Catholic schools engaging with family today
Catholic schools engaging with family today:
Inspiration from the World Meeting of Families 2018
The Association of Catholic Institutes of Education (ACISE) Conference took place in Glasgow from April 4th-6th 2018. Dr. Gareth Byrne, presented a well-received paper on how Catholic schools engage with parents and family.
The theme chosen by Pope Francis for the World Meeting of Families 2018, in Dublin in August this year is The gospel of the family: Joy for the world. It suggests that family has the potential to be the bearer of good news for all the world. As part of the preparation for WMoF 2018, a series of moments for reflection on family has been envisaged in Catholic schools in Ireland, drawing on the theological virtues, faith, hope and love, and adding joy. In Catholic Schools Week the focus helps young people expand their understanding of the families to which they belong: my home family; my school family; my parish family; my world family.
Dr. Byrne argued that all these themes can inspire schools in how they work with young people around the theme of family and the different families to which we all belong.
This paper argues that an interesting approach might be to explore family with young people in four ways traditionally associated with catechesis: learning about the emphasis the Church puts on family and the importance of this theme for Pope Francis (kerygma); building up the Christian community by connecting families (koinonia); celebrating family in liturgical and para-liturgical prayer moments (leiturgia); reaching out to families, especially those in most need (diakonia).
How patrons/trustees and management understand themselves and their Catholic schools as supporting family, and the quality of actual connection and communication with parents/guardians and with families, was also considered. Finally, Dr. Byrne asked about the possible legacy of the WMoF 2018 for Catholic schools, institutes and universities. A lively discussion took place.