Program Model and Philosophy

Why did Loyola Press create the Finding God program? Why do you use the terms session and faith formation instead of lesson and religious education? What kinds of activities does Finding God have for children? What is the Finding God catechetical process? What types of assessment are available? Why do you refer to teachers as catechists in this program? How does Finding God support parents as the primary catechists of their children? Will the Finding God model work for my parish or school?

The Review Process

Is Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts approved by the Bishops' Catechism Committee? How many children's sessions are in the Finding God program? How many sessions can or should I hold? Does Finding God follow a spiral curriculum? How can I get a Scope and Sequence chart for Finding God? Are any of your materials available in Spanish? What elements make up the Finding God parish program? (What do I get if I order Finding God for my parish?) What elements make up the Finding God school program? (What do I get if I order Finding God for my school?) Can my parish or school afford this program? Will inexperienced catechists be comfortable using Finding God? Will Finding God help me in training catechists? What if I need help and support in using Finding God? What other materials does Loyola Press offer for parishes and schools? How can I see samples of Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts?

What is the role of prayer in Finding God?
Prayer has a special place in Finding God. Every session in the Children's Book offers three prayer opportunities, each related to the session focus. The program helps you teach prayer as a relationship with God; mentor children into a life of prayer; guide catechists, teachers, and parents in developing their prayer lives; and encourage parents, catechists, teachers, and children to meet God in their hearts by using the program's guided reflections.

How does Finding God involve families?
Finding God honors the domestic church and supports parents in their role as primary catechists of their children, even going a step further by nurturing the spiritual lives of parents themselves. Materials to support this process include quality tear-out Parent Pages at the end of every session in the Children's Books, Parent Newsletters that come five times a year (in English or Spanish), Gathering Sessions for adult faith formation, FindingGod.org parent and family resources, A Parent Guide to Prayer (in English or Spanish), and the Family Learning Guide.

What are Gathering Sessions?
Finding God Gathering Sessions are ready-to-use parish sessions that bring parents and other interested adults together for meaningful conversation and sharing about the significance of their faith in daily living. These adult faith formation sessions mirror the faith themes found in the children's components of Finding God and provide opportunities for parents to find the language they need to talk to their children about their own faith.
      All materials, handouts, optional comprehensive facilitator scripts, and complete instructions for five 60-minute sessions accompany the Finding God Director Guide. Gathering Sessions have been prepared in a way that allows for great flexibility: they can be scheduled to complement the rhythm of the parish and the children's program or the Catholic school calendar. A parish can offer all five sessions or just one or two in the first year of the program. Schools can partner with the parish to provide these sessions, or they may use them within open houses, sacramental preparation parent gatherings, or during teacher training. Five new sessions will be provided annually for four years to Finding God users at no extra cost.

What kinds of CDs do you have?
Each Catechist Guide comes with two CDs. The first is a Music CD that includes 8–11 songs (depending on grade level), carefully chosen for lyrics that correspond to session content and allow children to sing their beliefs. Also included on this CD are two selections of instrumental music to play when children are entering or leaving the session room, when they are in reflective prayer, or when they are involved in one of the unit-ending prayer services. The second CD is the Spoken Word CD, an innovative program component that provides five dramatized Scripture stories and five guided prayer reflections for that grade level.

What is the role of Scripture in Finding God?
The authentic teaching of the Church is revealed through both Scripture and Tradition. Each session of Finding God invites children to reflect on two Scripture passages, revealing the harmonious relationship between Catholic doctrine and Scripture. In fact, Scripture sets the foundation for the truths that are reflected upon in every Finding God gathering of children or adults, whether it be catechist training or the Gathering Sessions.

How do you treat Catholic Social Teaching in Finding God?
Finding God supports you in cultivating people for others—people who care about the world around us and the people who live in it. Our faith is shared through our commitment to the seven principals of Catholic Social Teaching: Life and Dignity of the Human Person; Call to Family, Community, and Participation; Rights and Responsibilities; Option for the Poor and Vulnerable; The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers; Solidarity; and Care for God's Creation. These seven themes are integrated into the sessions to reflect them in the context of our whole faith tradition. To heighten awareness, specific elements of Catholic Social Teaching are highlighted for the catechist or teacher within each session with an icon and the name of the theme and are also more extensively presented to the catechist or teacher in the session's preparation pages.

What's different about your Children's Book?
Designed to create a sacramental experience, the Finding God Children's Book presents the truth and beauty of our faith in engaging, diverse, and age-appropriate ways. The program assists catechists and teachers in teaching the Scripture and Tradition of the Catholic faith, while helping to build the interior life of the child. Through thoughtful words and engaging art, each turn of a page invites children into a truthful and beautiful experience. In each session children have three opportunities to enter into conversation with God about what they are learning. By praying from within the truths they have learned, children begin to internalize the faith message and develop a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
      The program goes beyond the Children's Book to support family faith formation and provides the parish or school community with a consistent faith message that focuses on five key Catholic concepts: God, Jesus, the Church, the Sacraments, and Morality. These concepts are the unit themes in every Children's Book so that the key messages are reinforced from year to year.

What's different about your Catechist Guides?
The Catechist Guide gives catechists the language of the Catholic faith and models the loving way of being that Jesus taught us. It nurtures the catechist's own spirituality, knowledge, and confidence. This excellent guide is easy to use and abundant in resources, providing complete support for both new and more experienced catechists and teachers. Each session begins with four pages to help catechists prepare. They include a 3-Minute Retreat for the catechist's personal growth, background information on Scripture and Tradition in that session, and a Get-Ready Guide to help in planning the session.

What's different about your Junior High materials?
The Finding God program for junior high is a learning experience. The books, designed to capture the imagination of adolescents who are tired of ordinary textbooks, present the full content of the Catholic faith in an engaging format that carries the appeal of a popular magazine. The two Finding God junior high books, each with five units, can be used in any sequence—as complete books or as modules. Use one text to teach both seventh and eighth graders. Or, each unit can function separately for a modular structure. The Catechist Guide provides innovative, imaginative, and effective ways to bring junior high religious education to life.

Why did Loyola Press create the Finding God program?
Loyola Press carefully crafted Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts to help catechists as they invite children and the significant adults in their lives into a deeper relationship with God and the Catholic Church in service to the world.
      "There must be a better way to help children and adults enter into a deeper dialogue of faith." This simple sentence sparked a conversation about faith formation that grew to include theologians, teachers, catechists, catechetical leaders, pastors, and professors. A burning desire to honor the role of the catechist—and an Ignatian commitment to recognize God and his love in all things—turned that conversation into a flame. Together, we took up the challenge to create a vehicle that would support all people who nurture a lived faith. Thousands of hours were spent creating tools and crafting resources that would spark meaningful dialogues and offer experiences that would authentically pass on the beauty and truth of our Catholic faith one person at a time. Brought together as a community and holding to this simple call, we made the work that was named Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts.

Why do you use the terms session and faith formation instead of lesson and religious education?
Passing on the Catholic faith is most effective when people educate and share their faith with children. Though the textbooks are important, the Finding God model moves beyond the traditional classroom model implied by terms like lesson and religious education. Faith formation is a process at the heart of catechesis, informing the mind—as one does in a religious education lesson—and forming the heart in a personal relationship with God. Finding God gives you the tools to guide children in that process of sharing the knowledge of the faith within the context of prayer. Faith is shared and best learned not during lessons if they imply one-way communication or intellectual learning only but through sessions that allow children and adults alike to explore their faith in group settings and invite faith to grow in their hearts and minds. Lifelong faith formation also speaks to the importance of including adults in the process as learners and not just leaders.

What kinds of activities does Finding God have for children?
A variety of activities addressing each of the multiple intelligences are offered in the Catechist Guides. This means that activities go beyond reading and writing workbook activities to include auditory, visual, and other experiences to reach children comfortable with different learning styles. Additional activities can be found through the Activity Finder at FindingGod.org.

What is the Finding God catechetical process?
The Finding God catechetical process is a four-step process that helps make connections between the life of the child and the teachings of the Catholic Church. The four steps are Engage, Explore, Reflect, and Respond. Together these steps help groups explore God's Invitation to love him and one another and Our Response to that invitation.

God's Invitation
	Step 1: Engage	This introductory step engages children in discussion or activities that relate the session theme to their lives. This step serves as a way to gather the children and provide them with a transition into their special time together.
	Step 2: Explore	This step explores the teachings of the Church through Scripture, stories, and activities. It reveals God's constant, loving invitation to us.
Our Response
	Step 3: Reflect	To help children internalize what they are learning, this step allows them to reflect prayerfully on God's invitation and their response.
	Step 4: Respond	After reflection the children identify how they can respond to God's invitation as they live each day. This last step provides opportunities for closure to the session.

What types of assessment are available?
Because children learn in a variety of ways, assessment in Finding God takes several forms. If you wish to give formal written assessments (quizzes), they are included within each unit's Review Session. Opportunities for informal assessments addressing the questions What can you do with what you know? and How do you do it? are incorporated in Blackline Masters in the Catechist Guide and throughout the program, using verbal and nonverbal expressions, responses, and observations. Additional assessments to meet the needs of Catholic schools are available online to program users.

Why do you refer to teachers as catechists in this program?
Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts uses the term catechist to refer to those who serve in the parish religious education program as well as those who serve as teachers of religion in Catholic schools. As a Catholic school teacher, you are responsible for teaching a variety of subjects throughout the day. Faith formation, however, is more than a subject to be taught—it is an invitation to a way of life. Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts recognizes and affirms that teachers of religion in Catholic schools are indeed catechists, called to form disciples of Jesus.

How does Finding God support parents as the primary catechists of their children?
Finding God encourages family faith formation with prayer at the center. The program addresses adults respectfully and engages them in ongoing personal and family faith development. Materials to support parents in the domestic church include quality tear-out Parent Pages at the end of every session in the Children's Books, Parent Newsletters that come five times a year (in English or Spanish), Gathering Sessions for adult faith formation, FindingGod.org parent and family resources, A Parent Guide to Prayer (in English or Spanish), and the Family Learning Guide. The Director Guide includes a parent orientation to assist parents in understanding their own role as catechists, inviting their children into a deeper relationship with God and the Catholic Church in service to the world.

Will the Finding God model work for my parish or school?
Yes, if your parish or school is willing to commit to the full experience. Finding God was written with parishwide needs in mind. Every component was designed to integrate with and enrich every other component—and all are provided to you as a part of the program purchase. Finding God supports family faith formation and provides the community with a consistent faith message that focuses on five key Catholic concepts: God, Jesus, the Church, the Sacraments, and Morality. The Catechist Guides provide excellent encouragement and training for new catechists, and they support experienced teachers and catechists in building a relationship with children. The Director Guide, Pastor Guide, and FindingGod.org provide additional assistance to your parish or school as it implements the program. And more parish resources will become available each year. Also you can always contact us with specific questions or requests.

Is Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts approved by the Bishops' Catechism Committee?
Yes. The Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has found this catechetical series, copyright 2005, to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

How many children's sessions are in the Finding God program?
How many sessions can or should I hold?
Finding God is flexible enough to work in parish programs with as few as 20 sessions or as many as 32. A fully viable, content-rich program can be completed in 20 weeks, meeting all the curriculum protocols set by the U.S. Catholic bishops. Using all the Review sessions and seasonal sessions will provide you with material for up to 32 meetings.
      The school version of the program provides teachers with activities and resources for daily sessions throughout the school year.

Does Finding God follow a spiral curriculum?
Yes. Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts reflects a vision of our Catholic faith grounded in Scripture and Tradition and an Ignatian recognition of the presence of God in all things. The expression of that vision is based on our Catholic belief that effective catechesis

• reflects the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
• centers on the person of Jesus Christ
• proclaims the liberating good news of salvation through Jesus Christ
• leads the Christian into the world in mission and action
• addresses the needs of the culture in which it is presented
• invites believers to reflect on personal experience in light of growing in relationship with God
• leads to full, conscious, active participation in the liturgical life of the Church
• creates a climate of prayer and nurtures a faith that is expressed in prayer

How can I get a Scope and Sequence chart for Finding God?
Complete Scope and Sequence charts for grades 1-6 are available in each Catechist Guide and in the Director Guide. Scope and Sequence charts for grades 7-8 are now available in the Junior High Sampler.

Are any of your materials available in Spanish?
Yes. Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts has parent and family materials in Spanish. At present, the following resources are available in Spanish:

• Parent Newsletters
• Children's Book Parent Pages
• Parent Guide to Prayer
• the take-home adult handouts for the Gathering Sessions
• the glossary in the Children's Book and online

What elements make up the Finding God parish program?
(What do I get if I order Finding God for my parish?)
Finding God includes everything you need to successfully implement the complete program parishwide. There is no need to pick and choose those elements you like best, because everything listed below is included for parishes adopting the program:

• Children's Book (featuring Parent Pages, English/Spanish glossary, and much more)
• Catechist Guide free with each order of 15 Children's Books
• Director Guide (includes 6 catechist training sessions, parent orientation, 5 adult Gathering Sessions, and more)
• Music CD with every Catechist Guide (includes 8–11 songs per grade)
• Spoken Word CD with every Catechist Guide (includes 5 dramatized Scripture stories and 5 guided prayer reflections per grade)
• Five instructional posters with every Catechist Guide
• Seventy-two Blackline Masters in every Catechist Guide
• Five Parent Newsletters for every Finding God family in your parish (in English or Spanish), with new editions annually
• Parent Guide to Prayer for every Finding God family in your parish (in English or Spanish)
• Pastor Guide
• FindingGod.org Web site with special features for program users

What elements make up the Finding God school program?
(What do I get if I order Finding God for my school?)
Finding God includes everything you need to successfully implement the complete program in your school. There is no need to pick and choose those elements you like best, because everything listed below is included for schools adopting the program:

• Children's Book (featuring Parent Pages, English/Spanish glossary, and much more)
• Teacher Guide free with each order of 25 Children's Books
• Director Guide (includes 6 teacher training sessions, parent orientation, 5 adult Gathering Sessions, and more)
• Music CD with every Teacher Guide (includes 8-11 songs per grade)
• Spoken Word CD with every Teacher Guide (includes 5 dramatized Scripture stories and 5 guided prayer reflections per grade)
• Five instructional posters with every Teacher Guide
• Seventy-two Blackline Masters in every Teacher Guide, with additional assessment Masters available online
• Five Parent Newsletters for every Finding God family in your school (in English or Spanish), with new editions annually
• Parent Guide to Prayer for every Finding God family in your school (in English or Spanish)
• Pastor Guide
• FindingGod.org Web site with special features for program users

Can my parish or school afford this program?
The Finding God program is an exceptional value, with one price for the entire program. All of the components needed to fully implement the multi-sensory experience of faith formation are included in the purchase price. There is no need to pick and choose those elements you like best. For specific information on pricing and how Finding God can work within your own parish or school budget, please contact your Educational Consultant at 800-621-1008.

Will inexperienced catechists be comfortable using Finding God?
Yes. The program was written with the goal that the nonprofessional catechist or the brand-new teacher or catechist will be effective with the children from day one. The background information, step-by-step explanations, and cohesiveness of the sessions will guide the catechist. The program will steer and support the catechist every step of the way as he or she shares his or her faith with the children. In addition, the Children's Books were written in age-appropriate language, so that children can read and understand the sessions at their own levels.

Will Finding God help me in training catechists?
All the training needed to facilitate each session with the children is provided in the Catechist Guide. Optional scripting for the session allows new catechists to feel comfortable leading their groups. The preparation pages and FYI features provide catechists and teachers with additional information to supplement their own knowledge of the topics in each session. The Guide clearly points out when and how to use all of the components, such as selections from the Music and Spoken Word CDs, and the program Web site, FindingGod.org, is always available for additional support.
      In addition, the Director Guide offers the DRE, principal, or other Catechetical Leader a fully prepared orientation session to introduce catechists or teachers to the Finding God program and provide an overview of its components and Scope and Sequence. It also offers a training session for each of the five units, to assist those directors who wish to facilitate catechist planning meetings per unit.

What if I need help and support in using Finding God?
We're happy to assist you as you implement Finding God in your parish community or school.
      Call us at 800-621-1008 (M-F 8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. CST) to speak with one of our Catechetical Staff members who helped create the Finding God program, or contact us through FindingGod.org.

What other materials does Loyola Press offer for parishes and schools?
Loyola Press offers a growing variety of products for the many needs of faith formation in parishes, in schools, and for individual readers. To browse our complete line of resources, visit our online bookstore at LoyolaBooks.org. We are developing new products all the time. Please check back frequently or contact us with your unmet resource needs.

How can I see samples of Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts?
Please call us at 800-621-1008 for more information on the program or to request samples. Online sample requests are not available at this time.