Dear Catechetical Colleagues,
Happy New Year! We hope that all of you are at the beginning of a grace-filled 2016! We are looking forward to several events planned over the next few months, these include a Faith Formation Presentation and Luncheon on March 15th, the PAFF Workshop and Retreat on April 28-29th, and our Annual PAFF Conference on June 1st. More information about these events will be shared in upcoming newsletters, but please mark your calendars now!
Our "Essential Concept" this week is Made in the Image of God - Foundation of Human Dignity. As you are aware, this concept is foundational to our understanding of Catholic morality. It also offers us a great opportunity to focus on the importance of protecting all of God's children.
With the transition to VIRTUS in the Safe Environment Office, we will be required and audited on a new curriculum that we will be implementing in all Faith Formation programs. Effective September 2016, every parish and school Faith Formation program will be required to teach the Touching Safety program created by VIRTUS. We have worked with the Safe Environment Office to incorporate this curriculum into our Archdiocesan Religious Education Standards.
The job of ensuring children's safety is a challenging undertaking. The prevention of child sexual abuse requires more than adult awareness, education, and training about the nature and scope of the problem. As you are aware, it is important we provide our children with the resources they need to overcome the advances of someone who intends to do them harm. The Touching Safety program is a tool designed to assist parents and teachers in this important task. Each year, the program provides a theme that introduces and builds on the basic concepts of the Touching Safety program. The material is developmentally appropriate for each age group and includes content and activities that reinforce the message. Our offices will be in contact with you in the coming months in regards to how catechists will be implementing this. We will also be offering additional information on implementation methods during our PAFF Workshop to be held at the Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center on April 28-29, 2016.
Please continue to check out the new Year of Mercy link on the Archdiocesan homepage for more resources and events for the Jubilee Year that will continue to grow over the next several months! We also will continue to feature some of these resources in our weekly newsletter as well.
In Christ,
Anne
Anne Frederick, Ed.D.
Director of Religious Education anne.frederick@seattlearch.org
Lisa
Lisa Hillyard
Library Media Center Manager lisa.hillyard@seattlearch.org
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