Many congratulations to four of our parishioners (pictured above with Fr Anthony) who recently been awarded the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies. Michelle Friend reports:
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In October 2024, Ann Paton, George Lewis, James Fitzpatrick-Ellis and I accepted the challenge to take part in the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies online at St Mary’s University Twickenham. The course, awarded by the Board of Religious Studies on behalf of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales, took place on Tuesday evenings during term time. The modules studied were
the Old and New Testament, the Sacraments, the Church, Christology and Christian Morality. There was also a choice of two specialist subjects about teaching in a Catholic School. This is because the certificate is needed by anyone who wishes to teach in a Catholic School. Our Course Lead also had a background in Catechesis so when she saw how many non-teachers were on the course, she also offered a specialist module on Catechesis so unsurprising, all four of us decided to join that subject. This year, the course has also expanded the specialist subjects to include Working in a Pastoral Context.Â
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Each module was assessed by either individual essays or group PowerPoints so the course called for a few nights spent down the pub collaborating and planning presentations and a few nights bashing the laptop keyboard trying to remember how to structure paragraphs and reference various source material.Â
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Thankfully, the hard work and collaboration paid off and we all passed. At this weekend’s Confirmation Session, Fr Anthony presented our certificates with a big round of applause from our candidates.Â
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Here is James’ personal reflection on the course:
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“Taking part in the CCRS course was nothing short of a revelation.Â
“Having taken part in the RCIA shortly before enrolling to the CCRS I found that this only enhanced my faith and gave me an even greater understanding to my faith.Â
“CCRS course is focussed on those that are teachers, or are moving into teaching at a school level, but it enables new students of the course to start thinking as a teacher.Â
“This is extremely beneficial for us as catechists, as we are teaching and guiding our young charges.Â
“CCRS takes you on a deep dive of the Catholic Faith, walking through from the formation of the church, through to the meaning of the different parts of the Mass itself. You take in-depth looks at the Old and New testaments as well as the sacraments.
“The CCRS course was a most definite benefit to my faith and will enable me to be a better Catechist and spiritual guide.”Â
If you may be interested in completing this course yourself and providing your time to catechesis in the Parish, please reach out to Fr Antony or to any of us if you want more information on the course itself.Â
