Hello, all!
In Calgary this fall, we heard many catechists express the desire for ongoing formation. In Canada, separated by vast distances, we have always had the difficulty of connecting with the larger CGS community--a community of people united in their common experience of falling in love with the Good Shepherd!
When we launched the website earlier this year, we had hopes that it would be a tool for nurturing community. We have seen it be a vehicle for joining us in prayer; now, we'd like to try using it as a means to study together.
We're beginning a pilot Canada-wide reading group!
Our first book will be the foundational Religious Potential of the Child, part 1 (RPC I). You are invited and warmly encouraged to join the RPC I reading group, if:
a) you have never read RPC I;
b) you've read it a while ago but want to revisit it; or
c) you can recite it backwards and forwards and just love it!
We are hoping that parents, catechists, clergy —all interested people actually—across Canada will read and discuss the book together this summer.
You may use any edition.
Each week, beginning on Sunday, June 7, we will read and discuss a chapter.
Our weeks will follow this sort of pattern:
Sunday: Following a reading guide put out by CGSUSA, several discussion questions will be
posted for the chapter in the Forum (in a folder called RPC I, located within the Reading
Group folder).
Sunday to Wednesday: Reading days
Thursday: Members are invited to respond (250 words or less) to any of the discussion
questions.
Thursday - Saturday: Discussion days. Members are encouraged to respond to other members'
posts. This can be simply clicking "like," but we hope there will be lively, thoughtful
discussion--asking questions, giving impressions, sharing experiences in a meaningful
and respectful way.
If you are interested in joining this group, leave a message in the Forum or send a quick email to webmaster@cgsac.ca. You will be given a "badge" that will enable you to join the discussion group, "RPC I," in the Forum. Please introduce yourself to the group there.
Catechists: You may want to invite parents of children in your atrium to join the reading group. They will have to become members of CGSAC (a quick process, as low as $25) and will need a copy of RPC I. The book can be ordered from Joseph's Inspirational, but it is probably possible to find copies to share in the homes of catechists within your local community. Again, it does not matter if you have the most recent edition. We will alert readers to the updates.
Please consider joining. No special qualifications needed. In our isolation, it would just be good to spend time with the richness that CGS has to offer.
God bless you,
Paula Rush
