The Catechetical School of the National Shrine of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero is reopening its doors, with the first lesson scheduled for Sunday, September 6. Community leaders are inviting families to register their children, as registration is already open.
This year’s program will last 18 weeks and will end on Sunday, January 24. Its goal, as stated in the relevant announcement, is to give children the opportunity to learn in depth about the Orthodox faith and the teaching of the Church, through lessons, activities and opportunities for socializing. In other words, catechism is not treated as a dry transmission of knowledge but as an experience that also includes company.
Those responsible point out that the Catechism also aims to strengthen the bonds of younger members with the parish community . The aim is to create an environment in which children will develop friendships and actively participate in the life of the Church, instead of experiencing it as something that concerns only adults.
In terms of practical organization, the meetings will be held on Sundays . The children will go up to the third floor after Holy Communion and will remain there until the time of parish communion. It is a thoughtful arrangement, because it integrates the lesson into the natural flow of Sunday and does not add another obligation to the already busy schedule of the families.
There are three school holidays during the year: November 29th for Thanksgiving weekend, December 27th for Christmas, and January 3rd for New Year’s.
Participation is free . The National Pilgrimage, however, allows for voluntary donations to cover the costs of educational materials, activities and other program needs, leaving the amount and the contribution itself to the discretion of each family.
Behind an announcement that seems like simple parish news, there is, in the end, something bigger. The church hosting these lessons is the one that was razed on September 11, 2001 , and was rebuilt in the most charged part of New York. The fact that children gather in this place every Sunday to learn their faith gives the reopening of the Catechism a significance that goes far beyond the boundaries of a parish.
