Catechism isn't just for children any more

Intermountain Catholic

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One table group listens to their reader proclaim the Gospel for the group. They will then meditate on the reading, share input, write a prayer and draw a picture symbolic of the station they are studying. Later, they will share their picture with others. IC photo by Barbara S. Lee

DRAPER — If your idea of catechism is children going downstairs for classes and the adults stay upstairs having their own classes, Saint John the Baptist Parish in Draper has a whole new way of looking at religious education. On Feb.16, the parish held their third Whole Community Catechesis Event, "Journey with Jesus to the Cross."

The Scripture-based approach to the Stations of the Cross involved 14 groups of people, each group representing the demographics of the parish, said Karen Hurley, a member of the religious education team that planned the event.

"We are coming together as a community in anticipation of Lent," said Hurley. "Together we will journey with Jesus to the cross using the scriptural Stations of the Cross as instituted by the late Pope John Paul II."

Each group was asked to study one station, meditate on a symbol for the station, discuss what the station means to them, write a prayer using their station as a basis, draw an interpretation of the station, and explain to the whole group the meaning of the drawing and what was gained by studying that particular station.

The work began immediately after Kristen Mullens, one of the team, gave instructions and handed out symbols for each station. Each group had a reader, an idea person, and a task person and input from everyone, including the children, is valuable, said Hurley.

Out of the worship space at the front of the room, Mullens presented each of the 14 groups with a symbol of their station; for one, a crown of thorns, for another, a rooster, for yet another, a whip. Other symbols included a piece of purple fabric, a bowl of water, and a crucifix.

The men, women, and children at each table got right to work discussing their stations after the readers had done their work.

"This third whole community catechesis is designed to lead us up to Ash Wednesday and into the 40 days of Lent," Hurley said in an interview with the Intermountain Catholic. The evening, divided in half, was augmented by the music of Stephen Penderghast, Bill Kaiser, and Cathy Arndt.

As the discussion continued, the prayers and the drawings began to take shape.

Mullens said all Catholics walk with Jesus through their baptism. "We are all siblings of Jesus, and we solidify our relationships with Jesus. We ask ourselves, ‘What is my mission?’ And we try to answer that question through prayer and meditation on each of the Stations of the Cross."

At one table, a child was reading a prayer the group had written. At another, a teenage boy, Kyle Kaplanis, was carefully drawing an image of the crucifixion. The groups were encouraged to pass the symbol of their station around, so everyone could feel it and take it, if only for a time, as their own experience of the passion and death of Christ.

After a brief break, representatives from each table were invited up to present their poster picture that represented their station. They also were asked to fill out surveys evaluating this Whole Community Catechesis Event.

There was no lack off enthusiasm or involvement at the tables as the groups opened up to each other, sharing their thoughts, and writing prayers for each station.