The Catechetical Office at the Pastoral Institute supports and develops faith formation in the Singapore Archdiocese. It provides training for lay volunteers and catechists in the area of religious education and catechesis.
Catholicism 101 is an introductory course to Catholic teaching that is open to one and all. Suitable for non-Catholics too. The duration os this course is 64 hours over a period of 32 sessions.
At the intermediate level, experienced catechists or pastoral ministers can opt for the two-year Diploma of Adult Faith Formation (DAFF) course that emphasizes independent learning and critical thinking on essential topics concerning Christian faith. The duration of this course is 127 hours over the period of 59 weekly meetings, with the option of a third year of additional deepening of 76 hours over the period of 34 weekly meetings.
Download the Catholicism 101 & DAFF outline
Along with these two centralized courses, the Catechetical Office staffers make parish visits to assist lay ministers. The Office is responsible for the Catechetics module in the curriculum of the Major Seminary, it also maintains the catechetical web forums at the Institute forum page (catholicspi.org/forum) to answer queries and generate discussion about religious education or faith formation.
Click here for a list of Recommended Print Resources for Secondary Level Catechists and Coordinators
Director of Catechesis: Fr. Erbin Fernandez
Coordinator, Parish Catechesis (Sec): Christi Disher
Coordinator, Parish Catechesis (Pri): Linda Heng/Alvin Tan
Coordinator, Christian Initiation: Arthur Goh
Online Resources
| Catechist | Lenten | vocation | social justice | Youth | Miscellaneous |
|
Prayer and Spirituality | Morality | Liturgy |
www.infed.org
Invaluable repository of academic articles on informal education, as well as biographies of renowned educators, and their ideas.
www.catholicmom.com
Offers lesson plan tips, games, puzzles, worksheets, craft ideas, etc.
www.findinggod.com
A good faith formation resource, featuring sections designed for catechetical leaders, catechists, children and parents.
www.catholiceducation.org
Provides teachers with supplemental teaching materials on Catholic Church teaching, history and culture.
www.education-world.com
A general internet resource for all teachers.
puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com
The Discovery Channel sponsors this site where you can make personalized puzzles and games for your classes.
www.adflip.com
Billed as "the world's largest archives of print ads," this site is an incredible resource for teachers and students interested in media literacy. Membership required.
www.cyberfaith.com
An "e-zine for the Catholic Community" this Web site from Sadlier Publishing offers some features that can be useful to teachers, campus ministers, and students. By clicking on the liturgical year link, you will go to a graphic that gives explanations for each season and highlights feasts for any week of the year. There are also links to question and answers in the "nurturing faith" link, current topics in "witnessing faith," and more intellectual reading in the "examining faith" link.
www.cornerstonemedia.org
Uses music that young people listen to everyday as a tool to spark dialogue about values and relationships. The website showcases their products and professional services and offers some great ideas and activities under "free resources." Check out the listings of positive dance songs and the ideas for using popular music in prayer. Easy to adapt and a great resource for the classroom, retreats, and youth ministry!
www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edthe.htm#vakues/ethics/morals
Contains resources and lesson plans for religious education and includes many links to sites of particular interest to Catholic educators. It includes lesson plans and units for world religions, church history, famous people, prayer, and the Catechism. This is a great resource for teachers
www.textweek.com/movies/themeindex.htm
An incredible resource for anyone interested in using movies in their ministry! The user can easily find a list of themes that correspond to biblical and theological topics with the scripture index, the movie concordance, and the art concordance. A search function also makes this a user-friendly site.
falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/holidays.htm
Packed with information about holidays that are celebrated all over the world. Links can provide pictures, lesson plans, timelines, and the historical background of the holiday. It is good for teacher and student use.
www.wholecommunity.blogspot.com
Dedicated to the whole community catechesis movement.
www.cruzblanca.org/hermanoleon
Offers free Catholic clip art.
cathlink.acu.edu.au/images.htm
Offers free Catholic clip art.
www.sgyouthpastor.net
A great site to network with your local peers.
www.pastor2youth.com/index.php
This web sites offers tons of free resources that are beneficial to both youth ministers and catechetical leaders alike.
www.youthspecialties.com
For nearly 40 years Youth Specialties has worked alongside Christian youth workers from just about every denomination and youth-serving organization all around the world. The Youth Specialties page is the hub of youth ministry resources. Whether you're new to youth ministry or a veteran you will certainly find this website full of resources you can use in your program.
www.egadideas.com/default.asp
This site claims to be the Internet's largest collection of FREE youth group games online.? They also have tons of other fundraisers, sermons, illustrations, activities, resources and ideas for those who work with today's youth. Each one has been tried and tested by those currently working in student ministry so you can be assured that you will only find quality, timeless, free ideas that you and your students will enjoy
www.thesource4ym.com
Jonathan McKee, known in the late 90's for starting the youth ministry resource web site jonathansresources.com, started a non-profit organization called "The Source for Youth Ministry." The Source for Youth Ministry is dedicated to bringing cutting edge resources to youth workers today.
www.creativeyouthideas.com/blog
After 20 years in youth ministry, Ken Sapp has quite a few ideas and he's sharing them for free with youth workers on his web site. A little bit of everything: icebreakers, evangelism ideas, drama ideas, over 40 object lessons, more than 100 creative teaching ideas, and 50 teaching illustrations. Take your pick!
www.silk.net/RelEd/011299plan.htm
Bread or Stone Lenten Preparation
www.silk.net/RelEd/ezinelstations2.htm
Stations of the Cross Activities
www.cptryon.org/prayer/season/index1.html
Meditations and Prayers for Lent
www.smp.org/ResourcePage.cfm?Article=451
Lenten Nails: An Exercise for Lent
www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19990301/FRIDGE/seder.htm
A Christian Passover/Seder Meal Program
www.smp.org/ResourcePage.cfm?Article=454
Lenten Justice Crosses
www.vocations.com
Sponsored by the Joliet Vocation Office, links to hundreds of religious communities, as well as general resources on vocation and discernment.
www.VocationGuide.org
Offers assistance in discernment of vocations.
www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm
Link to the United Nations Web site contains the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
www.usccb.org/prolife/liturgy/
Provided by the U.S. Catholic Bishops, offers a variety of prayers for life.
www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=1
Operated by the GreaterGood.com and various sponsors, this site was founded in 1999 to help stop world hunger. You can go to the web site one time a day, and click the button that says "Donate Food," and various corporations will donate rice, wheat, etc. This is actually cheaper than media advertising for the sponsors. The United Nations World Food Program distributes the food. This is a fascinating study in justice for students and definitely a site to bookmark and make a daily habit of visiting!
www.educationforjustice.org
Since 1971, the Center of Concern has offered moral vision and provided effective leadership in the struggle to end hunger, poverty, environmental decline, and injustice around the world. This Web site provides reliable information and analysis on development issues, practical alternatives to current development policies and practices, suggestions for personal action, and faith reflections on this work for justice.
www.worldbank.org/poverty/
This site is filled with resources and support for persons "working to understand and alleviate poverty." Reports, studies, and access to current statistics can easily be found on this site. This is a great resource for justice teachers and students.
www.thirteen.org/bid/
Real-life stories are used to discuss issues involved in death and dying. Many topics are treated on the site, including hospice, long-term illness, HIV, euthanasia, advance directives, and living wills. Sidebars give key information and in-depth information on these and other issues. The resources section offers many links to hospice, care giving, government agencies, and ethics. The spiritual and religious dimension of death is also treated.
www.churchworldservice.org
Church World Service is a ministry of the National Council of the Churches of Christ. CWS offers many resources for teaching social justice, including this superb Web site! Essays, links, a free lending library, teaching activities, study guides, and current news from all areas of the world are just a few of the features you will find on this site.
?
www.disciplesnow.com
Disciples Now is a Web-based ministry for youth, focused on the traditions, life, and mission of the Catholic faith community. As an informational resource, Disciples Now provides opportunities to learn, to discuss, and to celebrate the challenges of discipleship in the context of daily life. Geared for teens, this site is interactive, colorful, and filled with great content.
www.youthnoise.com
YN is a social networking site for people under the age of 27 who like to connect based on deeper interests than Paris Hilton's wardrobe and want to get engaged within a cause. Find a cause, search for friends, and get involved. Want to free Tibet? Passionate about human rights? Then YN is the site for you!
www.bustedhalo.com
This link, sponsored by the Paulists, serves as an online magazine for young adult spiritual seekers.
www.christopherwest.com
Free articles pertaining to theology of the body.
www.manueladam.com
This site offers Christian music lyrics.
www.omegarock.com
Listen to Catholic rock music on the web.
www.faithteen.com
A monthly e-zine for teens.
www.vatican.va
The official site of the Vatican is filled with pictures, audio, and video features! Easy-to-use tabs are given for the Holy Father, the museums, library/secret archives, the Roman curia, and the Vatican City-State. The content is presented in essays and multimedia formats and is available in a variety
www.beliefnet.com
Multifaith and independent in nature, Beliefnet has a mission to "help people meet their own religious, spiritual, and moral needs by providing information, inspiration, community, stimulation, and products." The site is easy to navigate and is divided into the categories of religion, spirituality, morality, inspiration, culture, news, teens, milestones, and family. Articles, Web site addresses, and multimedia opportunities abound on this very informative site that is suitable for both teachers and students!
www.cdu.edu
This site provides the opportunity to deepen your Catholic faith through distance learning.
www.newadvent.org/cathen/
Online Catholic encyclopedia.
www.cwo.com/~pentrack/catholic/chron.html
Looking for a very detailed chronology of Christianity? The purpose of this timeline is to give Christians of any denomination the background and historical context surrounding the development of those religious traditions. The timeline is easy to view and would serve well as an introduction to a course or a companion piece throughout a church history class.
www.hollywoodjesus.com/
This entertaining and informative site attempts to examine pop culture from a spiritual point of view. It includes articles that review current movies and television shows, as well as an interesting perspective on the current state of culture. The basic premise is that our search for meaning and God is reflected in the media and our culture.
www.gutenbergdigital.de/gudi/eframes/
If you are interested in the history of publishing or the history of Bibles, check out this great site with the entire Gutenberg Bible online--all 1,282 pages! The "model book" gives handwritten directions (with English translation) for painting each of the illuminations in the Bible. Appropriate for any age group, this is truly a fascinating Web site
www.catholic.org/saints/
This site from Catholic Online claims to be the "largest collection of facts and information" on saints and angels on the Internet. The site contains an exhaustive alphabetized list of information on saints and angels, as well as other lists such as saints of the month, patron saints, ethnic saints.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/
From PBS Frontline, this site looks at Jesus from a historical perspective and from the spiritual dimension of Christ. The site gives the latest research surrounding Jesus and his world. The four Gospels are explored, along with Q, the Gnostics, and the Gospel of Thomas. The first Christians and how the sect spread and became successful are discussed in detail. The home page offers five major categories to choose from, and each of those takes you to subcategories containing a wealth of information. Maps, charts, pictures, and audio excerpts from the program are also included.
www.inspirationalstories.com
If you are looking for a good story, this site is an awesome depository of inspirational stories. New stories are highlighted each month, and there is a link for different faith traditions, including Christianity.
www.reata.org/interview.html
In a beautifully designed flash presentation, questions are posed to God. The responses will touch you and give you pause to ponder. Available in many languages, such as English, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Italian, and Hungarian. A wonderful experience to share with colleagues and young people.
www.universalis.com/cgi-bin/display/readings.htm
If you are looking for a prayer, this site has morning, afternoon, evening, and night prayers, along with its "Office of Readings." Updated daily and easy to use, the site is an excellent resource
www.prayingeachday.org/reflect.html
From the De La Salle Christian Brothers in Britain, this site boasts reflections and prayers for each day of the year, an extensive listing of links by category, a search engine, and a scripture locator. Excellent resource.
www.christdesert.org
The Monastery of Christ in the Desert is a visually appealing and great site to experience monasticism online! Visitors can request a prayer, listen to audio clips of the monks chanting their prayers, and read histories of the Benedictines and Saint Benedict. This is a wonderful and prayerful site.
www.spirituality-health.com/spirit/
Must create a free account to access articles. A goldmine of resources, articles, links, self-tests, and discussions on spirituality and health. Easy to navigate and filled with dynamic and engaging content. Be sure to check out the spiritual practices section on the right toolbar of the home page.
www.becal.net/toolkit/bds/reading.html
This short article from the Belief, Culture, and Learning Gateway on "Right vs. Wrong" can serve as an excellent discussion starter with students in a morality course. It includes a discussion on four ways to tell right versus wrong. Although the article talks about values, it does not take a Christian perspective, which makes for great discussion. Invite students to rewrite the article from a Catholic Christian viewpoint.
www.beginningcatholic.com/catholic-morality.html
This is a good article regarding Catholic morality.
www.osb.org/liturgy/
Excellent for liturgical texts and information, this site offers numerous links to different rites, articles, commentaries, and music texts. Maintained by Minnesota's College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, it is a vast resource for anyone doing research or needing background in the area of liturgy. By visiting the site, one is apt to truly discover the meaning of "catholic" as universal because rites other than Roman are included in the index.
Online Resources | Catechist | Lenten | vocation | social justice | Youth | Miscellaneous | Prayer and Spirituality | Morality | Liturgy |
|
