Spotlight On: Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS)
More than a decade ago, Susan Tan was introduced to the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a program that nurtures the relationship between young children and God.
She watched as kids playing with sheep figures considered the parable of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
“Like everyone else, my first impression was, ‘Isn’t this cute,’” Tan recalls. “But after a half-day introductory class to CGS, I went from ‘Isn’t this cute’ to ‘Isn’t this powerful.’ When you see something that is just so good, you say, ‘This needs to be shared.’”
Spread the news: The CGS program at Christ Church Cathedral will begin its school year in October. Tan is a volunteer with the program, which is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Average weekly attendance last school year was 40 children, with classes led by six adult volunteers, known as catechists. The Reverend Canon Anna Russell Friedman hopes to increase those numbers.
“Coming back from COVID has been really hard,” says Reverend Friedman, who is Canon for family ministries. “We need to rebuild, renew and reinvigorate.”
Christ Church has offered the Montessori-based program for more than 35 years. It emphasizes the work of the hands as a form of prayer and reflects the belief that even very young children have a religious life and are capable of developing an intimate relationship with God.
Classes for children from age 3 to fifth grade provide guidance and vocabulary to help them understand and express that relationship. CGS will be offered from 10 to 11 a.m. on Sunday mornings, and registration for children is underway.
Catechists are needed. They receive extensive training to guide, rather than instruct.
“We’re not meant to be the sage on the stage,” Tan says. “We watch the children process and develop their faith individually.”
Youngsters are grouped by grade level and attend class in specially prepared rooms called atria, with time for prayer, song, and individual work. There’s an emphasis on the Eucharist, baptism, and a foundational relationship with God.
Carm Dickhaus has been a Catechist since 2008 and is still involved at age 89, a woman born during the Great Depression passing along faith traditions to youngsters who will likely still be saying their prayers in the 22nd century.
As Carm talks about working with 3- to 6-year-olds, her voice cracks.
“The Good Shepherd is pivotal in the whole thing, and I get emotional when I think about the impact that has,” she says.
“I go into a deep dive into what a shepherd does to take care of his sheep. Jesus is our Good Shepherd; he provides for us. You say to the children, ‘Who do you think these sheep are?’ It never fails: One of the children says, ‘The sheep are us.’
“I have to believe the holy spirit is in these lessons.”
CGS’ impact on adults can also be profound.
“It has really helped me as a mother,” says Reverend Friedman, who has three young sons. “It’s always about the child, but it’s also important to say that for me, it has been a gift and has helped me in every part of my ministry. It has helped me to know how to talk to people about sin and pain and suffering. And I think it could only help other adults in dealing with death and new life.”
While the program is biblically based, it favors tactile experiences rather than memorization of scripture – thus the two-dimensional flock of sheep on a green pasture made of felt. Children name the sheep for their parents or others they know.
Catechists make materials for the program and often use wood, such as with a color-coded liturgical calendar that has multiple removable pieces for each Sunday. Children can act out scripture or a Bible story by playing with small, sculpted figurines of people and animals.
CGS also helps younger children adapt to the practical life, and again the emphasis is on manual activity. They pour from a pitcher, use tweezers, decorate cards, arrange flowers, care for plants, and bake bread.
“It’s all baby steps,” Carm says. “The idea is they are using the fingers that will eventually hold a pencil.”
The program follows the rhythms of the church year. The liturgical calendar is displayed and discussed, as are church colors and cycles. Catechists present a certain work each week – for example, they may lead up to Christmas with a series of stories that include the visitation of Gabriel to Mary, the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, the birth of Jesus, and the Adoration of the Magi.
As children mature, the teachings of Jesus and the liturgy of the church are presented with increasing sophistication.
“We try to meet them where they are and let them ask questions,” Reverend Friedman says. “The child already has a relationship with the divine and is already praying, whether or not they know that’s what they’re doing. It’s just helping them to name and foster what’s already there.”
Acceptance and inclusion are stressed, she says.
“There’s no judgment, no sense that one group does it right and one group does it wrong.' It’s ‘This is how we choose to do it, but everyone does it differently, and the Good Shepherd is for everybody.’”
As the children consider the mystery of life, the subject inevitably turns to death. It’s addressed with the help of plant pots, dirt, and seeds.
“The first week the seed pod is starting to die, and the sprout is coming out,” Reverend Friedman says. “Two weeks in the seed pod is almost gone, but the sprout is so much fuller. The third week the seeds are gone, and it’s just the green stuff, this gorgeous going forth of the fruit.
“The continuation of love and memory hits home.”
As CGS lays a foundation of faith for the future, it offers lessons to touch hearts of all ages.
By Steve Wine