Parish leaders will have the opportunity to go back to school this fall.
St. Bernard's Institute in Albany, in cooperation with the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, has started the Certification for Designated Ministry Program for catechetical and youth ministry leaders.
The program will allow those parish leaders to obtain professional certification from an accredited graduate school.
Step forward
"I'm excited that our leaders will be able to earn a professional certificate," said Jeanne Schrempf, director of the OEC. "This gives people a professional formation program that is worthy of their time and effort."
Mrs. Schrempf said that national catechetical organizations are striving to develop standards for catechetical and youth ministry leadership training. The SBI program, she said, will be recognized for providing quality training.
The program is designed for catechetical and youth ministry leaders who are not yet ready to pursue a master's degree. The program includes courses in Scripture, theology, liturgy, ministry skills, Church documents and spirituality, taught by SBI staff.
Of courses
Courses will be held in the evenings and on the weekends at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Albany. Each course involves ten hours of classroom study.
Courses to be offered this fall and spring include: Introduction to Scriptures, Introduction to Theology, Catechetical Methods and Models, Supporting the Call to Ministry, Principles of Youth Ministry, and Comprehensive Youth Ministry in Practice.
According to program material published by SBI, there is no fixed length of time to complete the program, although it is expected that students will take five to seven years to earn their certification.
The program is self-paced and each person's course of study will be determined by an individual study plan. Students may also earn credits for past training and experiences. Each course costs $60. There is also a one-time application fee of $20.
Strategic plan
According to Mrs. Schrempf, the program developed out of the diocesan strategic planning process that called for diocesan offices to use resources wisely and reduce the duplication of services.
Prior to the Certification for Designated Ministry Program, the OEC offered its own training to catechetical and youth ministry leaders in its Becoming a Minister of Faith Formation Program (BMOFF.)
"We will still do BMOFF," Mrs. Schrempf said. "But, in the past, we offered 10 sessions; now, we will offer four."
(Certificate programs will be available in the Albany Diocese for other ministries in the future. For more information on the program, contact St. Bernard's Institute at 453-6760.)