October 21st

Dear R.E. Teacher / Chaplain,

It is with great pleasure that I greet you as I start my role as Diocesan Adviser. I may have been fortunate enough to have met you already at the R.E. Congress at the start of the month, however, I now look forward to getting to know you all through our correspondence and I hope to meet many of you in due course when I start making visits to schools. My contact details are supplied below and if I can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 As we countdown to Midterm, you may find use for this light-hearted PowerPoint, Halloween PP, that was kindly shared by one of our teachers in the diocese.  It provides students with some interesting background information to Hallowe’en while also reminding them of the Christian Feast Days we will celebrate while enjoying the break. As Gary encouraged last year, I welcome any classroom materials like this PowerPoint you may have that you feel might be of benefit to other teachers; you can email them to me at this address. 

 Also, please find a PowerPoint on Mission Sunday 2013; it may prove useful if you haven’t yet explored yesterday’s theme. The theme for this year’s Mission Sunday is One Faith, One Family. 

 At the concluding Mass of World Youth Day, Pope Francis urged those present to “Go and make disciples of all nations”.

 Mission is close to the heart of Pope Francis as he referred to the importance of proclaiming the Gospel just one day after he became Pope in his homily at Mass in the Sistine Chapel on Thursday March 14th 2013: “…Thirdly, professing… if we do not profess Jesus Christ, things go wrong.”  Mission Sunday asks that we live out our faith in all that we do. May God grant us the courage to do so in our role as Religious Educators.

 Sr. Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, NY Times best seller and inspiration for Oscar winning film of the same name, will be giving a talk in All Hallows  on 30 October at 7.30 p.m. Admission: €5.00 payable at door. Pre-booking is essential. Please contact mhickey@allhallows.ie or telephone 01 8520700 Ext. 549.

 Information Day on Junior Certificate Reform: There will be a presentation by Annette Honan (NCCA) on November 16th in The Bloomfield Hotel, Mullingar. Those of you who are members of the RTAI will have already received notification of this important event. I encourage you to make your voice heard by attending.

 Finally for a bit of fun, your students may enjoy this: Silent Monks Sing The Hallelujah Chorus! A group of students perform Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus as part of a school talent show! 

 Wishing you all a lovely break.

 With every blessing,

 Anna