Before summer gets away I wanted to follow up upon my first entry with the same title. Our 2 week intensive Religious Education or as we call it “School of Religion” Program is the only one of its kind in our metro area. Many parishes loathe the fact that we offer such a program. Many even at our own parish believe it is merely a way to “get a year done” quickly. But there are a few things that need to be pointed out about this kind of program. First, no program is perfect. Yes, there is the potential for parents to sign their busy child up for two weeks in the summer so they don’t have to take religious formation classes during the year, but that does not mean they are not learning during the year. Granted, it is possible that they are not doing anything during the year (other than hopefully going to Mass every Sunday). Our program now requires students and parents to come twice in the Fall and twice in the Spring for “Enrichment Sessions” where they build community and continue to grow in faith. Another key advantage of this program (which is from 9:00am to 12:30pm) is that for most of the students this is the only form of “education” they are getting during those two weeks. During the year students who go to religious formation during the year have been in school all day and then have to come to our parish for another hour and 15 minutes. This presents challenges of its own that are not a factor in our summer program. Also, students seem to process and retain the information and formation they are receiving because they have it day after day instead of only once a week. Many parents share how they believe their child gets more out of the summer because they are finding it easier for their child to connect the dots about their faith.
Although I was unsure when I first began working at the parish, I now am an advocate of the summer program. Feel free to contact me about it and I’d be happy to share more.
