Guild of the Good Shepherd

The Guild of the Good Shepherd is a regional group, which supports and promotes the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) program to churches and schools throughout the New England area. Though most of our members are Episcopal, the Guild enthusiastically includes fellow Christians from Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in our formation classes. (The Guild believes strongly in our Massachusetts Diocese's mission statement '...to send our people to serve with Christ, inviting everyone...'.)

The Guild's Board is comprised of lay people and clergy from our members churches. We meet on the fourth Thursday of each odd-numbered month. The Guild offers information on CGS and can direct or provide courses for anyone wishing to use this curriculum.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, the CGS is an approach to the religious formation of children for ages 3-12. It is rooted in scripture, liturgy, and the educational principles of Maria Montessori. The program believes that God is already present to children. It is the purpose of this program to deepen that relationship.

CGS is used by Anglican, Roman Catholic and other Christian churches in this region. Over 200 people have completed training from the 10 Formation courses offered so far.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions that you may have concerning the CGS program!

What the Guild offers:

Information on local, regional and national training opportunities.
Formation courses held at churches in the diocese of Massachusetts that is spread over a 10-month period.
Support in opening an atrium in your church. The Guild will offer consulting, training, resources and some grants to assist parishes in establishing this approach.
Support for those parishes and individuals that have established this program.
Workshops and speakers, who will introduce your church to the CGS.
Connection to and resources from the National Association.
Several material-making workshops throughout the calendar year.
Networking with other Catechists and parents.
Ongoing enrichment as a Catechist and development of your spiritual life.
Advocacy for CGS within the diocese.
Membership directory and mailings.

Fettuccia - Level II Information:
The Guild is a wealth of information about the CGS program. We can come to you or you can come to us. We also have panels that give a succinct overview of CGS. The panels are portable and stand upright for displaying at your parish for meetings and the like. Please contact the Guild if you are interested in finding out more about the panels!

In the future the Guild will be able to provide information on what it takes to start up a CGS program. Besides information about training, you'll find out what you should estimate for a yearly budget (which can be as little as $500-$700), receive a list of materials to get started with, and the like.

Training:
One of the main purposes of the Guild is to provide training for the CGS program. So far, the Guild has offered over a dozen Formation courses in the Metro-Boston area since 2002.

You may get training in any one of the 3 levels in the CGS program. There is Level I for ages 3-6, Level II for ages 6-9, and Level III for ages 9-12. Each course consists of more than 90 hours of training, which is spread over several months - usually one Saturday per month. However, it is not necessary to complete a whole course before beginning CGS in your parish. The amount of material taught in a course covers the full 3-year cycle of the level.

Financial aid (via scholarships) is available for training. Contact the Guild if you are interested.

For information, you may contact the coordinator for the Guild of the Good Shepherd,

Updated: November 3, 2008 4:03 PM

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Guild's website is maintained by Ron D.