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As a religious educator this statement has, at the same time, haunted and inspired me. If there is something that keeps me up at night it is, “In the time we have with children, teens and adults in their religious formation, are we choosing the best things to focus on?” There is so much that I feel is beautiful in the Catholic faith! Sacraments, in which we believe God is present in a real and tangible way. Prayer, which is the way we develop that personal relationship with our God. Worship, our communal praise of God that I know creates a community of faith. Our Creedal Beliefs, our north star that guides our moral and spiritual choices. And the Scriptures which are foundational to all we know about God and our faith.
As Catholics we believe God is revealed to us through our Sacred Tradition and through Scripture. In my doctoral research one finding that emerged (which I was not looking for) was parents expressed concerns that they did not feel comfortable reading and praying about Scripture on their own. They “didn’t feel qualified.” In fact, as parents they didn’t feel they could pass on a love of Scripture because they themselves lacked education, understanding and appreciation for God’s Word in the Bible.
Over the years we have incorporated many ways to address this. Currently, our gifted Adult Director of Faith Formation, Al McCauley, offers continual studies that are well attended and he is our main teacher for adults in our Family Program and Emeritus group. While these are phenomenal opportunities, I know true devotion and appreciation of the Bible is cultivated over a lifetime.
Which is why Bible Camp, for our children, has always been close to my heart. We have had a tradition of Bible Camp for almost 30 years. I thought if our children came to know and love five Scripture stories each summer, they would cumulatively have a rich store of stories in their mind and heart. This year, leadership is in the capable hands of our dedicated Faith Formation staff, led by Tasha Baures.
We have devoted resources to bring back a weeklong Catholic Bible Camp June 17th-21st and added Wrap Around Care for working parents because we believe it is this important not to let another generation of Catholics be deprived of the grace and guidance of knowing Scripture by heart, literally and figuratively.
If you would like to help, or have your children part of this special week, you can find more information at this link. If we, as a community and as individuals, care enough to make this a significant experience, we will be giving the next generation the gift of a lifetime, a relationship with the Living Word of God.
“Learn the heart of God from the word of God”
– Pope St. Gregory the Great
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