New Easy-to-use Preschool Religion Readiness Program

Stories of God's Love is the first new preschool program following the guidelines for preschool materials developed by the Catechism committee of the USCCB.

Stories of God's Love, written by a team of respected preschool specialists:
• presents the Bible as the source for learning about God and God's Son, Jesus
• includes 22 story leaflets and eight seasonal leaflets for each of the two levels - ages 3 and 4, and ages 4 and 5
• meets the needs of both parish and Catholic school programs with separate guides for single-day or multiple-day formats
• helps preschoolers and their families live Christian values day by day
• will provide online support for teachers, catechists, children, and parents

Bible Story Leaflet page and cover
Bible stories from Old or New Testament present the Bible as the source for learning about God and Jesus, God’s Son.

Real-Life Story Leaflet page and cover
A contemporary story follows the previous week’s Bible story to connect God’s love to everyday life.

Seasonal Leaflet
Introduce seasons, holy days and holidays – eight themes per age level. To see the array of seasonal activities, see the table of contents.

Guide Pages for Single-Day
Clear objectives and lesson plans, with background information, activities and prayer for a complete single-day format.

Guide Pages for Multiple-Day
Easy-to-follow lesson plans with clear objectives, prayer, activities and optional strategies for fun, faith-filled lessons.

Table of Contents for Program Director's Manual page one and two
The comprehensive Program Director’s Manual provides complete and easy-to-use resources for planning and implementing your preschool religion readiness program.

Story Poster page one and two
Use these 30 colorful posters for classroom decoration, or read the story from the reverse side.

Music Program Page with music and words
Children celebrate God’s love through song and prayer with this original music program.

CD icon with list of songs

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Catholic Spirituality for Adults

Introduction
This faith-sharing/discussion guide has been developed to be used in conjunction with the CATHOLIC SPIRITUALITY FOR ADULTS series. This series explores the deepest dimension of spirituality— the place in the soul where faith meets understanding—and is rooted in vital Catholic traditions. It is the fruit of a publishing partnership between Orbis Books, the publishing arm of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (Maryknoll), and RCL Benziger, a leading Catholic publisher of religious and family life education for all ages.

Each book in the series reflects Christ’s active and loving presence in the world. The authors celebrate our membership in the mystical body of Christ, help us understand our spiritual unity with the entire family of God, and encourage us to express Christ’s mission of love, peace, and reconciliation in our daily lives.

The contributors to the CATHOLIC SPIRITUALITY FOR ADULTS series are among the best Catholic authors writing today. There are ten books in the series: Prayer by Joyce Rupp; Reconciliation by Bishop Robert Morneau; Holiness by William O’Malley; Diversity of Vocations by Marie Dennis; Creation and Incarnation by John Shea; Grace by Ronald Rolheiser; Listening to and Proclaiming the Word by Alice Camile; The Sunday Eucharist by Robert Barron; The Spirituality of Community by Adele Gonzales; Ecumenical Commitment by Bishop Howard Hubbard; The Primacy of Charity by Virgil Elizondo; and Mary by Kathy Coffey.

The faith-sharing guide for each title in the series will provide three to five faith-sharing/discussion questions for each chapter of the book. These questions can be used for (1) individual reflection and journaling, (2) small-group discussion/faith sharing, and (3) large-group discussion/faith sharing.

Effective Faith Sharing
Faith sharing is one of the greatest gifts we can offer one another. Sharing our faith with others is a matter of both the heart and the mind. The gift of faith is not given to be privately possessed, but offered as a gift to be lived and shared. Faith sharing does not require people to use highly theological language or articulate every detail of church doctrine. It simply invites people to share where they are on their faith journey and how their life is impacted by faith.

In order to create a participatory environment in which successful faith sharing occurs, it is important to understand the crucial role of a facilitator and the purpose and design of faith-sharing questions that might be used.

Facilitator: The facilitator’s main goal is to invite and encourage participants to fully engage in the faith-sharing process. The facilitator creates an environment that is welcoming, safe, and to which the participants feel as if they belong. The facilitator is not the one who holds the answers to all questions. The facilitator provides appropriate questions, poses them to the participants, steps back and listens, and, as necessary, encourages responses, while respecting and acknowledging differences in ways members of the group participate.

Questions: All questions are not the same. Questions have a variety of purposes and call for various levels of self-disclosure. Some questions are easily answered by all participants. Other questions require a level of self-revelation that participants may or may not be ready to openly share with a small or large group. This reality requires that facilitators use a series of questions to guide the faith sharing process in a group.

Following this suggested level of questions will encourage participants to respond:
• First, begin with simple, non-threatening, easy-to-answer questions that do not require personal self-revelation. This could include asking participants to summarize the content presented, share several points they heard that sparked their interest, and so on.
• Next, ask clear questions that encourage the participants to relate the material or content in some way to their own experience.
• Finally, pose questions that challenge the integration of what has been learned into one’s faith life and asks participants how they will live differently because of what they have learned.

** For further information about faith sharing and questioning techniques with adults, see the Companion Booklet and DVD in the Adult Faith Formation module of Echoes of Faith Plus by RCL Benziger. You may also wish to refer to the articles on faith sharing in Keeping Faith First, which is also published by RCL Benziger.

Downloadable PDFs:

Reconciliation
by Bishop Robert Morneau

Prayer
by Joyce Rupp

Diversity of Vocations
by Marie Dennis

Holiness
by William J. O’Malley

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Other News:
RCL Benziger Hires Dan S. Mullhall as Director of Consultant Services

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