A video version of the Arlington Diocese's Journey to Emmaus
curriculum is now being offered online to youth ministers
across the nation. The Office of Youth Ministry hopes this
resource will help more adults in the parish become witnesses
to the faith through fostering intentional discussions with
youths in a variety of settings.
The Journey to Emmaus was created by the diocese in 2010 as a
way to provide an organized catechesis curriculum to
coordinators of youth ministry. The program consists of 80
sessions that provide a detailed explanation of a topic,
Scripture and catechism references, sample prayers,
activities and related media links to music, books and
websites.
Kevin Bohli, Office of Youth Ministry director, said the
program aims to prevent "popcorn ministry" - teaching the
faith without a deliberate plan of action. "We wanted
coordinators of youth ministry to understand that there is a
systematic approach to catechesis," Bohli said.
Bohli said very few teens will ever set foot in a youth
group, so the video version allows leaders to create those
same types of interactions and engage youths in discussions
about the faith in a multitude of settings.
The video version features a 3-5 minute clip for each session
of the Journey to Emmaus curriculum, designed to facilitate
an understanding of a particular aspect of the faith. Each
session in this video version comes with a one-page guide
that includes a summary of the video and its catechetical
goal, as well as a closing prayer.
The sessions also feature four to five corresponding
discussion questions ranging in complexity so that
conversations can be tailored to the specific audience and
setting. Bohli said the use of this resource could be as
simple as a basketball coach showing his team a video after
practice and engaging in a 10 minute discussion about its
message.
Bohli said the paramount goal for the video version is for it
to be implemented as a guide and resource to help leaders of
nontraditional youth groups - like Scouts or sports teams -
be witnesses to the faith. He said coaches and Scouting
leaders are often one of the most respected adults in the
life of a teen, and therefore have tremendous ability to make
an impact through the conversations they start.
He hopes the impact of these videos will be a greater
understanding that youth ministry is not just about a
traditional youth group, but rather "youth groupings" - the
many different groupings within the parish that young people
are involved with, and which present opportunities to teach
about the faith.
The online version of Journey to Emmaus is completely free to
access by anyone inside and outside of the Arlington Diocese.
The original text version, which includes more detailed
lesson plans, is free only to parishes within the diocese,
but is available for purchase by others. It already has been
purchased by the dioceses of Kansas City-St. Joseph;
Richmond; Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va.; and Wichita, Kan., as
well as more than 15 other parishes.
The videos are not only a valuable resource within the
Arlington Diocese, but also a great way to encourage other
youth ministry programs across the country, Bohli said.
To access and learn more about the Journey to Emmaus video
version, go to www.arlingtondiocese.org/youth
and click on
"Journey to Emmaus".
Husar can be reached at mhusar@catholicherald.com