41 min

21. CGS and Children of All Abilities with Trinka Hamel The Good Shepherd and the Child

    • Christianity

“You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know.” Psalm 140 13-14
 
Maria Montessori began her journey with children of “different ability” so it is fitting that our work in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which follows her educational model, would be inclusive of children of all abilities as well.  If we truly believe, as our work in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd tells us, that we are “led by the child” then we will meet each child in the atrium wherever they are on their faith journey. Once a child with disabilities is accepted into an atrium, many practical tasks remain such as assessing the child’s abilities, identifying a catechist, and determining which materials are appropriate. 
 
Trinka Hamel joins The Good Shepherd and the Child Podcast today to share her experience with experimental work with children and young people of different abilities using the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd model.  She has years of experience both professionally and in the atrium to share with us. 
 
Trinka considers the young children she came to know in her first years as a special education specialist in Chicago to be among her greatest mentors and teachers.  Like all children, they were drawn to beauty, joy, relationship and kindness.  When Trinka was introduced to CGS in 2004 it was like coming home to a place she’d never been.  She has been a catechist since 2008, helped to develop all levels of atria at a local parish in Tacoma, WA, and recently became a Level I formation leader.  Trinka completed a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies with an emphasis on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at Aquinas Institute of Theology in 2017, and continues to support the CGS communities in her region as a member of the Sheepfold Consortium for CGS sustainability in the Pacific Northwest.    
 
Please consider taking a few minutes to fill out our survey about this podcast! If you fill out all the information in the survey between Sept 30 – October 31, 2020 there is also a chance to win the book Look at the Light! http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07ehbfwip6kfcsqsxq/start
 
 
Resources for further growth:
 
https://www.cgsusa.org/discover/children-with-disabilities/
 
https://www.cgsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/Recognizing-the-Gift.pdf
 
https://ncpd.org/
 
For a deeper dive into the theology of disability, here's an overview from Deborah Creamer, "Theological Accessibility: The Contribution of Disability":  https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/812/987
 
 
Learn more about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at www.cgsusa.org
 
Follow us on Social Media-
Facebook at “The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd”
Instagram-  cgsusa
Twitter- @cgsusa
Pinterest- Natl Assoc of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA
YouTube- oneofhisheep
 
 

“You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know.” Psalm 140 13-14
 
Maria Montessori began her journey with children of “different ability” so it is fitting that our work in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which follows her educational model, would be inclusive of children of all abilities as well.  If we truly believe, as our work in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd tells us, that we are “led by the child” then we will meet each child in the atrium wherever they are on their faith journey. Once a child with disabilities is accepted into an atrium, many practical tasks remain such as assessing the child’s abilities, identifying a catechist, and determining which materials are appropriate. 
 
Trinka Hamel joins The Good Shepherd and the Child Podcast today to share her experience with experimental work with children and young people of different abilities using the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd model.  She has years of experience both professionally and in the atrium to share with us. 
 
Trinka considers the young children she came to know in her first years as a special education specialist in Chicago to be among her greatest mentors and teachers.  Like all children, they were drawn to beauty, joy, relationship and kindness.  When Trinka was introduced to CGS in 2004 it was like coming home to a place she’d never been.  She has been a catechist since 2008, helped to develop all levels of atria at a local parish in Tacoma, WA, and recently became a Level I formation leader.  Trinka completed a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies with an emphasis on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at Aquinas Institute of Theology in 2017, and continues to support the CGS communities in her region as a member of the Sheepfold Consortium for CGS sustainability in the Pacific Northwest.    
 
Please consider taking a few minutes to fill out our survey about this podcast! If you fill out all the information in the survey between Sept 30 – October 31, 2020 there is also a chance to win the book Look at the Light! http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07ehbfwip6kfcsqsxq/start
 
 
Resources for further growth:
 
https://www.cgsusa.org/discover/children-with-disabilities/
 
https://www.cgsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/Recognizing-the-Gift.pdf
 
https://ncpd.org/
 
For a deeper dive into the theology of disability, here's an overview from Deborah Creamer, "Theological Accessibility: The Contribution of Disability":  https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/812/987
 
 
Learn more about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at www.cgsusa.org
 
Follow us on Social Media-
Facebook at “The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd”
Instagram-  cgsusa
Twitter- @cgsusa
Pinterest- Natl Assoc of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA
YouTube- oneofhisheep
 
 

41 min