Print Issue: April 11, 2002

Making Religious Ed 'Family-Friendly' Wins Award For St. Monica's

By Gretchen Keiser, Staff Writer

DULUTH - The Mass is the centerpiece of Catholic life, but sometimes those in the pews are wondering what it's all about.

Those unspoken questions get aired and answered at St. Monica's Church, which devotes time once a year to a program called "Mass Confusion." The focus for the whole parish is on understanding the Mass and all the sacred elements connected to it. The program and others like it earned St. Monica's a "Mustard Seed" award in 2001 from the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors, one of five in the country.

Members of a family from St. Monica's Church, Duluth, examine sacred vessels on an altar and read the accompanying explanations giving the name and use of each for Mass.

The name "Mass Confusion" is a play on words because of the many questions people have about the liturgy.

"Many people are confused about what's taking place in the Mass," said Kate Oates, director of religious education.

In an area displaying all the vestments, a purple chasuble worn by priests during Lent and Advent is shown. During a program known as "Mass Confusion," the religious education building at St. Monica's Church, Duluth, is devoted to explain the liturgy.

A key to "Mass Confusion" is "a teaching Mass," where the liturgy is explained in relatively simple language while a priest celebrates the Mass.

"At three of five Sunday liturgies, we have a narrator who speaks about why we do what we do," said Oates. One of the three is the Mass for the parish teen community. "Following the Mass we turn our entire church building into a tour."

Parishioners can walk around the sanctuary and sacristy and see sacred vessels and learn their names and uses. All the vestments are displayed, with their proper names, history and who wears them, and all the various colors that denote the liturgical seasons and feasts.

In an area for children, children guide tours and there are "little altars where children put out the miniature paten and chalice." For adults, there is a "Jeopardy-type" quiz, she said.

"We give people an opportunity to interact as if they were a lector, an altar server . . . We invite people into the sacristy to kind of see what the great traditions of our church are."

Father Paul Berny, pastor of St. Joseph Church, Marietta, wrote the first script, Oates said, and it was adapted with his permission by Oates and Father Greg Goolsby, pastor of St. Monica's, and embellished over the years. They first started it at St. Benedict's Church, Duluth, the parish from which St. Monica's was established, and now it is in its fifth year at St. Monica's.

Religious education for children, for adults, and for those in Christian Initiation is coordinated around the theme. "We work as a team, making sure it permeates what we all do."

"This is really an intergenerational event. It is a huge parish-wide event. This is probably our best attended by those not involved in religious education," said Oates. "They are just fascinated."

"Mass Confusion" is part of an overall approach in the parish, Oates said, to offer "life events" where an aspect of faith is turned into a family, or intergenerational, event.

Children in the parish school of religion are required to attend six "life events" a year with their families in addition to their studies and there are about 14 to choose from.

Some are the annual blessing of the animals, Christmas music concerts, Father's Day prayers, a family Way of the Cross followed by a pizza supper, and Advent Traditions, where children make crafts to take home and there is a family prayer service. This is offered the weekend following Thanksgiving, when grandparents and aunts and uncles are often in town and can be part of the faith sharing, Oates said.

"Life events" are designed to help "people pass on their faith within their families."

"We are passing on our faith, we are living our faith, we are learning to celebrate the moments of our lives within the context of our faith," she said. "It is too often in the land of good intentions. I am the mother of four, so I know."

The Lenten parish mission, led by Father Ed Branch, chaplain of Lyke House at the Atlanta University Center, was a "life event" and looked at "what does your baptismal call mean and knowing your story and sharing your story," Oates said.

Signs and explanations show visitors to "Mass Confusion" what vessels and cloths the altar servers bring to the altar to assist the priest in preparing for the consecration of the Eucharist.

The liturgical life of the parish is the highest priority the pastor sets for the staff year round, Oates said.

"We are a liturgical people. That is what brings us together first. Secondly is education, thirdly is the life of parish groups," the pastor said.

Each year Father Goolsby, in collaboration with the staff, sets a theme for the year that helps deepen understanding of one aspect of the liturgy. This year it was the relationship between baptism and the liturgy.

"Any opportunity we have to talk about baptism, we do that. It allows us to really hammer home a particular topic of the year," Father Goolsby said. "In 'Mass Confusion,' we spent time talking about baptism from the font to the altar. By virtue of baptism, we have rights and we have responsibilities, too, to go live Christ out there."

The "life events," he said, are presented at different age levels simultaneously, so the whole family can participate. "The beauty of life events is it is multigenerational. We've gotten a lot of inquiries about it."

St. Monica's Church was one of only five parishes in the United States, and the only one in the Southeast, he said, to receive a "Mustard Seed" Award from the NPCD for "Mass Confusion" and other "life events" programs. The award recognizes outstanding parish catechetical programs involving parental leadership.

"Mass Confusion" was originally conceived of for children, but has proven to reach all ages, including adults, who say it answers questions they've never thought to ask.

"It is geared toward children, but it is still helpful to adults," Father Goolsby said. For information on the "Mass Confusion" curriculum, call Kate Oates at (678) 584-9947.

Signs identify vessels used to prepare incense for Mass and for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and the vessels used to carry and sprinkle holy water on the people during purification rites.