The Diocese of Kerry will host a special gathering to explore and
support the vital function of post primary religious education next
week.
On Wednesday 30 November, principals, religious education
co-ordinators and chaplains will gather in the Brehon Hotel, Killarney,
County Kerry to discuss the teaching of religion on both the Junior
Certificate and Leaving Certificate programmes.
According to the Diocese of Kerry, the Junior and Leaving Cycle
Frameworks highlight how religion and religious education contribute to
the spiritual and moral development of young people.
The speakers for the evening will address how religious education
plays a vital role in supporting young people as they begin to ask
significant questions and formulate their own way of living.
The
speakers will also address the place of religious education in the
revision of the Junior Cycle Framework.
The guest speakers for the afternoon will be Dr Amalee Meehan and Mr
Declan Coyle. Dr Amalee Meehan works with CEIST in the area of faith
leadership and governance and teaches part time in Mary Immaculate
College, Limerick. She teaches on the MA in Christian Leadership in
Education with Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, and is
the co-author of two religious education textbooks for US Catholic high
schools as part of the Credo Series (Veritas, forthcoming).
Her address will explore the situation regarding the increasing
loneliness and lack of resilience documented among young people and the
on-going spiritual hunger prevalent in western culture.
Religious
education has a vital function in addressing identity and rootedness, in
discovering who and whose we are.
Dr Meehan’s address will conclude by showing how religious education
can contribute significantly to the vision and values of the Junior
Cycle Framework.
The second speaker, Declan Coyle, is an internationally known
management consultant, motivator and mentor with a background in
theology. Declan will address the Red and Green Platform system, a
system of leadership and motivation that has revolutionised leadership
thinking in companies.
In addition to being the director of Andec
Communications, Declan has worked with government ministers and
departments, multi-national companies and charities.
The conference begins at 3.30 pm and concludes with dinner at 6 pm.