Resources

Purpose: The Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry fosters the evangelizing, catechizing mission of the Church by assisting parishes in forming true disciples of Christ through a) missionary activity directed to non-believers; b) initial proclamation directed to those inquiring about the faith; c) initial catechetical activity directed to catechumens and to candidates seeking full communion; d) pastoral activity directed to the baptized but uncatechized and the unchurched and e) permanent catechesis centered around ongoing conversion, discipleship, maturity in faith and fullness of life in Christ.

The Office offers vision and framework for evangelization and catechetical ministry that is grounded in Scripture and based on The Diocesan General Plan, The Catechism of the Catholic Church; The National Directory for Catechesis, Go and Make Disciples, and Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us. The office provides formation for catechists, preschool through adult, including those with special needs and serves in the formation and resourcing of parish catechetical and evangelization leadership in the areas of Catechetical Programming; Evangelization; RCIA; Adult Faith Formation; Infant Baptism; and Small Christian Communities.

Goal One: To promote enthusiastic evangelization and systematic, authentic catechesis embracing Catholics of all ages who are in need of ongoing evangelization and thorough catechesis.

Objective A: To assist and encourage parish evangelization and catechetical leadership through ongoing formation, inservice, consultation and support.

Strategies: To offer regular inservice meetings, days of reflection and retreats; to provide courses and workshops on evangelization and catechesis; to provide orientation to new leadership; to review curriculum; to communicate pertinent information; to maintain adequate statistics; to consult on individual basis as needed; to serve as a liaison for hiring parish catechetical and evangelization leadership.

Objective B: To give priority to and promote adult catechesis as the principal form of catechesis.

Strategies: To offer courses, workshops, inservices and suggested resources on adult formation, discipleship, Scripture, inculturation of the Gospel and transformation of the culture; to promote intergenerational and whole parish catechesis.

Objective C: To make accessible audio-visual and curriculum resources for use in programs of evangelization and catechesis.

Strategies: To provide resources through Media and Resource Centers in San Diego and Imperial Valley; to provide a media catalog and resource lists, to consult and recommend media for programming; to provide workshops on the use of media; to maintain a curriculum library.

Goal Two: To form, certify and renew catechists and master catechists.

Objective: To provide formation and renewal opportunities for master catechists and for catechists of preschoolers through adults, including special religious education.

Strategies: To offer Basic Catechist Formation Courses throughout the diocese; to offer specialization courses and workshops in areas such as Preschool, Special Religious Education, Catechetical Methods, Adult Faith Formation, Evangelization, Infant Baptism, RCIA; to provide master catechist formation as needed; to provide renewal opportunities through conferences and workshops; to assist with coordination and implementation of the Annual Conference for Church Ministers; to integrate media and technology into formation programs wherever possible; to issue all certificates and maintain certification and renewal records for all catechists and master catechists.

Goal Three: To promote evangelization and integral catechesis to those who do not know Christ and have not been baptized, and to Christians seeking full communion.

Objective: To assist parish evangelization and initiation leadership through ongoing formation, inservice, consultation and support.

Strategies: To offer courses, workshops and inservice opportunities in developing the evangelizing and initiating dimensions of ministry; to organize parish participation in the Diocesan Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion; to provide consultation and to suggest resources.

Goal Four: To promote the new evangelization and integral catechesis for Catholics who are alienated, inactive or unchurched.

Objective: To raise awareness and support parishes in efforts to evangelize or re-evangelize and to assist in developing the welcoming and evangelizing dimension of parish ministry.

Strategies: To offer inservice opportunities, courses and workshops in developing the evangelizing dimension of ministry; to provide training for Visitadores por Cristo; to serve as a resource.

Goal Five: To integrate pertinent church documents and the six tasks of catechesis into programming.

Objective A: To provide opportunities for leadership, catechists, and adults to explore content, implementation and integration into parish ministry.

Strategies: To offer inservices to Catechetical and Evangelization Leadership; to review and/or revise courses and materials in light of documents where appropriate.

Objective B: To implement aspects of the National Directory for Catechesis which need to be integrated into the work of the Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry.

Strategies: To discuss the implications and implementation with OECM staff and pertinent diocesan offices; to revise the Master Catechist Formation Course, handbooks, guidelines and materials in light of the NDC; to determine the feasibility of integrating and developing initiatives called for by the NDC, such as curriculum guidelines, evaluation of parish catechetical programming, and certification of parish catechetical leadership.

Objective C: To keep updated on current developments in catechesis and evangelization.

Strategies: To study new ecclesial documents and their implications for evangelization and catechesis; to integrate advancements in media and technology, where appropriate.