THE LATEST SCOOP

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops has updated their Conformity Listing of Catechetical Texts and Series. Click here to view the latest version with the list of texts and series that have been found in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church as of August 27, 2010.

Now available from Communication Center:
Loyola Press Finding God curriculum for grades 1-6 and junior high is now available from Communication Center. Finding God provides a strong presentation of church doctrine, Scripture and tradition using the Engage, Explore, Reflect and Respond methodology. The program incorporates the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola be empowering teachers and catechists to lead children in prayer, and by providing an abundance of prayer experiences that nurture a lifelong conversation with God. All components of both the parish and school programs are in stock and ready for shipment.

For preschool and elementary school and parish programs:

Liturgy Training Publications’ Children’s Daily Prayer 2010-2011, a resource for classroom prayer, is available. Teachers and catechists using this resource can choose between two different formats. The first is a weekly prayer based on the Sunday Gospel; the second is based on Lectionary readings for the day. They can also use a long or short form of the psalms. This makes Children’s Daily Prayer a great resource for every day in schools, and also for weekly classes in parish programs. Year of Grace calendars in English and Spanish and other annual publications from Liturgy Training Publications including lector resources for Year A are also in stock.

Loyola Press also presents Expand the Experience, four boxes of faith formation activity cards to enhance religion classes at four levels: Grades 1 through 8. Activities are organized by theme and come with a chart that shows teachers when to use them within existing religion programs. Each box has materials for two grade levels. Expand the Experience boxes are now available.

Our Sunday Visitor presents a new early childhood curriculum, Allelu: Growing and Celebrating with Jesus for children ages 4 and 5 for use in school and parish. Allelu is an interactive program that utilizes a balance of teacher-directed, teacher assisted and child-directed activities. Allelu has 28 child/family activity sheets with a number of options to fit every learning environment. In addition to the child/family sheets, the program has catechist materials, a music CD, magnetic figures and a portfolio. Allelu has been approved by the Bishops’ Committee and will serve as preparation for any elementary religious education program. Most preschool components are available now, with kindergarten materials expected next year.

RCL Benziger's revised edition of Family Life is now in stock. It features, among other things, a Child Protection theme at every grade level and a completely revised Program Director’s Manual.

RCL Benziger’s preschool program Stories of God’s Love now has materials for the kindergarten level. The new kindergarten components have been approved by the Bishops’ Committee and are suitable for use with any of RCL Benziger’s elementary programs.

Sadlier Religion has a new edition of their elementary program We Believe, now with Project Disciple. Built on the six tasks of catechesis, Project Disciple pages contain hundreds of new content-based activities at every grade level. Student Books, Teacher Manuals and Catechist Guides for the series, which has a copyright date of 2011, are available now. These new books are compatible with music CDs, family books, review and resource books and assessment materials from the earlier edition. The Bishops’ Committee has approved the series.

For junior high:
Communication Center is now carrying the Loyola Press Finding God, junior high program. Finding God, junior high, presents the full content of the Catholic faith with a strong emphasis on prayer. Using culturally relevant material, flexible scheduling options, and a youth-friendly format, the program engages adolescents and makes it easier to offer them meaningful faith experiences appropriate to their age.

Our Sunday Visitor presents Faith Fusion: Knowing, Loving, and Serving Christ in the Catholic Church for grades 6-8. Faith Fusion provides a complete overview of the Catechism for middle school students. It can serve as a catch-up catechism for younger adolescents, a junior high or high school review program, an RCIA course for young teens, or a Confirmation course. Faith Fusion will have a student text and a catechist guide. It has been approved by the Bishops’ Committee and is now available.

Saint Mary’s Press presents The Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers. This handbook for younger adolescents in grades 6 through 8 is modeled on the Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth. In addition to the student handbook, the parish program includes a coordinator’s manual and six catechetical manuals, each with topical material to cover at least 10 sessions. The program works for 2- or 3-year parish religious education models for junior high. The Catholic Connections Handbook is supported for school classrooms with six topical teacher manuals, a reproducible student activity book, a religion coordinator manual and a reproducible test book. These school resources will also have an eSource support website. The Catholic Connections Handbook is approved by the Bishops’ Committee. All components for school and parish are in stock.

Update on high school Curriculum Framework titles:
Ave Maria Press’s high school text, Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments ©2010 has been approved by the Bishops’ Committee and is now in stock. It can be used for Curriculum Framework Semester Course V: Sacraments As Privileged Encounters with Jesus Christ.

Ave Maria Press has also announced a new high school series by Michael Pennock with books for the first three semester courses in the Curriculum Framework. The first title, Jesus Christ: God’s Revelation to the World, is appropriate for one-semester courses in Scripture or Christology and is now available. Just approved by the Bishops’ Committee, the second title, Jesus Christ: His Mission and Ministry is expected in October 2010; and the third volume, Jesus Christ: Source of Our Salvation should be available in the spring of 2011.

The first six volumes in the Didache Semester Series from Midwest Theological Forum, Faith and Revelation, The Blessed Trinity, The Mystery of Redemption and Christian Discipleship , The Sacraments: Source of Our Life in Christ, and Our Moral Life in Christ are now in stock. The other two titles in the Semester Series are expected later in the summer of 2010.

The first two volumes of the Saint Mary’s Press Catholic High School Curriculum, Jesus Christ: God’s Love Made Visible, and The Bible: The Living Word of God, have been postponed. Due to unanticipated changes in the review processes of the Subcommittee on the Catechism, review for the Declaration of Conformity of these titles has been delayed. Saint Mary's Press regrets the need to postpone the publication of these new high school texts. The Living in Christ Series is a completely new curriculum that will make use of contemporary educational practices, and will have new materials to meet the diverse needs of high school students. The series will include an eSource website featuring customizable resources for teachers. The program offers the flexibility and convenience of both print and digital options. The Bishops’ Committee is reviewing the first two courses for freshmen. Two courses for sophomores are planned for 2011.

Parish resources:
For help bringing the new translation of the Roman Missal to the parish, see Parish Guide to Implementing the Roman Missal from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Understanding the Revised Mass Texts from Liturgy Training Publications.

Also from Liturgy Training Publications, Celebrating the Lectionary materials are now in stock.

A revised edition (2010) of Our Sunday Visitor’s Parent Letters from Your Parish is now available.

St. Anthony Messenger Press has a revised 2010 edition of the Come and See program for RCIA now available.

Ave Maria Press’s revised edition of Send Out Your Spirit, a Confirmation program for high school aged candidates is now in stock. The program includes a candidate handbook, a leader manual and a sponsor handbook. It has been approved by the Bishops’ Committee.

New materials in Spanish:
Loyola Press has a new bilingual supplemental workbook series designed to help catechists, teachers and family members introduce, review and share the beliefs and traditions of the Catholic faith with children. Conociendo Nuestra Fe Catolica/Knowing Our Catholic Faith offers activities that catechists or parents may use to supplement an existing religion program. It can serve as "catch-up" catechesis for children who need to learn the basics. The materials come in three levels to cover grades 1 through 8.

Our Sunday Visitor has a Spanish edition of Allelu for 4- and 5-year olds now available.

Sadlier’s Creemos, the bilingual edition of the 2011 We Believe series with Project Disciple, is now in stock.

Sadlier also has a bilingual edition of the junior high program, Vivimos nuestra fe/We Live Our Faith, now available. Volume I: Vivimos nuestra fe Como discipulos de Jesus/We Live Our Faith as Disciples of Jesus and Volume II, Vivimos nuestra fe Inspirado por el Espiritu/We Live Our Faith Inspired by the Spirit are both in stock.

Themes for 2011 Vacation Bible School:
Three publishers have announced the themes for their 2011 Vacation Bible Schools. Our Sunday Visitor is offering the Totally Catholic edition of Group’s PandaMonium: Where God Is Wild about You!. We are expecting Ligouri Publications to develop the Catholic edition of Gospel Light’s Son Surf Beach Blast: The Sea. The Sand. The Son. And we will distribute Group’s Holy Land Adventure for 2011, Hometown Nazareth: Where Jesus Was a Kid. Starter kits can be pre-ordered in November and will arrive in December. More information about these and other Catholic VBS programs for 2011 will be posted here as it is announced.