Catholic Religious Education (CRE)
Children and Young Adults
Catechesis for children presents Christ’s teachings, His ministry, and the major events of His life. Children can begin to appreciate the parables of Jesus and capture glimpses of the Kingdom of God; they can learn more formal prayers; and they can commit brief passages of Sacred Scripture to memory. Catechesis for the Sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation and of the Eucharist is ordinarily provided in these early years of schooling.
The Joint Base Lewis-McChord Catholic Community is committed to establishing a grounded foundation in our children’s Catholic faith. Our religious education program uses materials and resources that implement the Archdiocesan Religious Curriculum Guide promulgated in August 2013 by his Excellency, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, J.C.D., for use in the Archdiocese of the Military Services, USA (AMS): “The purpose of this guide is to provide a standard instrument for ensuring that the faith is taught in a complete, systemic and consistent way in the Catholic faith communities in the Archdiocese.
Parent & Teacher Resources
FORMED.org
FORMED provides the very best Catholic content from to help families and individuals explore their faith anywhere. FORMED is free for JBLM Families. click the link and select “Sign up as a parishoner.” Search for “Fort Lewis” as your “parish.” Then complete your signup.
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Supporting thousands of movies, children’s programs, ebooks, audio, parish programs and studies direct to your browser, mobile or connected device.
AMS Family Wittness to Christ
With the launching of the new AMS Family Witness to Christ platform, Catholic military families now have access to games, videos, challenges, and other innovative tools to support pre-K-through-12 religious education.
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Powered by CatholicBrain.com, the platform is designed to engage families at home and equip them with the knowledge of their Catholic faith. Families interested in using it may obtain the AMS code to register from the priest or coordinator of religious education (CRE) at their respective military installations.
AMS Parent Segments
Pages like this are often shared on social media, so keep your URL as simple as possible. Many visitors will likely see it on a mobile device, so be sure to test it on some.
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More information.
Pflaum Gospel Weeklies
The Pflaum Gospel Weeklies are a liturgically-based catechetical program that helps parents participate in their important role as the first educators of your children.
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Choose from the list of resources below and on the right of this page that you can use at home. New articles will be added periodically, and the Gospel at Home is updated throughout the year to connect each Sunday Gospel to the children’s handouts for each age level.
Policies and Procedures
Who May Enroll?
In accordance with Canon Law and Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) policy, only Active-Duty personnel and their dependents fall under the jurisdiction of the AMS. This jurisdiction also extends to DoD civilians, contractors and State Department personnel and their families assigned overseas. Retirees fall under the jurisdiction of the local territorial diocese in which you reside. This policy was codified by the AMS in 2006 but has been part of Canon Law since 1987.
Ref: Para 2.3 AMS Priests Manual –Subjects of Jurisdiction. Those who comprise the AMS fall under a variety of categories, both as officials exercising jurisdiction and as subjects belonging to this particular archdiocese. Here specific mention is made of retired military personnel: they are not subjects of the AMS but have certain claim to our attention and should be held in high regard.
Can dependents of Retirees enroll?
Mass is always open to our retirees and civilians who want to attend. However, the receptions of sacraments of initiation, require specific canonical permissions (faculties) for them to be conferred both validly and licitly. This is especially the case for confirmation, as bishops of the AMS cannot confirm (w/o permission) of the subjects’ local territorial diocese lest the sacrament be both invalid and illicit.
Retired military and DoD civilains may register their children (space availible) “temporary status” with the understanding you will obtain a letter of permission from the local territorial parish in which you reside.
Administrative Requirements
Paretns with students enrolled in sacramental preparation programs must provide a copy of their child’s baptismal certificate that has been issued in the last 6 months. If baptized on an active military installation these requests can by made by contacting the AMS Sacramental Records Department. All others must contact the parish of baptism.
Parents will also need ot submit the sacramental reception form as this is used to ensure proper recording of the sacrament recieved. Reception of sacraments will be withheld until all documentation has been provided.
Attendance Requirements
Students enrolled in Sacramental Preparation Classes missing more than three consecutive Sundays of scheduled education will be disenrolled. As the first and foremost educators of their children in the faith, it is expected that parents instruct their children by covering with them any missed materials given to them by the Catechist teacher.
Late Enrollment
PCS is a normal part of military life and we aim to assist parents in the transition. Those PCSing into the community after classes have started may enroll their children in religious education as long as one of the following criteria are met:
- Parents obtain a memo from the priest of their last installation or the civilain parish indicating their child was enrolled, what curriculum was used, and the lesson/topic last covered. OR
- Parents meet with the senior priest to discuss a hybred curriculum plan for covering material the child may have missed.
We are PCSing to a new installation...what do we do?
Prior to departing the JBLM community parents should request a letter from the Catholci Religious Education Coordinator of senior priest verifying enrollment and content covered.
