Check Out This Great Video!

What if Jesus is Really Present in the Eucharist? - Mark Hart from Life Teen on Vimeo.

Check out this amazing video from LifeNet. How can accepting what God is offering us in the Eucharist change our lives?

Lots of Exciting Opportunities at OLMC!

Hello all:

I just wanted to inform you of some great opportunities for service that we will be running in the coming weeks!

Target Shopping For Needy Families:

-Dec. 9, 2011- 4-8PM

- We will be meeting at Target on Rt. 4 and shopping for Christmas gifts for needy families from our parish's giving tree. Then,we will come back to the parish for gift wrapping, pizza, and a movie!

-We need one chaperone for every 4 children, so please let me know if you can help!

-Please send all children with an envelope with their name and $25 cash to purchase their gift.

Sandwich Making For the Homeless of Newark

-Dec 16, 2011- 5-8PM

-Come to Mt. Carmel and help make sandwiches and lunches to be delivered by Bridges outreach to the homeless in Newark.

-There is no cost to participate we just ask that every child brings the following:

- One loaf of bread

- Package of lunch meat (any type)

- package of sliced cheese (any type)

-We will be meeting in the Parish Center underneath the church at 5PM!

Please email me if you're interested in any or all of these opportunities! We're also ALWAYS looking for adult volunteers, so please let us know if you can help in any way!

Archdiocesan Catechist Convocation!

Calling all catechists! Whether you run a home group or teach in the school model program, you won't want to miss this!

The Archdiocese of Newark is offering their annual catechist convocation on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, NJ. This is an awesome opportunity for you to sharpen your skills and strengthen your faith.

The day will be filled with dynamic national speakers, great networking, and workshops of your choice. Some of the workshops being offered include the following:

-Keeping your Students Engaged

Louise Timko

11:15 am – 12:30 pm or 2:15 – 3:30 pm

Learn how to keep students motivated and learning using easy techniques and tips. Hone your skills in presenting lessons, leading discussions, including activities and puzzles, etc. Special emphasis on children grade 4 and older.

-The Complete Christian

Alex Basile

Sponsored by St. Pauls/Alba House Publishers

9:45 – 11:00 am or 12:45 – 2:00 pm

Finding balance in a frantic world is difficult. This workshop offers advice to the Christian in discovering meaning in everyday life.

-The Role of Service in Religious Education

Rev. Timothy Graff

11:15 am – 12:30 pm or 2:15 – 3:30 pm

In this workshop we will explore the role of service in our programs and show processes for reflection and integration upon service experiences. We will show best practices for how service experiences become a life-changing opportunity for our youth.

-Lessons About God Kids Can See

Msgr. Dermot R. Brennan

11:15 am – 12:30 pm or 2:15 – 3:30 pm

Sponsored by St. Pauls/Alba House Publishers

We live in a visual society. Learn how to use “homemade” or easily accessible visual aids to teach the Sacraments and much more.

-Helping Families Connect to Sunday Liturgy and the Revised Translation

Jo Ann Paradise

11:15 am – 12:30 pm or 2:15 – 3:30 pm

Sponsored by OSV Curriculum Division

The revised translation of the Roman Missal has given us the wonderful opportunity to rediscover the beauty and wonder of the Mass itself. This workshop will highlight the theological foundations for specific parts of the liturgy and provide practical insights into ways that will help families connect their every day experiences with the Mass

There are almost 40 other workshops being offered that day- so stop by the Religious Ed office and pic up the brochure and registration form. All registration costs will be covered by OLMC. The convocation also counts towards your catechist certification.

Please email Sarah Kearns with any questions!

Attn Catechists! Great Lesson Plan Activity!

If you're still working on Unit 1: Revelation in the Call to Faith books, please check out this great activity to try with your class. Our director, Cathy Hunt came up with this and used it with our When Families Gathers students and it was a huge success. I think it would be great for any grade level class or home group.

Head Bands Activity: Revelation

Idea adapted from the game "Head Bandz"

Make a headband for each person and on each head put a different word. Each word

would represent one way that God Reveals or shows Himself to us.

Great words to use include:

Nature, Parents, priest, Bible, Mass, Payer, Other people, Grandparents, the ocean, etc…

To make the headbands:

use long poster board and put long ways about 11/2 to 2 inches thick. One piece of large poster board will make about 10 head bands. Then staple it making a circle or band big enough to fit a student’s head. Then write one of the words on each index card and staple the card to the front of the head band.

Directions:

-Put all of the head bands into a paper grocery bag until it is time to play the game so the students don’t read the cards.

-Before you take the headbands out of the bag explain the directions to your students. Say something like, "We are going to play a game that will help us remember some of the ways we get to know God better and some of the ways we can strengthen our friendship with God.

-Put a headband on everyone’s head.

-Explain to the children that they will be able to see everyone’s headband but their own.

-When it is their turn to guess what word they have on their band,they may ask yes or no questions only. Everyone can answer your questions one at a time but only with yes

or no.

-The object is to guess what word is on their band and to remember that God shows Himself to us and develops a relationship with each of us in many different ways.

We have all the materials already cut out and ready in paper bags in the religious ed office, feel free to come see us to borrow the materials or make your own! Don't forget to comment below to let us know what you think, or if you try this with your group- how it went!

Allow Us To Introduce Ourselves...

Hello all! We are very excited to be making the jump into social media and the 21st century! Here at the religious ed office, we decided that it would be really helpful for our catechists and parents to have one place to come together. That's what this blog is for.

It's really important for us to make the connections between the office and the families, the parents and the teachers, in order to most effectively connect your kids with the Lord. We are all working together to help our children come to truly know God this year. Hopefully, the religious ed program will help them to create a relationship with Christ that will become the central support system in their lives.

With that being said, we will use this blog to post lots of different information, lesson plan ideas for catechists, activities for the families to do at home, special event opportunities and updates about what your kids are working on each week. So, please continue to check back often to see what's new! Also, don't forget to comment and get the conversation going!

Peace in Christ,

Sarah E. Kearns

Assistant Director of Religious Education