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The Emmaus Journal
A Professional Journal for Campus Ministers, Religion Teachers and Service Directors in Catholic High Schools
Sponsored by the Secondary Schools Department
of the National Catholic Educational Association
Winter 2006; Volume IV, Number 2
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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome to the winter Emmaus Journal. This is the second of three issues of NCEA's electronic journal for religion teachers, campus ministers and service directors. In the Church we are in the season of Lent. Lent is an invitation to renewal and refocusing. Hopefully the articles here will help with that process -- both professionally and spiritually.
By now, your school should have received the preliminary program for the 2006 NCEA National Convention in Atlanta (April 18-21). The Secondary Schools Department is offering extensive programming dedicated to our readers. Click here for more information about the Convention and here for a list of session relating to campus ministry and religion instruction.
As always, you are more than welcome to submit a full article for consideration for future publication or a brief article about the creative work you are doing in your school for our Educators Exchange. Your comments and feedback are most welcome too. Email me here.
Cordially,
Chris Scalise
Editor, Emmaus Journal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE TOP TEN THINGS COLLEGE CAMPUS MINISTERS WOULD LIKE HIGH SCHOOL RELIGION TEACHERS TO KNOW, PART II
By Christine M. Eberle
MISSION POSSIBILE: WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WHERE WE'RE GOING IN HIGH SCHOOL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
By Rev. James DiGiacomo, SJ
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR RELIGION TEACHERS, CAMPUS MINISTERS, AND SERVICE DIRECTORS
LIVING MISSION: THE ROLE OF FAITH IN BUILDING HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY
By William Hudson, Ed.D.
EDUCATORS EXCHANGE
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TOP TEN THINGS COLLEGE CAMPUS MINISTERS WOULD LIKE HIGH SCHOOL RELIGION TEACHERS TO KNOW (PART II OF II)
By Christine Eberle, Director of Campus Ministry, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania
The first part of this article appeared in the November 2005 Emmaus Journal. It originally appeared, and can be read in its entirety, in the September/October 2005 issue of Momentum, the official Journal of the National Catholic Educational Association. In review, the first five things a high school religion teacher should know are:
1. 85 Percent of Catholic College Students are Attending Non-Catholic Institutions
2. The Church is Alive and Well on non-Catholic Campuses as well as on Catholic Ones
3. Our Mission: Educating and Activating an Adult Catholic Faith
4. Freedom Is Our Friend, Even When It Looks Like Our Enemy
5. "Non-Denominational" is not a Synonym for "Ecumenical"
6. We Must Not Underestimate the Power of the Fundamentalist Factor
These people come on strong. They have aggressive and well-developed recruitment tactics. They send onto campus each fall very nice students on a mission to target lonely freshmen. They bring them on board with loads of affection and affirmation, give them an instant group of friends and emotionally satisfying praise and worship experiences, and then make them feel guilty if they don't want to stay.
The strong-arm tactics of these groups actually meet the needs of many students - needs for belonging, community and identity at a time of transition. They give black and white answers and easy solutions to complex problems and a dramatic, emotional experience of church to students at a dramatic, emotional age. This provides a "me and Jesus" spirituality which we know to be limited, but which some may experience as "discovering Jesus for the first time."
7. The Trinity of Stumbling Blocks
Three things that seem to give fundamentalists the biggest problem with Catholicism are purgatory, saints and reconciliation. I am not sure why these are such neuralgic issues, but they are topics about which our students will often be attacked, and when they find themselves ill prepared to explain or defend them can shake their faith in the whole Catholic enterprise. We need to find good, clear, convincing explanations that go beyond "because the church says so." Talk with other members of your religion departments to find the best, most creative ways to engage students around these troublesome topics.
8. The Gift that Keeps on Giving: A Catholic Understanding of the Bible
So often a Catholic student is silenced when her fundamentalist friend announces, "That's not in the Bible!" Therefore one of the best gifts you can give your students is a Catholic understanding of the Scriptures. They need to know how the Bible is important to us, because we value it tremendously but differently. For example, we value the Bible too much to rip verses out of context and use them as weapons; rather, we keep struggling to take it as an organic and complicated whole. We value the Bible too much to ignore the circumstances in which particular books were written, and what the divinely inspired authors were responding to for the communities of their day. We value the Bible because, in the complex evolution of oral tradition, authors and redactors, we actually see the hand of God active in a much more impressive way than if God had been simply been sitting back giving dictation.
We also owe our students a Catholic understanding of the Bible so that they do not lose their faith when a professor tells them that something in the Bible is not factually true. What happens when they find out that Moses might not have parted the Red Sea just like it happened in "The Prince of Egypt," or that there's no way to reconcile the infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke? This often makes them ask, "If you can pick and choose what to believe from the Bible, how can you believe anything?" Therefore one of the best gifts we can give our students is a sense of how the Bible is deeply true in a way that does not depend on the historical accuracy of the stories. What perhaps is most helpful is if we ourselves can convey a sense of how the stories move and sustain us, how our own faith is not undone but actually strengthened by a "grownup" understanding of the Scriptures. This can fortify students in the face of fundamentalists and atheists alike.
9. The Other Front: Prof. Ex-Catholic, Ph.D.
Especially at non-Catholic institutions, there seems to be a low-level guerilla war against the Catholic Church. Students complain about how often they have to take "sniper fire" from a formerly-Catholic professor whose views have been shaped by a handful of personal experiences or by his own ignorance - perceptions of how things were in the church 30 years ago and what he's read in the newspaper since then. Random Catholic-bashing can come as a demoralizing surprise, especially to those who have been educated in a Catholic environment exclusively.
I know that you cannot prepare your students for every assault to the faith that might come their way in college. But you can let them know to expect it so that it doesn't catch them by surprise. Please talk about the struggles as well as the triumphs of the church, so that they hear about these things first from people who continue to love and serve the church despite its flawed humanity. Finally, encourage them to keep asking their questions in communities of faith. Let them know that campus ministers are available, and that we are eager to support them on the next step of their journey in faith.
10. Your Work Shows, and Campus Ministers are Grateful
Some days you may want to say, "I thought I had toiled in vain and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength" (Isaiah 49:4), but please believe that your work is effective. It shows not only in the areas of Scripture and church teaching, but also in the great work you are doing with spirituality and retreats. So many of the students who arrive at college ready and eager to be a part of campus ministry are coming out of positive experiences of Kairos or other retreats and from community service or youth group experiences. These students already know that the successful outcome of religious education is not just book learning but faith-in-action. For all the ways you are already teaching them that God matters in their lives, we are very grateful.
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Food Fast
Does your school participate in Food Fast? Catholic Relief Services has expanded its Web site dedicated to this popular program. Visit www.crs.org for more information.
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MISSION POSSIBILE: WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WHERE WE'RE GOING IN HIGH SCHOOL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
By Rev. James DiGiacomo, SJ
Fr. DiGicacomo has been a Jesuit since 1943. He has served as a teacher, writer, lecturer and consultant for over 50 years. He wrote Mission Possibile: Where We've Been, Where We're Going in High School Religious Education as a reflection on his many years in the high school classroom. The excerpt below concludes the book.
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The ideals and goals that I have advocated in this book will not be easily achieved. Some of my colleagues have honest doubts about whether they are realistic. We all agree that religion teachers and campus ministers cannot do it all. The school as a whole must be committed to the task. The professed values of Catholic schools, eloquently stated in the first few paragraphs of every mission statement, must resonate in the school's operative values. These show up in many ways. How do the hiring standards for religion teachers and campus ministers compare with those for other positions? What allowances are made in the budget for religion teaching resources and for retreats and service programs? Do teachers of other subjects contribute to those activities? Do religion classes share the best periods of the school day, or settle for the leftovers? Among the students, who gets recognized and rewarded for accomplishments?
Parents send their children to our schools for a variety of reasons. For many, the Catholic dimension of the school is important, and they hope the school will contribute to religious and moral formation. Others just want a shot at upward mobility; for them, religious considerations are vague or nonexistent. Lack of parental involvement and support puts a limit on what can be accomplished in the area of explicitly religious nurturing, but moral formation is certainly possible for all. Religion teachers all know this from experience; they accept their limitations and do what they can for each of their pupils.
Religion teachers also know that they are dealing with an age group not yet capable of the levels of commitment that we expect from mature adults. The adolescent years are not a time for life decisions. I remember vividly one student who was one of the brightest, most sophisticated, and seriously religious students of the many thousands I had encountered.
I recently asked what had become of him and learned that he was now
fundamentalist minister. Well, he was still seriously religious, but in many other ways the man was different from the boy. Religious educators cannot program people; they can only sow seeds. Their experience is much like that of colleagues in other departments. High school teaching does not offer the emotional satisfactions possible in other occupations. We enjoy watching our students grow and learn, but we rarely see the finished product of our labors.
It is a truism that faith is not taught but caught. The implications for religious education are obvious. The finest teaching with the best resources in the most favorable environments does not guarantee success. Religion departments must strive for a balance in their goals and objectives. Depending on the intellectual quality of the student body, schools should offer courses that are academically respectable. The days when religion was a "fresh air course" should be long gone by now. On the other hand, schools should not settle for an arid intellectualism. One way or another, religious learning must appeal to the heart as well as the head. For example, students should master as much as they can of Scripture scholarship in order to learn how to read the Bible and avoid the pitfalls of fundamentalism. But they also must hear the Bible as the word of God. Remember Renee, the high school sophomore from Milwaukee? She needed to hear more than sophisticated debunking in her Bible classes. In religion classes of all kinds, youngsters should, from time to time, feel not only enlightened but also inspired, comforted, and challenged. We owe them more than a head trip. As I once told a group of colleagues:
If all we want is to be liked by all our kids, we will have to stay away from the hard sayings. Many of our young people do not want to be told that consumerism is a shallow way of life, that religion is a community affair, that the Eucharist is a nonnegotiable element of Christian life, that you can't write off the Church and call yourself a Catholic, that God not only loves them but also makes demands, that Jesus is more than a pal, that some of their moral choices might be wrong, that premarital sex is not a right, that social justice is not optional, that religion is not a consumer item, that we are called to measure up to what God wants, not the other way around. It's much safer to keep it general, to tell them that they're beautiful, that God loves them just the way they are, and to leave them with the impression that whatever they do is all right with God just as long as they want to do it. The hard sayings will lose us followers, just as they cost Jesus many of his disciples.
As I look back on a half century of trying to do these things, I see a mixed picture of accomplishment and failure. There are many things I wish I had done differently, but I have no regrets about trying to do the job. In some ways, I led a sheltered life—safe in a classroom, knowing every hour where I was supposed to be, clear about my responsibilities, far from the dog-eat-dog marketplace. But it was not a narrow existence. The world impinged in so many ways on the young people I taught and the tasks we shared. I had the great privilege of trying to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. That was exhilarating, even when I played to mixed reviews. For me personally, I cannot imagine a more rewarding way to have spent my working life.
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If you are interested in reading more, Mission Possibile: Where We've Been, Where We're Going in High School Religious Education is available from NCEA. Visit our online store at /store/ (129 pages, $25.00/members, $33.00/non-members) or call our Member Services Department at 202-337-6232.)
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Professional Development Opportunities for Religion Teachers, Campus Ministers, and Service Directors
For those attending the NCEA National Convention in Atlanta in April, the following sessions offered by the Secondary Schools Department will be of interest to our readers. This is not an exclusive list; these are a sampling of the 300+ specialized workshops available to attendees in addition to general sessions offered by Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education, futurist Joel Barker and musicians Rev. James Marchionda, OP, John Angotti and Meredith Dean Joseph.
Tuesday, April 18, 1:30-2:45
Cultivating Catholic Character, Charism and Culture, Timothy Cook, Creighton University and Jerry Deegan, Dowling Catholic High School (IA)
Tuesday, April 18, 3:15-4:30
Nathaniel's Journey: 9th Grade Initiative, Jane Goff, St. Mary High School, Saint Louis
This describes a comprehensive initiative to address the needs of students making the transition from elementary to high school.
Wednesday, April 19, 9:15-10:30
The Relationship between Science and Religion: Addressing It Well in a Catholic School Setting, William Raddell, Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, Cleveland, and author/consultant, The Center for Learning
Wednesday, April 19, 9:15-10:30
Service: There's No Place Like Home, Jean Revil and Kathleen Ruginis, Bishop Stang High School (MA)
Wednesday, April 19, 11:00-12:15
Connecting with the Congregation's Charism in a Student Friendly Way, Sr. Lisa Novak, SND, Sisters of Notre Dame, Chardon
Wednesday, April 19, 1:15-2:30
Eight Great Ways to Bring Catholic Social Teaching to Life in Your Classroom, Sr. Katherine Feely, SND, Regina High School, Cleveland
Wednesday, April 19, 3:00-4:15
Living Faith, Loving Action: Catholic Social Teaching and the Catholic Secondary School, Chris Scalise, National Catholic Educational Association
Wednesday, April 19, 3:00-4:15
The SACRED Model of Adult Spiritual Formation, Thomas Vresics, Salesianum School (DE)
Wednesday, April 19, 4:15-5:00
Fair Trade Coffee and Chocolate Reception, hosted by Catholic Relief Services (c.f. Friday's schedule, below)
Thursday, April 20, 9:15-10:30
(Re)Designing a High School Religion Curriculum: Theme-Based Approach and Resources that Work, J. D. Childs, Cardinal Gibbons High School, (NC)
Thursday, April 20, 9:15-10:30
Principle Centered Campus Ministry, Roy J. Petitfils, St. Thomas Catholic High School, Lafayette, LA
Thursday, April 20, 11:00-12:15
Gifts for the Kingdom: New Ways to See Your Heart's Treasures, Br. Michael O'Neill McGrath, OSFS, Oblates of St. Francis DeSales
On how art and symbol can be used to teach and share the Faith.
Thursday, April 20, 11:00-12:15
Campus Ministry Roundtable: Charting New Futures in Secondary School Pastoral Life, facilitated by Br. Dennis Wermert, SC, Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen, NJ
Thursday, April 20, 1:15-2:30
Cinema and Catechesis, William Raddell, Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, Cleveland, and author/consultant, The Center for Learning
Thursday, April 20, 1:15-2:30
Educating Minds, Hearts and Hands for Faith: The Development of High School Religion Textbooks, Michael Amodei, Ave Maria Press
Thursday, April 20, 3:00-4:15
Practical Ways to Promote Vocations across the Curriculum, Sr. Renee Daigle, MSC, National Religious Vocation Conference
Friday, April 21, 9:00-10:00
Bringing Justice to Life: Teaching Catholic Social Thought by Journeying with John Paul II, Jane Deren, Center of Concern, and Sr. Katherine Feely, SND, Regina High School, Cleveland
Friday, April 21, 9:00-10:00
CRS' Fair Trade Program and Teaching Techniques, Neal Deles, Catholic Relief Services
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Mark Your Calendars for these upcoming NCEA professional development opportunities in 2006-07:
NCEA National Convention, April 10-13, 2007, Baltimore, Maryland
National Conference for Religion Teachers, Campus Ministers and Service Directors, June 28-July 1, 2007, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
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ISLAM: WHAT CATHOLICS NEED TO KNOW
By Rev. Elias D. Mallon, SA, Ph.D.
A New Publication By NCEA
Over the centuries Christianity and Islam have been in constant contact. Almost one quarter of the world's population follows the way of Islam. Muslims form one of the fastest growing groups in the U.S., numbering more than Episcopalians and Presbyterians. This book addresses questions such as: Who are Muslims and what do they believe? This brief overview of our mutual history is intended to help put contemporary fears, attitudes and hopes in context. Includes maps, illustrations and index. 2006. (144 pages, $15.00/members, $22.00/non-members) To purchase a copy, call our Member Services Department at 202-337-6232 or visit the bookstore online at /store/
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LIVING MISSION: THE ROLE OF FAITH IN BUILDING HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY
By William Hudson, Ed.D.
The Secondary Schools Department of NCEA conducted a series of studies on the state of various aspects of the Catholic High School called CHS2000. Living Mission: A CHS2000 Report of Catholic High School Community is the last report in the series and will be published this spring. In Living Mission Dr. Hudson describes the results of surveys of students, faculty members and heads of school on what builds and sustains a school community. Not surprisingly, expressions of faith are perceived to be very important if not central to Catholic school community. This article is excerpted from the conclusion to the report. We preview these conclusions here to help you and your school with their planning for the 2006-07 school year. If you are interested to read more, the full report should be published in April. Contact us for more information.
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….Students, faculty, and the heads of school all agree on the central place of the Eucharist in building community in their school. The Mass is seen as an opportunity to celebrate the shared values of the school and a way to strengthen the school community to live the way of faith. One hundred percent (100%) of heads of schools see liturgy as significant in building community. Ninety-four percent (94%) of teachers regard liturgy and prayer as having the greatest impact on community; 65% of students agree.
There are, however, some incongruities. Faculty members are less likely than administrators to see the integral nature of the Eucharist in fostering community. Most teachers consider an orderly school environment and high academic expectations as making the greatest contribution to building community. For some, winning sports teams were seen as more influential than Mass.
Prayer
Many consider prayer a source of community in the school. Prayer occurs throughout the day of the student in a variety of contexts led by a number of different people. Prayer begins the day in a majority of schools and continues through each class period. Yet prayer does not stop with the last bell. Students are engaged through prayer both on the playing field and at extra-curricular activities. Students are likely to witness a teacher, an administrator, or frequently, one of their peers leading prayer.
It is interesting to note that students admit they are more likely to participate in prayer at sporting competitions, "huddles" and banquets than during class or at school assemblies. With a majority of students participating in one or more sports, athletics are yet another avenue to communicate the values and faith of the school community. However, it is becoming more common for adults from outside the school to coach athletics and many do not participate in staff development activities designed to advance the mission and Catholic identity of the school. This looms as a significant challenge to the Catholic identity of Catholic high schools.
Retreats
Both students and adults deem retreats very important. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of students rank retreats as the second most influential program or service in fostering a sense of belonging in their school. Earlier studies by NCEA's Secondary Schools Department (Window on Mission, 2002) identify prayer, relationships, communication, moral decision-making and retreats as the most common topics for student retreats. The school's mission statement is incorporated into retreats in 38% of schools.
Absent from most school's retreats is the involvement of faculty with the exception of campus ministers. Only 8% of students indicate that retreats are an opportunity to interact with a faculty member. Clearly, students want to know their teacher outside of the classroom. Retreats are one such opportunity to foster interaction between the adults and students in the school building. It is often said that faith is caught, not taught. Retreats are a natural time to build positive and faith-filled relationships between adults and students and helps teachers fulfill their vocation of witnessing to their faith.
Connections to Charism, History, and Heritage
Many schools mentioned a specific charism of a religious congregation as instrumental in their success in building community. The school's motto, such as "Servium," "Fortes en Fide," "Men and Women for Others," and "Seek, listen through Truth and Charity" were offered as the "glue that holds everyone together." The motto and charism of the schools guide the school and teachers "illustrate it constantly" one student reported….The charism, heritage, and history of these schools result in higher levels of community. Even relatively new schools, also founded by a religious congregation, reveal high levels of community.
What is a Charism and How Can We Get One?
All that occurs on our campus is somehow grounded in the charism of the religious community that sponsors our school. Using the charism as foundational to everything we do makes building community a natural development because we are all on the same page. We know why we exist. The charism is our launching pad from which all emanates. (Head of School response to an open ended question in the survey)
Stories of the founders of religious congregations and their spirituality become touchstones providing guidance for everyday decisions and life. Oftentimes these charisms have a nuanced approach to pedagogy that is reflected in the curriculum. However, diocesan and parochial schools have a history and heritage of their own to discover and develop. Many have undertaken efforts at researching the story of the bishop, saint, or person after which the school is named. They are successfully creating a charism, i.e., giving their community a distinctive nature and spirit….
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THE EMMAUS JOURNAL EDUCATOR'S EXCHANGE
We invite teachers "in the field" to submit descriptions of programming in their schools or classrooms. All submissions are for your consideration for incorporation into your own teaching. If you are doing something that you think others would be interested to know, please email Chris Scalise, editor of The Emmaus Journal, for inclusion in the next issue. Please limit your submission to 100-200 words and include your position, school and an email address where readers can contact you for more information about your great ideas. If you can share a link that will take readers to more information, please do.
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Parental Involvement in School Liturgies
submitted by Sr. Agnes Cunningham
from Albertus Magnus High School, Bardonia, New York
At Albertus Magnus all parents are invited to the bi-monthly Friday Mass for the students and to school Masses on Ash Wednesday and the Wednesday of Holy Week and for Thanksgiving and Christmas. All grandparents are also invited to the pre-Thanksgiving. Deceased grandparents are remembered there as well.
Open House each year begins with Mass and Catholic traditions, sacraments and devotions (like throat blessings) are honored and celebrated. The school chaplain involves local clergy to the extent possible. All prayer celebrations - Mass, confessions, etc. - are publicized well in advance, via the school newsletter, for example.
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1077 30 th Street NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-337-6232
Fax: 202-333-6706
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