The Latest Scoop

Religious Education product news for May:

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops has updated their Conformity Listing of Catechetical Texts and Series. Click here to view the latest version with the list of texts and series that have been found in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church as of April 16, 2009.

New program for Elementary School:
RCL Benziger presents Blest Are We: Faith and Word Edition for Catholic schools. Chapters are structured around the four pillars of the Catechism: Catholic faith, worship, life, and prayer. Faith in Action pages highlight parish ministries and vocations. Each spiral-bound Teacher Manual includes a grade-level DVD with Quick Clips for use with the lessons. Student texts and teacher manuals are now in stock. Materials for Grades 7 and 8 for both school and parish are expected later this summer.

New for High School:
Ave Maria Press presents Catholic Essentials: An Overview of the Faith. This is a new handbook for high school students that follows the new national curriculum framework from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Each required course is covered in a complete chapter and elective courses are covered in the appendix, making this a great tool for parish religious education. It can also be used in any introductory-level high school course or as a reference for all four years of high school religion. The Bishops’ Committee has approved the handbook. Student books and teacher manuals are now available. The revised edition of Encountering Jesus in the New Testament has been approved by the Bishops’ Committee. Student texts and teacher manuals are in stock now.

The first volume in the Didache Semester Series from Midwest Theological Forum, The Sacraments: Source of Our Life in Christ ©2009 has been approved by the Bishops’ Committee. Three more volumes in the core curriculum and two for elective courses are expected for the fall semester 2009. The new Semester Series will be published in accordance with the Bishops’ high school curriculum framework. More information and additional titles are expected this summer.

St. Jerome Press has a new, economical edition of the Bible in Spanish, Sagrada Biblia:Dios Habla Hoy Catolica now available.

The Saint Mary’s Press Catholic High School Curriculum will be unveiled spring of 2010. The Living in Christ Series is a completely new curriculum that will include church teaching outlined in the USCCB’s Curriculum Framework for the Development of Catechetical Materials for Young People of High School Age. Saint Mary’s Press has announced that the new curriculum will follow conformity protocol, will make use of contemporary educational practices, and will have new materials to meet the diverse needs of high school students. The first two courses for freshmen, Jesus Christ: God’s Love Made Visible, and The Bible: The Story of Our Salvation will be available February 2010.

New for Junior High School:
Sadlier has a bilingual edition of the junior high program, We Live Our Faith, coming soon.

Saint Mary’s Press presents The Catholic Connections Handbook for Middle Schoolers. This handbook for younger adolescents in grades 6 through 8 is modeled on the Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth. In addition to the student handbook, the program includes a coordinator’s manual and six catechetical manuals, each with topical material to cover at least 10 sessions. The program works for 2- or 3-year parish religious education models for junior high. The Catholic Connections Handbook is approved by the Bishops’ Committee. The handbook and the catechist guides are available now.

Also from Saint Mary’s Press: More resources for Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics. A board game, the Old Testament Bible People Poster Pack, and the New Testament Bible People Poster Pack are now available.

New Resources:
Ascension Press has announced a children’s version of the popular Great Adventure Bible study. Great Adventure Kids is a new learning system designed to teach the story of the Bible to children preschool-age through sixth graders. It uses the same methods that have made The Great Adventure and T3: The Teen Timeline so well received. Through games, coloring, play, memorization, and prayer, children between the ages of 3 and 11 learn the big picture of salvation history. The materials work in any setting: classroom, parish religious education, and at home.

Liturgy Training Publications’ Children’s Daily Prayer 2009-2010, a resource for classroom prayer, is now available. Other annual publications from Liturgy Training including The Year of Grace 2010 calendars and lector resources for Liturgical Year C will be making their appearance in late summer and early fall.

Pflaum Publishing Group has prepared a Planning Guide for catechists in parish programs and a Teacher Planner for Catholic school teachers. Both will be available in the summer.

St. Anthony Messenger Press has a revised edition of Believing in Jesus coming in August. Now in its sixth edition, this overview of the faith can teach those who are approaching the church for the first time as well as help “born Catholics” come to a deeper understanding of the beliefs and practices they have held all their lives.