We offer Sunday School for all children every Sunday immediately after
High Mass, for 60 minutes. The Sunday School seeks to introduce children
to the Bible, Christian life, and our worship in the Anglican tradition,
as well as to help prepare them for Holy Communion.
This year we have introduced the Catechesis of the
Good Shepherd for children who are from three to six years old.
The program is conducted by trained volunteers in a newly renovated
space in the undercroft called "The Atrium." We welcome all
children the age range to participate.
If you have any questions or wish to help, please contact
Catherine Held.
Catechesis of The Good Shepherd:
An Overview
When we help the child to encounter
God we are responding to the child’s unspoken request "Help
me to come close to God. Help me to be fully who I am."
—Sofia Cavalletti
What is the Catechesis
of the Good Shepherd?
- Method of Christian formation of the child that is based in Montessori method that was developed by Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi in Rome in the 1950’s
- Children meet in an “Atrium” – a special place prepared for the child
- Children begin the atrium at 3 years of age
- Uses the liturgical year to guide curriculum and employs hands-on, sensorial materials
- Ultimate goal is to help the child “fall in love” with Jesu
What does an atrium look like?
- Child sized furnishings
- Each material has its own place
- Atmosphere of quiet and reverence
- A place where work easily becomes meditation and praye
How is it different from to a traditional
pre-K Sunday School class?
- Children do not sit at a desk. There are no textbooks or worksheets to bring home.
- Materials used are hands-on manipulatives made on a smaller scale, such as a child size altar.
- Lessons are presented to 1-3 children at a time, rather than to the whole group.
- Time for communal meditation after the presentation can be spent in silence or song, as well as in discussing open-ended questions.
- Children are invited to choose the material/work to which they are drawn to work on during the atrium and replace it on the shelf when they are finished.
- Children spend most of the atrium working individually.
- Children are taught how to behave to maintain a quiet and reverent atmosphere
- Practical life works such as cleaning, watering plants, are a part of the atrium, and provide further opportunities to build the concentration skills helpful for prayer.
- The varying age groups learn from one another by observing and modeling behaviour.
- Catechist as a facilitator, with great care
taken to avoid unnecessary interruptions in the child's work (power
of silence is more important than facility with speech
We welcome adults and older teens who are interested in
helping with instruction, activities or field trips.
