Sacred Heart Church, Bahrain has adopted a religious education curriculum called Horizons. This program is designed for use with senior high youth in Parish programs which is well supported and encouraged by the Vicariate. This program is now adopted in many parishes in the Vicariate to cater to the current needs of the youth.
Horizons is a combination of Core Courses and Mini Courses. Core courses present the central content and form the foundation of the entire curriculum. There are 7 Core courses. These include Growing in Wisdom Age and Grace, Living the Vision and Values of Jesus.
Mini Courses consist of three 2-hour sessions. These are optional courses and either expand on themes presented in the Core courses or introduce new topics.
Horizons is grounded in the educational approach known as active learning. Using tested strategies, teachers lead the participants through creative learning experiences making the learning experience truly delightful and memorable.
Teachers usually summarize and clarify concepts from shared experiences and conversations. So in a sense the participants are not lectured. The program does not include text books. However, occasionally a handout of the particular program summary is provided.
Prayer, Scripture and other elements of Christian faith are carefully integrated into every course in the series.
The ultimate goal of the program is the formation of Catholics who are committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A brief outline of a few programs is provided below:
Growing in Wisdom, Age and Grace: The teenage years are a time of exploration and introspection. All aspects of life are subject to a period of intense scrutiny during this time. Teenagers tend to probe and reflect on all the major relationships in their life: those with self, others, with the world and with God. The purpose of Growing in Wisdom, Age and Grace is to nurture in the young people a deeper understanding of the relationship’s that affect each of us. The Bible is presented as a source of timeless wisdom that holds much meaning for the young people of today as it did for every previous generation. The participants get a chance to reflect on some of their achievements and build on their interpersonal skills. Through this course the young people can come to know themselves better as creations of a loving God, recognize some of the things that diminish the dignity of human beings, understand some of the dynamics of loving relationships and are invited to a personal encounter with God through personal prayer and community rituals.
Called to Live the Gospel: This is a rich course that can provide the young people a solid grounding in the foundations of Christian morality to add to that which they have already learnt in their faith community and their family. This is an invitation to the young people to build God’s reign by loving themselves, and others as they are loved by God. This core course on Christian morality, frames its exploration of moral life on a series of profoundly important questions: Who do I want to become? Who do I listen to? What does real love look like? How do I decide what to do? Clear and convincing responses to such questions are grounded on the solid foundation of Jesus’ teachings. Through this course the participants will be both challenged and guided to pursue lives that are holy, healthy and happy.
Believing in a Media Culture: The purpose of this course is to help young people become aware of the existence and influence of our popular culture, as it is transmitted though the mass media. An awareness of the subtle messages of this pop culture and the media environment that brings it to us is necessary to help us resist attitudes and behaviors of the culture that are contrary to the meaning of the Gospel. As believers we are called to stand for strong values that in some cases are very different from the ones the media hold up to us daily.
The media-television, movies, music, magazines and computer technologies-are pervasive and increasingly influential among all age-groups in our culture. Young people in particular must learn to interact with these media in healthful ways. Christian parents and educators are rightly concerned that such “media literacy” be grounded in Gospel values. This course helps young people to critically assess the mixed messages of the media through the lens of Christian faith. The participants will develop skills that they will use for a lifetime.
Parent – Teen Relationships: This course is intended to help young people explore the dynamics of family interaction and to develop skills to improve communication in all their relationships. Improved communication skills can help parents and adolescents grow in appreciation and understanding of each other. Young people involved in this course can deepen their awareness of their parent’s love and concern as gifts from God.
Adolescents assume greater responsibility for family communication as part of the nurturing process.
The more a person can understand the needs of another, feel the concerns in another’s heart, and experience the love and caring of God through other people’s actions, the deeper the bonds that build up the community. Communication is one of the ways that God provides for us to touch one another’s lives and nourish our relationships. Jesus’ encounter with the disciples on the road to Emmaus is a model for fostering growth in faith relationships. Jesus’ action in this story shows the importance of spending time with others and the value of really listening to them. Jesus listened and helped them to see the meaning of all that had occurred.
Learning how to share experiences and thoughts and how to listen to one another is first done in the context of family life. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul offers guidelines for a Christian relationship between parents and children. He gives specific instructions that stem from a basic obligation of respect for one another.
“Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise, “so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord. ( 6:2-4)
This course will enable the young people to improve their ability to communicate and hone their conflict resolution skills. They will understand the basics of adult development.
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