 and splits her time between the two positions. Previously, she was the administrative assistant for both the Seminary Department and the NCEA Communications Office.

Before coming to NCEA, Schmitt was director of the Appalachian Office of Justice and Peace for the Diocese of Richmond from 2002 to 2005. She implemented Appalachian Plunges, a program to help volunteer Church groups learn about justice issues in the mountains, and developed programs to educate Catholics about the social justice teachings of the Church. She served as pastoral associate and campus minister for St. Mark Parish and St. Stephen Newman Center at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky from 1996 to 2002. From 1991 to 1996 she was special projects manager for the National Federation of Priests’ Councils in Chicago.

Schmitt attended Virginia Tech, earning a bachelor of arts degree in communication studies with a minor in Appalachian studies. After college, she worked for two years in a volunteer ministry program with the Dominican Sisters from Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. Schmitt enjoyed the experience so much she decided to enter lay ministry full time. She obtained a master of divinity with Bible specialization degree from Catholic Theological Union in 1995.

She is the author of the Liturgy Guide, part of the Catholic Schools Week Marketing Kit, and has written articles for Momentum Magazine and Pax Christi Magazine.