Points To Consider

•  You DO NOT need to have a child in the program, but you DO need to be able to work with children.

• You DO NOT need a theology or teaching degree, or be an expert on all things Catholic, but you do need to love God and be willing to share that love with others.

• Catechists need to be a practicing Catholic that agrees with the Catholic church teachings and will not denigrate our religion.

• Adult volunteers need to be 18+ and pass a favorable background check.

• All training, materials, and supplies are provided!

• We will help you to become a certified catechist!
   

• The Different Roles For Adults

• Catechists – lead teacher of the class or Co-Catechists – share in leading the class.

• Catechist Aides – Assist the Catechist in managing the classroom.

• Fill-in Catechist – willing to substitute for the teacher and lead the class.

• Substitutes – willing to help sub for our aides and help manage the classroom.

Sometimes what we need most is more adult supervision! Help us keep an eye on the kids, keep everyone safe, and help our teachers where needed.

• Tasks to be Performed: Each catechist works together with a catechist aide to share duties and responsibilities as needed.  

  • Six Tasks of Catechesis: Promoting Knowledge Of The Faith, Liturgical Action, Moral Formation, Teaching To Pray, Education For Community Life, and Missionary Initiation 

• Planning:  

  • Using the provided teacher guides, books, and resources to create lesson plans for each class including liturgical lessons when appropriate. 

  • Creatively using music and audio visual materials and resources when appropriate. 

  • Building in opportunities for all six tasks of catechesis. 

• Communication

  • Communicate with and follow the leadership of the DRE. 

  • Work cooperatively with other Catechetical staff. 

  • Become acquainted with individual participants and their families. 

  • Communicate with parents about child’s progress and/or behavior on a regular basis.

  •  Communicate effectively with the age groups with which one works. 

• Abilities needed:        

  • Believe deeply in Jesus and the Catholic Tradition and want to share that belief with others. 

  • Committed to the Catholic Church and the Church’s teaching mission. 

  • Able to participate fully in the sacramental life of the Church. 

  • A person of prayer, conscious of the gift of faith in one’s life. 

  • Able to deal with conflict and disagreement in a sensitive and understanding manner. 

  • Able to work with co-catechist in sharing responsibility. 

  • Committed to continuing growth, formation and certification as catechist. 

• Commitments beyond sessions:    

  • Attendance at Catholic faith community Catechetical Sunday and or end of the year celebration. 

  • Willing to participate in catechist meetings, in-service and planning meetings. 

  • Set time aside to prepare for Catechetical sessions. 

• Length of commitment: The program meets every Sunday from 1030 to 1200 for 23-25 weeks.  

  • DoDEA School Calendar and the USCCB Liturgical Calendar are used in deciding which weekends class sessions are held.

  • A complete schedule including holidays and in-service opportunities is available from the CRE or DRE.  

  • A commitment minimum of one year is expected.  

  • Each spring the Catechetical Leader will need to know if the commitment will be renewed. 

• Supervision and Support:  Direct support and supervision is provided by the DRE

• Training Offered for this Position:

  • Beside the initial orientation and evaluation, the parish DRE will see to it that each catechist is aware of the parish, regional and diocesan formation opportunities. 

  • When possible, the parish will provide financial support or assistance for you to participate in these opportunities. 

  • Familiarization with Archdiocesan policy for child protection. 

  • Boy Scout Youth Protection Training

  • Background Checks completed by the Air Force Chapel

1. Background Check & Badge

   1. The badge process is done with the Air Force Ramstein North Chapel Staff.

   2. Fill out the Background Check Forms

      1. Forms attached at the top of this document. If you have trouble please email or come early for your appointment time. We can also print the forms for you.

      2. Fill out everything you can, bring it with you to your appointment and they will go over the forms with you before doing fingerprints.

   3. They take about 2-3 weeks to process through the various base organizations (longer in the summer) and they will contact you and the RE coordinator when your badge is ready.

   4. I keep all the badges, please don’t take them home. This way they don’t get lost and we always have them for class.

   5. All Catholic Adult Volunteers who work with children will get a YELLOW badge unless otherwise advised.

2. Boy Scout Youth Protection Training

   1. Use this link https://www.scouting.org/training/youth-protection/

   2. Scroll to the middle of the page and you will click on the logo with the red box that says "New to Scouting? Click Here To Take Training"

   3. Create an account

   4. Take the training - takes about an hour, safety videos and little quizzes

   5. Then you will receive a certificate that is good for 2 years

   6. Save to your computer and email that to the coordinator for your record

3. AMS Basic Catechist Certification

   1. https://www.milarch.org/catechist-certification/ Valid for 3 years

   2. All basic training paid for by the chapel and available to all our Catechists

   3. Catholic Methodology Classes - teach you how to make lessons using the AMS resources

      1. University of Dayton’s Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCC) or Catholic Distance University (CDU)

1. VLCC: One 5-week e-course or two  3-week e-seminars https://vlcff.udayton.edu/   

2. CDU: One independent study e-course or one facilitated e-seminar https://cdu.edu/group-subsidy/

• Roles & Responsibilities:

  • The primary role of the Junior Catechists is to support the Catechists and Aides in the classroom.

  • Under the direction of the teacher, this can include: help with sign in/out, help getting supplies to or from the supply closet, help manage the students to ensure safety at all times, follow teacher instructions, help students with classwork and crafts, teach parts of a lesson or read out loud, help students spell or read, and help clean up after class.

  • Junior Catechists in our Edge & Confirmation Classes may also assist with lessons or small group discussions.

• How To Apply:

  • Your parent or guardian will send an email to holyfamilycatholicre@gmail.com

  • Please include: Teen volunteer’s name, birthday, age, grade, school, if they have completed Confirmation, T-shirt size and if you have a preference of what grade/age group you would like to work with

 Q&A

• Who can be a Junior Catechist? Any teen under 18 who has already completed their Sacrament of Confirmation.

• Can I teach my own class? Yes! We want to empower and support you if you feel called to teach, so if you feel like you could teach a class of your own let's talk about it. If the following sounds like something you can do talk to Ms. Tina the coordinator and we can see if this is a role for you:
  - You feel like you have a good foundation of Catholic knowledge
  - You can manage a class of students to keep them on task and manage behavior
  - You would be good at following your teaching instruction book or creating your own lessons
  - You can commit to helping all school year for our RE class dates
  **There will always be an adult assigned with you to assist and the coordinator is always on site so you aren’t on your own if you need help, or if there are any issues and for safety.**

• When would I have to help? You will join your assigned class in the Ramstein Intermediate School (RIS) Cafeteria each Sunday of class by 1030 and be done after 1200 when all the students are signed out.

• What if I can’t make it one Sunday (sick or school/club/scouts)? If you will be absent, please let me and/or the teacher you assist know.

• How will the kids know I’m not just another student? You will have your own Junior Catechist Badge to wear each class.

• What classes are there to help in? Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, First Holy Communion & Heritage (our 2nd grade and up classes that are doing FHC Prep), Edge (middle school) and Confirmation (8th grade and up).

• Can I pick what grade/class I help in? Yes, but it’s also a maybe answer. I try really hard to put you where you want to be! We want you to be happy helping in our classes. We also have to spread out our helpers and make sure the classes that need help get the help they need. So that means if we have 5 teens that want to help in kindergarten but none that requested 1st grade you may be asked to move to one of the other classes. We try to have at least one Junior Catechist in each classroom and 2-3 in Edge and Confirmation.

• Is it true that if you volunteer in the Confirmation classes you get to attend the retreat too? Yes (depending on budget and space availability)! We do take junior catechists on the retreat with us. It is a lot of fun and a great experience. But you are primarily there to assist at the retreat and be a helper. It is a very big and important year so we are picky with who is a JC for the Confirmation class. Those JC in Confirmation class will be asked first to attend retreat with us and if there are any spaces left we will ask our other JCs.

• What if something makes me uncomfortable or I’m unsure about? We want to have a safe and educational year for all students! If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, something you are unsure about, something that makes you uneasy, please report it to your teacher and to Ms. Tina as soon as possible and we will address it! You are never expected to deal with situations on your own and we take all concerns seriously. You can talk to Ms. Tina at any time! Please speak to your parents and our Priests also! Learning in a safe environment is our top priority!

This job provides the opportunity to: 

• Understand the meaning of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.  

• Invite others to respond and live out the mission of the Church. 

• Have the honor of representing and helping the parish in forming disciples.  

• Spend time with some of the most wonderful people you have ever met! 

Last, but not least - the small ways we like to treat our wonderful volunteers:

• Invitation to your family to join our Annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet

• RE Program t-shirt

• Gifts from HFCC to show our appreciation at Christmas and the end of the year

• Recognition for your contributions at your last Mass before you PCS