Some Catholic churches create religious development programs for people with intellectual disabilities

From The Catholic Free Press:

Madonna of the Holy Rosary Chapel in Fitchburg will be the third Special Religious Development (SPRED) center in the diocese, according to Carolyn Oberhelman, diocesan coordinator of the program.

SPRED serves the spiritual needs of children, teenagers and adults with intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities throughout their lives, she said.

The chapel at 118 Theresa St. is an outreach of St. Joseph Parish, the new parish formed July 1 from Madonna of the Holy Rosary and three other parishes. But people from any parish may attend or help with SPRED, a free program run by trained volunteers.

An informational meeting is scheduled for 7-8:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at the chapel. The meeting is for adults interested in learning about or helping with the program, and parents and guardians of those with special needs, including autism, Down syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disability and Muscular Dystrophy.

Mrs. Oberhelman said she didn’t know when the program would start, as she needs to make preparations.

Now used internationally, SPRED was started in the Chicago Archdiocese in the early 1960s and at St. Andrew the Apostle Mission in Worcester in 2007, said Mrs. Oberhelman, who brought it here. Later a second SPRED program was started at St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough.

“It is my hope and my dream that there’ll be many SPRED centers around the diocese, so that these people can have a chance to know God and know God loves them, and have an experience of a faith community, because Church is about community, coming together to pray and experience love,” she said.

She noted that there is pain from the closing of Madonna of the Holy Rosary Parish, but added that God’s hand has now touched the people, who will be reaching out as their church hosts the program.

“I believe the need is huge,” she said, mentioning parents who sought in vain for religious education for special needs children.

Her daughter, Andrea, who has Down syndrome, participated in regular religious education classes in their parish, Prince of Peace in Princeton, as a young child, she said. But when she got older that didn’t work out. So Mrs. Oberhelman called the diocese to see what could be done. She said Kathleen M. Cushing, then an associate director in the diocesan Office of Religious Education, sent her to the Providence Diocese, which has offered SPRED programs for years.

Mrs. Oberhelman said she, and later other members of the Worcester Diocese, received training there and in Chicago, in part from program founders.

She said she and Mrs. Cushing looked into holding the program at St. Bernard Parish (now Our Lady of Providence) in Worcester. Father Richard F. Trainor, then pastor there and now pastor of St. Joseph’s in Fitchburg, agreed, but then was transferred.

So Susan Swanson, a speech therapist from St. Peter Parish in Worcester, arranged to have it at her parish’s mission church: St. Andrew’s. Daniel Joyce, who also received training, got a second program started at his parish, St. Luke’s.

“When I saw in The Catholic Free Press that Father Trainor was going to the North County, I thought, ‘He said yes once; maybe he’ll say yes again,’” Mrs. Oberhelman said. She said she asked, and learned he and Elizabeth A. Marcil, director of the diocesan Religious Education Office, had already discussed it.

“He said yes right away,” Mrs. Oberhelman said. “One of the first things he did was give me a key to Madonna of the Holy Rosary.”

In a parish, each group for youth or adults needs a leader catechist, an activity catechist and helper catechists, she said. Helper catechists, sometimes the parents, each work with one of the special needs participants, called friends.

The catechist training is being offered in the diocese for the first time from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 11 and Oct. 16 at St. Luke’s Parish Center, Mrs. Oberhelman said.

Individuals and groups such as the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development have given financial donations, which the Religious Education Office handles, for SPRED, she said.

Using booklets obtained from Chicago for an offering rather than a charge, SPRED consists of 12 sessions a year, held for one-and-one-half to two hours every other week, Mrs. Oberhelman said. On the alternate weeks, the catechists meet to prepare the next lesson.

Each session begins with each participant doing a sensorial activity, such as touching water or manipulating clay, “to let them become relaxed and centered,” Mrs. Oberhelman said.

Then they go to the celebration room where they talk about their experience of the symbol of the day and how it connects with God and Church, she said. One symbol they use is a nest. Participants might tell the group whether they’ve ever seen one, and learn that in the liturgy Jesus feeds them as a mother bird feeds her babies. A simplified Bible reading, such as God caring for birds and people, follows.

The lead catechist then takes the hands of each participant and helper catechist one by one, looks in their eyes and gives them a message, such as, “Jesus says to you tonight, ‘I am with you.’” A song is played, then replayed as participants encircle the Bible and do a simple dance to the music. A moment of silence follows. Then all go to the preparation area, talk and have a snack, called an Agape Meal.

“Part of the program is that the atmosphere is beautiful and calming,” Mrs. Oberhelman said. For example, they use matching, home-like furniture, cloth placemats and real dishes.