First class September 21

Our first class will be September 21, 2014. Our theme this year will be human dignity. Using the incarnation and resurrection as a lens, family workshops will focus on the implications of dignity to the self (November 16) and to others (March 8).

To highlight some of the changes we are putting into place this year:

• flipping the group meeting to the end, so students will come into their individual classes.
• downscaling our snack in the interest of making sure we have more instructional time
• adding group workshop activities for 30 minutes at the end instead of our large group opening
• splitting large classes
• inviting guest speakers 
• taking field trips and creating more service opportunities

In a larger sense, we, the Religious Education Program at Notre Dame, hope to enlarge our outreach to parents and the community. We would explore our identity as a community and within the community of Notre Dame. What does that mean? We want to strengthen the identity of the Religious Education Program's community so that is a loving, cohesive community that supports all our members. We want the Religious Education program to be contributing to the life of the parish and the secular community.We want parents to be present, to be growing in faith individually and as family members. So the question is, what works for the families we have? 

A final thought:

Pope Francis Wednesday, 10 April 2013: “The Lord does not save us with a letter, with a decree, but has already saved us” and continues to save us with “his love”; he restores to human beings their “dignity and hope”....the most authentic expression of Christian salvation: that for love of us, God through his only begotten Son “became one of us, walked among us”. (Salvation According to Pope Francis)