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A screen grab of "Voyagers," a YouTube religious education program for preschoolers by St. Brendan Parish in San Francisco. (Catholic San Francisco)
May 13, 2020
Lidia Wasowicz
Catholic San Francisco
During these days of social distancing, creative redesigning of religious education is letting tots and teens stay close to Jesus.
At St. Brendan Parish in San Francisco, the pastor, children’s faith-formation coordinator, music-ministry director and an occasional special guest have transformed into screenwriter, composer, actor, producer and editor to make home deliveries of a program that had spiritually engaged 3- to 5-year-olds while their families attended Mass.
Aiming for continuity despite the seclusion forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, familiar puppet and human characters have carried on since Easter Sunday with Gospel-themed stories on YouTube, assuring the preschoolers that in good times and in bad God is always by their side.
“During this time of stay-at-home isolation, the weekly video keeps the kids connected to the church,” said Mario Balestrieri, the head of music ministry recruited to create lyrics and tunes for the revamped enterprise.
“They know that church keeps going even if so many other things have had to come to a pause.”
At St. Sebastian in Greenbrae, director of religious education Gretchen Harris maintains a constant flow of online updates, communications and assignments so the 12 students in kindergarten to grade five and 19 in grades six to nine don’t fall behind in their Catholic growth and development.
She encourages parents to have their children recall and retell lessons and prayers learned in class, inform teachers about their progress and keep holy the Sabbath through such activities as reflecting on the Sunday readings, the “bite-sized catechism” and the Via Lucis, or 14 Stations of Light, emailed to all parishioners.
Confirmation candidates get together each week via Zoom, group texts and chats to share their favorite Bible passages, discuss their coursework and at times hear 15-20-minute thematic presentations from their moms and dads.
The younger set has its own digital discourse on the divine. A recent Zoom gathering featured a virtual at-home scavenger hunt for religious articles and sacramentals.
“The biggest drawback is that we aren’t all gathered in one physical space,” Harris said. “We truly miss the organic flow of conversation, the spontaneous activity, high fives and the energy felt when in the actual presence of children and adolescents who are thirsty for faith.”
At St. Catherine of Siena in Burlingame, religious education director Mark Tomsic expressed the same longing for personal contact with churchgoers, teachers and students.
“Being able to still communicate through social media is incredible because we still feel connected,” he said.
His Zoom conferences with colleagues, including his counterparts in nine other San Mateo County parishes, explore ways to evangelize and engage their charges as they shelter in place.
Under the cloistered conditions, catechists are relying more heavily on parental assistance in instructing the 115 K-8 public school students enrolled in St. Catherine’s faith-formation classes, most in two-year preparations for the sacraments of first Communion and confirmation.
Families receive weekly assignments, Gospel stories related to the Sunday readings, links to English and Spanish resources for homebound celebrations, devotions and liturgies and notes urging participation in livestreamed weekend Masses.
Emails targeting select groups included a recent plea to fourth graders to put to use — especially during Mary’s month of May — the rosaries, blessed by Pope Francis, they received just before the lockdown.
“There is so much prayer that the world needs,” Tomsic said, “and this is a perfect opportunity for families to teach their children how to pray.”
To take advantage of the opportunity, pastor Father Roger Gustafson and his crew dedicate up to 10 hours a week to create an 18-20-minute video of the preschool program "Voyagers," named in honor of the parish patron, St. Brendan the Navigator, and mission, to help travelers navigate their faith journey.
“We want to inspire awe and wonder, knowledge and appreciation of God from the earliest age, and we don’t want the shutdown to shut down our efforts,” said Carol Grewal, whose duties as the children’s faith-formation coordinator have expanded to acting and screenwriting for the revamped show.
The efforts have paid off.
Whereas 15 to 25 tykes attended her typical class, each YouTube offering gets up to 250 hits, with the number of actual viewers likely much higher, Grewal noted.
“I like the songs, I like Brenda and Brendan (the bear puppet costars), and I like the stories,” Cristiano Ruiz, 4, assessed. “I like to learn to be a nice boy, like Jesus.”
His sister Alessia, 6, sings, dances and recites along with the show, while dad Ivan takes a trip down memory lane.
“I grew up with Mr. Rogers, and this is very reminiscent of that iconic show, but on a new platform,” Ruiz said.
Another adult fan, Elizabeth Gamarra, tunes in every week with daughter Isabella, an eighth grader and an aide in Grewal’s class who enjoys feeling connected to the children.
“Not only is it wonderful for the little children, where else can you get Christ-based screen time these days for little ones?” said Gamarra, who taught religious education for two years.
Positive feedback, which includes photos and videos of children engrossed in the program, makes up for the challenges — wearing masks off-screen, staying six feet apart, donning gloves when handling the puppets, keeping the feature familiar but fresh, Grewal attested.
“We believe it is an excellent way of catechizing even the youngest of our children while giving the whole family an uplifting experience on Sunday mornings,” said Father Gustafson, who has taken on the duties of camera operator, producer and post-production editor.
“These kids are going to return to a world that looks very different from what we left behind on March 13,” concluded Harris. “My sincere desire is that when they look back at 2020, they’ll see that the church is what sustained them and gave them hope.”