Catechists and Volunteers


What Is a Catechist?


The word catechist comes from a Greek word meaning “to echo”.  Catechists echo the Word of God to the children of St.Thomas & St. Timothy Parish.  Catechists come from all walks of life and all ages: women, men, confirmed teenagers, parents, grandparents, singles, and religious. Catechists are not expert teachers or brilliant theologians. They are ordinary people, just like you, who generously volunteer their time to share our Catholic faith, values, and traditions with our children and to accompany them as they grow in the relationship with our Lord. Catechists are positive role models who help children learn and grow in faith. Their gift of time and talents has tremendous value. Through their words, actions, and expression of love for God, the message of Jesus Christ continues to spread throughout the world. 


Is God Calling You to Be a Catechist? Do you:

  • Love God and want to know Him better?
  • Love children and enjoy working with them?
  • Want to share God’s love with others?
  • Want to help children develop a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?
  • Want to be a good role model for children?

Qualifications

  • To have a desire to share your faith and love for Jesus with children and young people
  • To be able to relate comfortably with children and young people
  • To be committed to quality Catholic education
  • To take part in the sacramental life of the Church, including being a Confirmed Catholic

Please give prayerful consideration to offering your time and talents in one of the many rewarding opportunities. Both adults and high school youth are welcome!

 Welcome to the My Emmaus Formation Program


My Emmaus is a virtual faith formation program designed as an individualized and personalized experience. This journey of faith will be self-directed and include nine (9) foundational modules. With built in flexibility, you can begin with the session you feel will most benefit your ministry.


Each session will take you through four steps. You will begin with ENGAGE. These activities will help you get a sense of the session’s theme and focus. Next, EXPLORE will provide content, including videos, articles and chapters from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults as well as other select texts. The final two steps will be PRACTICE and APPLY, which will give you the opportunity to demonstrate your learning in practical way and apply it to your ministry.


Full program information and all resources are available from the Office of Faith Formation and Parish Life.

www.catholicedaohct.org/my-emmaus-a-faith-formation-journey. 


Adult (18 and older) volunteers in the Faith Formation Program are required to complete paperwork requested by the Archdiocese of Hartford Office of Safe Environment.  Click HERE to visit their website. There are many resources on this page.


 What is needed:


  1. Virtus Certification. 
  2. If you have not been Virtus Certified, please follow the instructions to register and complete the certification.   It is all available online. Be sure to save the certificate to be able to send in the next step.
  3. Please send your Virtus certificate to Dorothy Burnett DorothyB@stastm.org or Deacon Paul Travers DeaconPaul@stastm.org
  4. Background Check
  5. Click on their link for Background Check Request form.  Print and complete or use PDF fill option.
  6. Send to Dorothy or Paul. 


Either or both forms can be brought to the Parish Office - 1116 N Main St., West Hartford.