Formation for CLOW catechists

Apr 02, 2014

By Lucille Dass
The Penang Diocese Catechetical Commission (PDCC) organised its very first formation for Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW) catechists over the weekend of March 22-23, at St Anne’s Church. The formation titled CLOW – Self-Awareness for Better Christian Service — was attended by thirty participants from eight parishes of the diocese, including St Michael’s Church Ipoh, St Joseph’s Church, Batu Gajah, Church of St Francis de Sales, Sitiawan, and St Anthony’s Church, Nibong Tebal.

In his opening address, PDCC Director Fr Mark Michael remarked that this first CLOW formation was meant to help the catechists deepen their faith in the person of Jesus Christ. He felt that personal self-awareness would in turn help to enhance the liturgy of the Word delivered to the little “princes and princesses” of God’s kingdom found in our parishes. “Ongoing formation for children’s catechists will lead to a greater understanding of the theological mysteries and this will make their preaching more attractive, effective and relevant to the little children,” he said. It was also an opportunity, he added, for CLOW catechists of different parishes to meet, network, and share resources and experiences to further enrich the ministry.

The formation was conducted by a team led by Kathleen Chee and her husband, James Ong. The three aims of the formation were: i) developing self-awareness and interpersonal skills ii) discovering the truth of the holistic model to enhance one’s own spiritual, mental, and physical health and iii) to draw up an action plan for commitment and improvement of service to God.

The use of Professor Dr Leonard Yong’s Personality Inventory model (LPI) proved to be a hit with the participants who, though at first gingerly, took a quick self-test to become more aware of their personality traits, strengths and weaknesses; then as curiosity set in they eagerly asked for their test results to be analysed. Next, many were keen to find out how best to work with members of their team especially when they clearly differed in personality, behaviour, and attitude. Kathleen suggested pathways. A clear reminder was: “No matter what your personality, your true identity is in Christ” (1 Jn3:2; Eph2:10; 1Cor6:19).

Kathleen explained the need to be aware of one’s own filters since it affects how one reads the self, others and the world as a whole. The quote “Truth lies in the eyes of the beholder” comes to mind. She noted the importance of recognising and utilising the team members’ individual strengths for fruitful service to God. She also spoke on the need for emotional intelligence for better relations within the self (Intra-personal skills) and with others (Inter-personal skills).

The session on the holistic model reinforced the fact that body, mind and spirit are to be aligned in serving God (1 Thess5:23). Another sensible reminder was how to take refuge in the TENT (an acronym) to strengthen one’s spirit: Thanksgiving attitude; Enjoy your work; No co-incidence in our lives; and (give) Thankfulness to our creator.

Mabel Tan spoke on the need for good nourishment for a healthy mind, body and spirit to serve God. While based on scientific research, the content drew inspiration and was grounded in Leviticus 11 which explicates rules regarding clean and unclean food. Her husband John, did a brief session on laughter therapy – the much needed joy and humour that makes us whole.

The Saturday night session closed with Taize music and worship. The next morning opened with Mass. The penultimate session celebrated the message from Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life in the form of a song. Following this, participants worked individually on their personal action plan by creating a collage to show how they best envisioned improving their service to the Lord in their chosen ministry. They later shared this with a partner and sealed it with a mutual commitment to journey with each other for a period of time.

There was a post formation forum chaired by Fr Mark. The one thing that was highlighted through the Q & A session was that CLOW is not a babysitting service. The recommended age for attendance is six (with exceptions for precocious children) with a cut-off age at eleven or twelve. Parents are encouraged to accompany the smaller children. The forum ended with a consensus on the need for another formation – this time on CLOW methodology.

PDCC’s next two formations are on Scripture (Chinese) and Spirituality (Tamil) to be held in May. For enquiries call Mary Huang at 0164926766 or Johnson at 0124315207.