Effective Preaching: Preaching to Children

Fee: $25
Three Weeks

featuring video with Dr. Ann Garrido

It's important to understand your audience in order to preach effectively.  As an audience, children’s interests can inform homilies that would inspire anyone.  Join us to gain a greater appreciation for the issues that children wonder about and their capacity for awe.  Practice connecting the faith and liturgy to children’s everyday lives.  Consider the importance of non-verbal communication in speaking to children’s hearts.  This course is ideal for leaders of Liturgy of the Word for Children, as well as catechists, religious educators, or anyone else who works with children to nurture their faith.  This workshop is based on the Boston College web site Touchstones for Preaching/ Special Touchstone – Preaching to Children.

This course has a required text: Jim Campbell. 52 Simple Ways to Talk with Your Kids about Faith. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2007.

Check the course schedule for future offerings of this course.

Special Features

This course includes:

• Weekly videos;
• Text transcripts of each featured video;
• Weekly introductions to each new topic;
• Weekly questions for reflection and discussion; and 
• A page of further Resources about topics discussed in this course.

All Crossroads courses include these features:

• Participants have access 24 hours/7 days a week to the course's password-protected web site. 
• Each participant belongs to a small Community for Conversation and faith sharing guided by a facilitator.
• The course site is usually available to participants at least three months after the course.
• An orientation in how to navigate the web site is always available.
• Technical assistance is easy to contact and prompt in returning a message.
• A Certificate of Active Participation is awarded to those who post at least three messages of substance for each week of content.

Topics 

Introductory Week
Week 1: Seven Characteristics of Children and Three Mysteries of Life
Week 2: Tips for Preaching to Children

Additional Materials Needed: Jim Campbell. 52 Simple Ways to Talk with Your Kids about Faith. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2007.

Content Scholar: Dr. Ann Garrido, associate professor of homiletics at the Aquinas Institute of Theology.