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Submitted July 3, 2005
Remarks About the
Religious Education Seminar |
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The Greek Archdiocese Department of Religious
Education (DRE) held its bi-annual Religious
Education Seminar at Holy Cross from June 16-18.
The seminar was well organized by hard-working and
pleasant folks. The religious education talks
provided very basic information about Orthodox
theology (worship, scripture, practice). The
missing components were formal opportunities for
dialogue among the participants, practical parish
application of such concepts and resources for
implementation. As a graduate of Holy Cross, a
certified teacher and my parish’s church school
director, I went to the seminar looking for more
than what was offered. My personal expectations
were to receive foundational knowledge, strategies
for application in a parish/family life/church
school setting and supporting resources. This
seminar fell short of my expectations. An
opportunity to evaluate the seminar was not
offered. Participants were informed that if they
had any suggestions, they could send an email to
the Director. Therefore, I offer this letter as my
feedback.
I registered for this seminar primarily to learn
about implementing a family-based parish
catechetical program. The Director of the DRE gave
two very similar presentations on this topic (the
first to clergy and the second to religious
educators). Both of the talks presented compelling
reasons why this should be done (and reinforced
the work of Sophie Koulomzin, Our Church and Our
Children). After the clergy presentation, I asked
if this had been tested anywhere in the
Archdiocese (the answer was no), if there was an
implementation plan, if there was a training
schedule and if materials had been developed
(there were no answers). At the second talk on
this subject, the Director very clearly stated to
the religious educators that the DRE would be
discontinuing its current curriculum and adopting
a family-based parish catechetical program in its
place. Yes, he said to “replace”. He did not say
to augment or supplement – which would have been
reasonable. Because this would bring a significant
change to the GOA parishes, there was a bit of
discussion about this shift in direction. Again, I
asked the same questions as above and received
similar responses. One participant (whose brother
is a priest) did, however, say that the Director
told her that seminarians would be trained to
implement this in the parishes. That same
participant expressed concern about whether there
were enough seminarians to train all of the GOA
parishes.
I attended this summer seminar looking for
materials and ideas to supplement my parish’s
current programs. The seminar offered no authentic
engagement of our religious educators (the people
doing the work). We were told that the church
school program would be discontinued without a
plan for implementing this new family-based parish
initiative. This approach seems to be most
irresponsible in that there seems to be no
long-term implementation plan.
My deeper concern here is based on what transpired
at this conference and during a recent personal
inquiry made to the Director. Earlier this past
spring, I had a phone conversation with the
Director of the DRE in which I was told that there
was no plan to update any of the elementary
curriculum materials (some of which are decades
old) and that the proposed high school curriculum
would be available in one-year increments over the
next four years. When I explained that my parish’s
curriculum committee had evaluated our parish’s
needs and strengths and were looking for specific
materials, the Director asked if I had some lesson
plans that I could send him so he could post them
on-line for other teachers. While indeed there is
strength in sharing information, I was taken aback
by the Director’s response since the mission
statement for the DRE is “to serve the parishes
and dioceses of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America by providing materials and services that
will advance their programs of religious
education.” I felt like the tables were turned and
I was to serve the department’s needs by providing
them with information they requested.
These two interactions with the Director of the
DRE revealed a short sightedness in improving
existing materials, developing new materials and
supplemental resources with regard to the needs of
all of our parishes. One size does not fit all. A
critical look at our strengths, weaknesses and
areas in which we would like to grow – without
“throwing the baby out with the bath water” is
necessary.
On hearing of my phone conversation with the
Director, the curriculum committee in my parish
was very disappointed. Our theology is deep and
rich and yet, we are missing the boat in applying
this to the daily experiences of our children and
families. Currently, our teachers are on their
own. Although the Director reminded me that he
conducts an annual climate survey, the most
essential component in religious education –
authentic relationships - is missing.
Relationships require that we enter into authentic
dialogue with each other: listening, learning,
discerning and growing. Hence my profound
disappointment in the response of the Director to
my phone and in-person inquiries. Further, if the
DRE is responding to the Archbishop’s challenge
(delivered as the keynote address at the 34th
Clergy-Laity Congress in the summer of 2004) to
“establish a stronger and more Orthodox
catechetical system for the Greek Orthodox
faithful in America); and, if those “educational
initiatives include programs and resources to meet
the catechetical needs of the Total Parish;” then,
the connection between the mission and vision and
the direction is muddled by two facts. The first
is dispensing with the current curriculum. The
second is developing a family-based parish
education program when there is already an
Archdiocesan Center for Family Care (located at
St. Basil’s) working in parallel on this same
initiative.
The Director of St. Basil’s made a presentation at
this same summer seminar and showed some family
life materials they have developed to date. If
this department is working on a family program and
the DRE is shifting to an all family, parish
education model, it sounds like there is some
duplication. It appears at best that there is
confusion about vision and mission of these two
departments, and at worst, that there is unhealthy
competition between people and departments at the
expense of providing a vision, fulfilling the
mission and engaging our faithful.
We are and will continue to lose people, at least
in part, to this inertia and infighting. We need
people working on behalf of our faithful who are
more concerned about service and authentic
relationships than image (appearance) and who are
willing to risk doing the right thing for the
right reasons. We need the witness of people like
St. John Chrysostom and St. Nicholas who stood up
for the truth. They courageously faced the
consequences of standing up for good – they made
enemies even from within their own ranks! And yet,
today we are most proud of their witness and
continually call upon them for their prayers. It
is difficult to see, hear or experience such a
witness at the Archdiocese level – even when one
is looking for it!
Actions need to be taken to explore what is
needed, to listen and respond to the faithful, to
make changes where needed in personnel and
resources for the good of the faithful. Former
Director of DRE, Pauline Shiolas Sarantopoulos, is
known to have said that “we are all God’s
favorites” – why are we not treating our own
people this way? Don’t we deserve better?
Respectfully submitted by
Barbara Harris
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