Religious Education Curriculum

At St. John the Evangelist, we consider religion classes as part of our academic program. The Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children and, as such, they are expected to support our program by praying with their child, listening to their lessons and attending Mass with them on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. We use the Image of God textbooks, published by Ignatius Press, in our program. These textbooks are approved by the Diocese of Gary. We've listed below the topics emphasized by grade level:

• Grade 1 Grace and sacraments
• Grade 2 Sacraments and commandments
• Grade 3 Christ and Church
• Grade 4 God, grace and commandments
• Grade 5 Christ, Church and sacraments
• Grade 6 Old Testament‹creation
• Grade 7 God, creation, Christ and commandments
• Grade 8 Church, grace and sacraments

View Mass Attendance Policy

Our program is very structured because we believe our children need to know the fundamental beliefs that make us Catholic. Students are quizzed weekly on what we call "Basic Catholic Teachings" (BCT's). We center our catechesis on a thorough knowledge of Jesus and His Church. Both our school and our public school religion programs are under the direction of the Office of Religious Education/Formation. In this way, we can be assured that students in both programs are receiving the same education. Any questions regarding our program should be addressed to Joan Backe at 219/365-3709 or jbacke@stjohnparish.org.

Prayers

Our students are required to memorize specific prayers at each grade level, based on the expectations of the Diocesan Religious Education Office.

View Prayers