Ministry formation online

Laly Arteaga, Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of Victory Church in Beeville, demonstrates how easy it is to take an online class through the new Institute for Parish Leadership and Ministry Formation.

Armando Musquez for South Texas Catholic
 

She is referring to the newly formed Institute for Parish Leadership and Ministry Formation in the diocese, which began offering online certification classes in catechesis in both English and Spanish in November 2017. Live classes will start in Fall 2018, so parishioners will have a choice in how they want to learn. The classes are available not only for religious educators but for those who just want to learn more about their faith. 

Katzfey, who has been a religious educator for more than 20 years, lives in George West with her husband Deacon Shane Katzfey, director of religious education at St. George. Like many volunteer catechists, she works full time, has a family and keeps a busy schedule.  Both have traveled long distances in the past to take the necessary training courses in person so they could teach formation classes.

“In the past, I would take time off during the summer, and it was not convenient. I had to travel to Ingleside. This is much more convenient,” Katzfey, who works as a school librarian, said. 

The institute now offers three different online certifications for parish catechists and Catholic school teachers. The diocese plans to provide the same certification classes live beginning this fall.  

Diocese of Corpus Christi Director of Catechesis Therese Recinella demonstrates the online certification classes available through the new Institute for Parish Leadership and Ministry Formation. Dayna Mazzei Worchel for South Texas Catholic

Therese Recinella, Director of Catechesis for the diocese, said she is excited about the blended learning program of live and online classes for parish catechists who both teach religious education and individuals who are involved in youth ministry. The program is powered online through a partnership between the diocese and a company called “My Catholic Faith Delivered.”

Recinella said the Diocese subsidizes the cost of the courses, so they are only $30 each. The entire cost of Level One certification, which includes 22 lessons and a retreat is $115. The online courses take one hour each. 

“And you’ll notice that the program is intentionally balanced. It’s in three areas of ministry formation, which are spirituality, Biblical/theological and ministerial,” she said.

Recinella said people could take the Level One or Level Two certifications online or they will be able to make the courses live. Whether they choose the classes live or online, there will be an integrated retreat connected to the formation. The parish and the youth ministry catechist certifications are bilingual, for all of the other courses people taking them online can change the language from English to Spanish. 

The diocese calls Level One a “Call to Teach” because it gives individuals an opportunity to discern their calling to that ministry. Being a catechist is an identified vocation in the Church, Recinella said. The second level is “Called to Serve,” which focuses on the catechist as one who serves within the parish community.  

Recinella said the hope is that Level Three, a “Call to Witness,” will attract those who complete Level One and Level Two to become witnesses for ongoing formation in their communities. 

“It doesn’t stop at first communion; it doesn’t stop at confirmation. A deepening and understanding of our faith is lifelong. What we want from Level Three is ongoing formation and growth in the parish,” Recinella said.

These classes are not limited to those who teach. The diocese has three partnerships to facilitate the certification classes. Through “My Catholic Faith Delivered” the diocese gets the essential catechist formation and the level one and level two catechist formation program. 

“We also have a way to track certification digitally. So, it’s a full learning management system that includes the doctrinal lessons that we configured to a level one and level two and it’s also a tracking system so that all of our offerings, as we build different formation tracks, will be tracked through this same system. If our offices here sponsor a conference, the registration is done through this system,” Recinella said. 

The online lessons begin with a welcome letter from Bishop Michael Mulvey and a prayer. The information is presented in an easy to read text with a quiz at the end. And there are videos, group discussions and an online journal for students, which they can keep private. 

The diocese also has a partnership with Catholic Distance University, in which they created a program just for its Catholic school teachers that need certification to meet the new Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops education requirements. The requirements were updated in 2014 to either what is an equivalent of a minor in religious education in theology or 150 hours from an accredited Catholic university or college. These classes are only offered online for the teachers. 

Also in the works is a partnership with Franciscan University to offer training to RCIA coordinators, teams and catechists through online workshops provided by the university.  

The institute replaces the St. Paul School of Catechesis, a religious education program previously used by the diocese.    

All of the people from the St. Paul School have been “grandfathered,” so no one will have to repeat courses, and everyone receives credit for anything they took in the St. Paul School.  

Throughout the last year, the office has been working with its religious education coordinators to identify catechists who had course credit so that they can receive credit and place them in the new program where they need to be, she said. 

The diocese Office of Evangelization and Catechesis is the lead agent for this initiative because as the catechetical office all the formation is under its purview. But, Recinella said, development of the program was a team effort among the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis and other diocesan departments.

One of the most significant needs for the diocese was finding a convenient and uniform way for catechists in outlying parishes to take the necessary courses. In the past, these religious educators, like the Katzfeys, had to travel long distances for live classes over long periods of time. 

Laly Arteaga, a director of religious education at Our Lady of Victory Church in Beeville, said she used to travel to Corpus Christi every weekend for three years. She spent time in class on Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. She also works full time for a doctor Monday through Thursday.    

“It’s awesome,” Arteaga said about the online courses. “Sometimes things happen, and it’s hard for people to get to class. Online is easier, and you do it when you can.” 

Arteaga, who participated in the pilot program the diocese offered, has already completed the Level One certificate and is working on Level Two.  

For more information about the online formation program, go to diocesecc.org/institute or call (361) 882-6191, ext. 634.