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The Searchlight® Virtual School and the Diocese of Palm Beach
bring you ...
“Filling the Hungry with Good Things” Luke 1:53
Diocesan School of Christian Formation Adult Religious Education • Advanced Catechist Certification • Enhanced Preparation for Ministry “To do their part, adult Catholics must be mature in faith and well equipped to share the Gospel, promoting it in every family circle, in every church gathering, in every place of work, and in every public forum” Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States, CCB/USCC, 1999. |
About the Diocesan School of Christian Formation
The United States Catholic Council of Bishops met in 1999 for the purpose of forming a pastoral plan that addresses adult faith formation. This plan was due, in part, to a "widespread spiritual hunger" within society. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Missio and the USCCB’s own plan for evangelization, Go and Make Disciples, call for such efforts, and their success will require adult believers who are eager and articulate in sharing a faith they understand, embrace, and live. (28)
In order to bring adult faith formation to the Diocese of Palm Beach, the Diocesan School of Christian Formation was started – first within the Hispanic community and later in the English speaking community. These series of classes and programs were created so that adults who wished to learn more about the rich tradition of their faith could do so.
The school’s four goals are:
- To nourish and challenge Catholics with a deeper personal understanding of their faith tradition
- To enable participants to bring this experience to their families, friends, places of work and ministry
- To explore the Catholic tradition from our local context as a diverse Church with members of different cultural backgrounds and with varying ministerial needs
- To situate our experience of faith, church, and ministry in light of the teachings and documents of Vatican II
School of Christian Formation Courses of Study
The School of Christian Formation offers both classroom and online learning options for its courses. Persons may audit or take individual courses for credit as desired, or follow the entire 3-year program which concludes with the granting of a certificate of completion: Agent of Evangelization.
| Year One: Knowing Our Faith | Year Two: Celebrating Our Faith | Year Three: Living Our Faith |
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Likewise, the Sacraments and Liturgy courses are combined as one course.
For an overview of the online courses, course objectives, and course requirements, as well as to access
the online tutorial portions of each course, click here.
Classroom Learning:
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Each course consists of 12 hours of instruction scheduled at various times (days, weeknights and weekends) and at locations throughout the diocese.
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Program instructors will have a masters or doctoral degree in Theology or be qualified to teach their subject.
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In addition to class attendance and participation, each course will have an assigned textbook. Readings will be decided by the instructors. Those participants who audit courses will be encouraged to do the reading and to actively participate.
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Those who desire to receive a certificate or higher level catechist certification will be required to do a small amount of writing for each course.
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In general, participants who miss more than 2 classes will not be granted credit. However, special circumstances may be taken into consideration by the instructors. The instructor of each course will determine which students have earned credit for the course.
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A day-long retreat will be offered each year (August and May) and participation is required, at least once, for students seeking the School of Christian Formation certificate.
Online Learning:
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Online learning courses have a 3 to 4 month completion timeframe.
- Each course requires the completion of one or more online tutorial(s) and the designated accompanying course materials.
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Each course requires a textbook and the completion of the assessment materials designed for that text. It is the responsibility of the online student to acquire the textbook. The Searchlight Virtual School does not sell the required texts. Some course texts can be purchased directly from the School of Christian Formation Diocesan Office (Please call the office). All texts can be purchased online or by special order through a local bookstore.
- Course materials are sent as attachments to an e-mail to the enrolled student when a course is ordered.
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To receive credit, all course requirements must be met within the established timeframe.
- For an overview of the online courses, course objectives, and course requirements , click here.
The Searchlight® Virtual School
Engaging Catholics in the study of their faith and preparing them for today's challenges ... ONLINE!
The Searchlight® Virtual School is a division of Ocean East Publishing.
The Searchlight® Software programs presented on this web site are the property of Ocean East Publishing.
© 2009 Ocean East Publishing
All rights reserved.
http://www.oepub.com
Webmaster: Michelle Willis
772-563-9457
E-mail the webmaster.