A Community of Disciples (October)

When Jesus began his public ministry, he gathered together a diverse group of disciples. He spent time with them; they traveled and shared meals together. Jesus taught them to pray, and explained his teachings so that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they could continue his work in the world after he returned to the Father. In short, he formed the disciples into a community of believers, ready to share with others the Good News of the Gospel.

You too have a diverse group of disciples who have been entrusted to you during this catechetical year. Your goal with them goes well beyond finishing all the chapters in their textbooks. In sharing the truths of the Catholic faith, you are creating a faith community within the classroom. In other words, you gathered together these students to share the Gospel, and in that sense you all are a microcosm of the Church. Together you are learning to live as disciples of Jesus.

Building Community in the Classroom

Building community begins with knowing one another. By helping the children know one another by name you are forming a foundation of respect. When we show respect and honor the dignity of each person, we demonstrate to each other that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. This doesn’t happen overnight—for adults or for children.

Try a few of these ideas to begin forming your class into a community of disciples:

• Prepare an information sheet for each child to complete during the first few weeks of class. If you work with primary-aged children, create a form that can be taken home and completed with a parent’s help. Older children can fill-in the information on their own.
• In addition to biographical data, invite the children to share with the class their interests and opinions such as: what they like to do on a day off from school, something they are proud of, or a lists of favorites—foods, movies, TV shows, and so forth.
• Honor a different “disciple of the week” throughout the year. Create a poster displaying the child’s name and picture and invite the other students to affirm their classmate by naming qualities that show how this person is a unique disciple. Conclude the sharing with a blessing prayer over the child-disciple, thanking God for their presence in the classroom community.

Keep in mind that building community is an on-going endeavor. Continue to find creative ways to help the children interact with one another throughout the entire year and to provide them with opportunities to live their faith by demonstrating caring and respect for one another.