Diocesan Office of Religious Education develops new certification program

In an effort to provide more professional development opportunities for parish catechetical leaders throughout the diocese, the Office of Religious Education has developed a comprehensive and time-effective program.

C.O.R.E. (Certification of Religious Education) is a two-phase process which consists of a nine-session administrative component and an on-line religious content segment that is offered in conjunction with Providence College School of Continuing Education.

All parish catechetical leaders, regardless of their educational backgrounds and years of experience, must complete the entire program. At the end of the process, graduates will receive two certifications – one from the diocese and another from Providence College. Participants may choose to begin with either the administrative session (C.O.R.E. I) or the on-line session (C.O.R.E. II).

C.O.R.E. I will focus on administrating a parish religious education program and covers the following topics: vision of the parish catechetical leader, administration, planning/organization, Sacraments and preparation, recruiting and retaining, Sunday Eucharist, parental involvement, project presentation, mentoring and evaluation.

The nine sessions will be offered on Monday evenings from 7-10 p.m. in Immaculate Conception Parish, Clinton, on Jan. 26, Feb. 23, March 29, April 26, Mary 24, June 28, Aug. 20, Sept. 27 and Oct. 25.

These same meetings will be repeated the following mornings in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Participants may choose to attend either the evening or morning sessions, or a mix of the two. However, they must commit to attending every session.

Grounded in the four major components of The Catechism of the Catholic Church, C.O.R.E. II consists of seven on-line courses, each of which takes five weeks to complete. Courses are taught by experienced educators and grades are awarded on a pass/fail basis.

The following courses are available: Catechesis: Theory & Practice, Understanding the Christian Creed, Sacraments, Catholic Christian Morality, Prayer in the Catholic Tradition, Supervising Religious Instruction and Evaluation.

C.O.R.E. I has a cost of $300, and C.O.R.E. II is $180 per course, with a discount of 50 percent available. The cost of the program will be underwritten by individual parishes.

For more information, contact Pat Martin at (732) 562-1990, ext. 1310 or pmartin@diometuchen.org.