Catholic and Loving it!

Apparently my first blog entry about our new bishop was "too negative". Sheesh! If you want negative try Berenike or Fr Ray Blake. I just thought it might be funny to offer him a cup of tea sometime...

I am honestly, genuinely, I promise, without reservation, happy to have a Bishop at last. Also (let my yes be yes and my no be no) I have not decided anything along the lines of "this guy is a bad/good bishop". I'm not in the business of judging who is good and who is bad - Bishops or otherwise. Who do you think I am? Fr. Christmas?

So, what's this Digital Teacher stuff all about then?

I'm glad you asked.

I'm quite excited to read this, while president of Ushaw, Bishop Drainey was involved with a programme of web based study for the permanent diaconate... he said:

"This is an online course, which is as interactive as a classroom full of students. It isn't 'distance learning' which is a one-to-one course, but is extremely interactive,"

Sound's fantastic.

The age old problem when it comes to Adult Formation has always been, too many people, not enought time. The department for Adult Formation are brilliant and yet they have their limits. Fr Lumley and Jane cannot possibly visit every parish even once a month. So you wait a month and get your hour long session most of which is spent drinking tea and being congratulated for turning up.

Imagine interactive online catechesis (chat-echesis?). You log on, you read the materials (at your own pace) you can leave comments and read other's comments (interactive) and you can get to know people hundreds of miles away. People from parishes across the Diocese can get to know each other. You get tea just the way you like it (you make it yourself) and you can do it in your own time (if you work nights, or are housebound, or just can't stand the kind of people you meet in Churches). The opportunities for evangelisation are tremendous. You could run courses for people interested in the Catholic faith who might not feel comfortable entering a Church but might be happy to log on during their lunch break. You don't need a babysitter. It would also be ideal for people like myself who always think of a question the next morning.

Hows that for positive...

If you can't wait for that, the good folks at the Catholic Home Study Service do offer free distance learning. They lack the interactive element that Bishop Drainey spoke about above but they will send you a free textbook and workbook and then you send your answers in online. It's better than nothing. Also, don't forget that, the Department for Adult Formation does have courses available and Jane Cook is already writing online.