Submitted by St. Ignatius in Franklin, TN

Proposal:

In 2010 our parish began implementing The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in our religious education program.  10 members of our parish began our Level 1 training, which will be completed this summer.  We started two Level 1 atria in the fall, serving 30 3-6 year-olds.  We hope to open Level 2 for our 6-9 year-olds in 2013, and Level 3 (for ages 9-12) in 2016.

Goals:

Our goal is to eventually serve all of our children aged 3-12 with CGS.  We hope to raise a generation of children who live their Orthodox faith.  As future generations grow, they too will be served.  In one year, we will have fully trained and certified Level 1 Catechists, and all the materials needed to serve this age.  In five years, we will see our first group of children, who at age 3 started in our first atrium, enter into Level 3.  We will have fully implemented CGS into our parish.

Implementation:

By the summer of 2011, 10 teachers will be certified Level 1 catechists.  We will continue to serve our 3-6 year-olds for the next two years.  During the academic year of 2011-2012, four Level 1 catechists will be trained in Level 2.  We hope to open our Level 2 atrium in the fall of 2013.  During the next three years, 2 catechists from Level 2 will train for Level 3.  During these years, we hope to train 4-6 parents as assistants, to fill the gaps left by catechists who move up to serve older children.  In the fall of 2016, we hope to open our Level 3 atrium.  We will have trained 15 people in 6 years.  During these years, catechists and parents are working together to create all the materials needed for all 3 levels.

Timeline for Implementation:

In the summer of 2010 we introduced the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to our parish families with an informational talk given by Seraphima Butler.  After our training, we held tours for prospective Level 1 children and parents.  In September, we held a "Parents' Night" when parents could hear about our year's plan, tour their child's atrium, view artwork, and ask questions.  We regularly have parents observe our sessions and hope to send out a regular newsletter to parents.  We frequently ask for parent feedback, and also encourage parents to participate in the materials-making process.  Our hope is that parents will become partners to the catechist spiritual formation starts in the home.  We are merely aids in this formation as catechists.