The Catechesis of the
Good Shepherd at Kingston Parish is an approach to the religious formation
of children three years old through kindergarten. It is a
very spiritual way of introducing the child to the love of
Christ. With the Good Shepherd as overall theme, children
learn about the life of Christ, the parables, the altar,
baptism, geography of Israel, and also have practical life
exercises in polishing, flower arranging and folding. The
class is Roman Catholic in origin and taught using
Montessori methods.
The classroom is called an Atrium and is
an environment that is open and inviting to the child. Catechists
(teachers) have had 90 hours of training in order to present this
spiritual formation for the child.
You may be wondering how this approach helps the religious
life of children? If an adult hears a beautiful passage from
the Bible, the adult might take a Bible, find the passage,
and read it slowly again and again. He or she may think
deeply about the words and perhaps speak to God in a
thankful or hopeful prayer. But a little child, too young to
read, needs another way. In an atrium the child can ponder a
biblical passage or a prayer from the liturgy by taking the
material for that text and working with it - placing wood
figures of sheep in a sheepfold of the Good Shepherd,
setting sculpted apostles around a Last Supper table, or
preparing a small altar with the furnishings used for the
Eucharist. Older children who do read often copy parables
from the Bible, lay in order written prayers from the rite
of baptism, or label a long time line showing the history of
the kingdom of God.
If you have an interest in involving
your child in Kingston's catechesis program, or would like to learn more,
please contact the Parish office at (804) 725-2175 or
via email here.
You can learn more about the
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd from the national website here.
Mathews, Virginia 23109 
