Faith 'fun'damentals
St. Theodore's catechism mixes laughter with personal responsibility for life with Jesus
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published December 1, 2006
Paul Sposite
Students from St. Theodore Parish's catechism class have fun in front of the church this fall after their tug-o-war over a tarp full of pudding. The parish's new catechism strategy involves messier fellowship activities than your average class | Detroit - At St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish in Westland, the youth catechism classes are often a complete mess.
And that's not an insult.
Youth ministers are engaging catechism students at the parish with a new brand of ministry called STATIC — Students Taking Action Together in Christ. Finding that it's difficult to reach grade school-aged students with normal school-style lessons, they've found ways to incorporate the unusual and exciting.
There are even activities such as tug-o-war over a pool of pudding and balloon-popping contests.
"You never know what's going to happen," says Christian Oyson, a seventh-grader in the catechism program. "You know the theme and that's it."
In the catechism class, everything centers on the student's personal relationship with Christ. And that includes building a relationship with the Body of Christ they find in their peers.
STATIC
What is it? A fun-filled catechism class that stresses the dignity of the student and their personal relationship with Christ.
Who has it? St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish in Westland.
Who's involved? Students from their grade-school catechism classes.
What do they do? Bible study; team building; messy activities; and service projects.
When did it start? In 2005.
Are they on the Web? Yes, at www.staticyouth.com.
| "What we've tried to do here is completely adapt the whole concept of youth ministry so that instead of doing what most parishes would do — an educational model, sliding in an occasional youth activity — we're doing youth ministry and sliding in the educational component," says Theresa Lisiecki, director of religious education at St. Theodore Parish.
Lisiecki helped spearhead the new style of catechism classes at the parish last year. Approached by a fellow youth minister, Paul Sposite, she saw an opportunity to combat the apathy which crept into run-of-the-mill catechism classes where students sat at desks and were taught just as they were in school.
"For me, personally, it comes out of 27 years of watching small children coming in with eyes lit and excited in kindergarten, and then in about the third, fourth or fifth grade, their eyes gloss over and their faces fall and they do not want to be here anymore," Lisiecki says. "When their eyes gloss over, we lose them."
The answer, the STATIC program assumes, is that the students need more responsibility and more fun.
KristinLukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Eighth-graders Bethany Thrun, Julie Demaree and Kaitlyn Gluth, and ninth-grader Hanna Perkins, have enjoyed STATIC events in the past. | Instead of assuming that a student's parents foster and strengthen a personal relationship with Christ in the home and that catechism classes serve to strengthen what already exists, Lisiecki says, St. Theodore's program starts from the ground up. It challenges the students to develop that relationship.
And as most students show a hunger for the truth about Christ in their lives and in history, they use the Bible as their textbook, and each activity centers around a Gospel message.
The schedule of the class is unusual, too. Like many youth groups, the STATIC classes meet on Sundays. Every other Sunday they have a mandatory class where students tackle the Bible and issues that face them in life. On alternating Sundays, though, they have an optional class that involves fun activities.
Dozens show up, and some even bring their friends.
"It's a fun way to learn about (the Bible) and understand it," says Julie Demareeshe, an eighth-grader in the STATIC class.
Sposite, who's in charge of educating the middle school-aged students, says the subject matter becomes as personal as it ought to be, instead of a practice of memorization.
"The whole goal is to give the kids ownership of their faith," he says. "At this age level it's no longer about memorization, it's about heart."
That's why it's good to know that students choose to show up every other Sunday. In fact, he says, about a half-dozen students joined as a result of visiting the class with their friends.
STATIC store
What they sell: Books, rosaries, religious goods, gifts.
Location: 875 Wing Street in Plymouth.
Hours: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon- 4 p.m. Sunday.
Call: (734) 459-5320.
Web: www.staticgifts.com
| The STATIC ministry has been so popular, that the ministers and volunteers have started a small retail store to support it. The store, Static Gifts, opened to the public this fall in Plymouth.
"The goal with STATIC is to get people to love the faith, love the Church," Sposite says. "One way is through education and buying books, buying crosses, rosaries, stuff along those lines — it was a good fit for us."
Because the STATIC ministry tries to address aspects of students' relationships with Christ that need to be fostered at home, the ministers say their future plans involve outreach and education to parents, too.
But for that program, they might omit the tug-o-war over pudding.
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