By Julie Godfrey Miller
Catholic Herald

Fall institute looked at past, present, future

RICE LAKE -- Teachers and catechists from all over the diocese came together at St. Joseph Church and School on Oct. 8 for the annual Fall Teacher/Catechist Fall Institute.

The day-long event began with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Raphael M. Fliss, with many priests of the diocese as concelebrants. The choir was made up of students from St. Joseph School.

Fr. Peter F. Szleszinski, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Hudson, gave the homily. He reflected on his own religious education that began in the 1930s when he attended two weeks of religious education each summer. At that time, he explained, religious education was based on the Baltimore Catechism, which was in a question and answer format. Students were asked to memorize the answers, and, Szleszinski said, he still remembers them. "What was in those books really contained the essence of what our religion is all about."

Szleszinski said that after the Second Vatican Council the emphasis shifted from memorization to explanations. "I don't know if the young people really caught on to these explanations." The subjectivity of the explanations often caused confusion, Szleszinski said.

Another change after Vatican II was the switch from a majority of religious sisters as teachers to mainly lay people. "We haven't yet gotten over that difficulty," he said, and added that the cost of operating Catholic schools is hurting efforts to provide a good education.

"There is something missing in our relationship with God," Szleszinski said. Noting that many people now skip Mass on Sunday, he asked how people were going to be able to do what God calls them to do if they don't even acknowledge God on his day. "We have to come up with solutions -- if not now, then in the future, -- to bring this to young people, to remember who God is."

At the conclusion of the Mass, five people received awards for their service to ministry.

The keynote speaker at the institute was Leonard DeFiore, Ph.D, a professor of education at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. He is also a former president of the National Catholic Educators Association. He spoke on the topic: Catholic Education: Faithful in the Past, Full of Faith about the Future.

He commented on five major developments in Catholic education since the Second Vatican Council. The first is lay staffing. Catholic education is essentially in the hands of lay people today. He said many were dubious in the beginning. Skeptics underestimated how well the religious sisters and brothers had taught their students but the laity were ready for the role as religious educators, he said.

The second development is the evolution of parishes. DeFiore commented on the vibrant parishes that have developed, with well-planned liturgies and many outreach programs. With fewer priests and religious, the role of the parish is being reinvented, he said. "Clearly the preparation of the laity has to be done differently from that of religious, so the quality of what we do is as effective as in the past." As an example of the changes needed, DeFiore mentioned a new doctoral program at Catholic University that is a combination of summer classes and distance learning. That type of program, he said, is a reasonable compromise that fits the schedules of lay people better than the traditional on campus program.

The third development is the large number of non-Catholics being educated in Catholic schools. This is a phenomenon all over America, he said, but mostly in inner-city schools. DeFiore said the bold step by the church to stick with the poor in cities and not move to the suburbs is "our finest hour" because is gives students an opportunity to get an education they otherwise wouldn't have been able to get.

DeFiore cited advancing school choice as the fourth development. After a discouraging time in the 1970s, he said, President Ronald Reagan became a champion of the cause, but, "we still remain the only western democracy where choice of education is not supported by tax dollars," he said.

The final development is the opening of new schools. DeFiore said that of the five developments, this is the one area where the church leaders wish they had done things differently.

In the late '60s and early '70s, no new schools were built. "The decision was understandable under the circumstances, but it was short-sighted in some ways," he said. "Many people believed when the sisters left the schools would close, and many did." Also enrollment declined as people moved from cities, where the schools were, to suburbs, which had no Catholic schools. Rising tuition was another factor.

Now, DeFiore said, with compelling evidence of the effectiveness of Catholic schools, demand has increased -- many schools have waiting lists. "The Catholic bishops have reconsidered the issue -- rediscovered the benefits of Catholic schools, so we've had a mini-boom in building new schools."

Participants in the institute also had the opportunity to attend two breakout sessions. Presentations by experts from both inside and outside of the diocese covered a wide rage of topics, including adolescent spirituality, Scripture, curriculum and electronic communication.

Participants learned how to plan and prepare for special parish and school celebrations in one session. Marie Hafer, principal of St. Peter the Fisherman School; Ziggy Stardust, music minister at St. Peter Parish and music teacher at the school; and Patty Kubacki, a St. Peter School parent, explained how they planned some recent special celebrations. Due to an injury Amy Decker, physical education teacher and dance instructor at St. Peter, could not be present, but gave her portion via videotape.

Stardust discussed the different factors that influence the reasons a parish or school might have a celebration -- seasons, ethnic make-up of the parish, civic events, patron saint's feast, a parish anniversary.

St. Peter's biggest recent event was the dedication of their new church in 2002. Stardust said that was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He added that in addition to celebrating the new building, the closing of the old building also had to be considered. "It can still be an uplifting moment -- the celebration of memories." He suggested doing symbolic things, like carrying out the monstrance and the prayer book to be used in the new church."

There were many committees involved in all of the aspects the dedication celebration. Stardust said they had to consider getting kids involved, planning social events and food, preparing worship aid and memorial booklet, and many other details.

Another big event in 2002 was the 75th anniversary of the school. Kubacki described the year-long planning process. She said they tried to include children, alumni, parents and members of the community. They gathered memorabilia, made souvenir Christmas ornaments from old CDs.

Kubacki said the committee discussed every detail, prepared time lines and carefully documented everything they did. Kubacki said that would be a big help next time a similar celebration is planned.

As part of the school's anniversary celebration, the children presented a play by Hafer. A few years before the anniversary, Hafer said she wrote to the Sisters of St. Francis who had staffed the school for many years. (One sister is still living who was at the school in 1927.) She asked them for information on the history of the school. Using letters and information received from the sisters, Hafer wrote the play, in which students, standing on the steps of the school, are visited by former teachers, pastors, etc. Even St. Peter pays a visit.

Stardust and Decker added music and dance, Hafer said, and "it brought the play to life." Every child in the school participated in the dancing.

Bonnie and Doug Moquin of Phillips conducted sessions on Catholic identity, titled, Whispering Catholic Loudly.

Doug Moquin gave the group six key insights on what sets Catholics apart:

* Creation is good and all creation leads back to God.

* "We are all holistic. We are born in the image and likeness of God" in body, mind and spirit.

* "We are are followers of a notorious and joyful savior."

* "We are called to service."

* "We're called in through the community."

Bonnie Moquin interjected that, as an introvert, she originally found that difficult to grasp, while Doug needs people and has shown her what a grace community is.

The sixth insight, Doug Moquin said, is "we are called to live joy-filled and grace-full lives.

They also discussed six values that preserve Catholic identity: Prayer and spirituality; personal morality; stewardship and respect for all life; family and community; social morality, including justice and peace; and lifelong learning.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003