CLA members elect Wayne parish’s DRE as president-elect

MENDHAM  The Catechetical Leaders Association (CLA) of the Diocese elected officers to its executive board for the 2022–23 school year during a retreat for local catechetical leaders in June at Villa Pauline here. Debbie Dericks, director of religious education (DRE) at Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Wayne, was elected CLA president-elect.

The other new CLA officers-elect are: Laura Balogh, co-vice president, who is director of faith formation (DFF) at Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in Cedar Knolls; Anne Giedlinski, co-vice president, who is DRE at Holy Family Parish in Florham Park; Denise Stefanelli, secretary, who is director of Family Christian Formation at St. Vincent Martyr Parish in Madison; Cheryl Wallace, treasurer, who is DRE and pastoral associate at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta; Cathy McGuire, member at large, who is DRE at St. Therese Parish in Succasunna; and Moira Dziomba, member at large, who is DFF at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in Randolph.

The new officers-elect will be sworn in, during a CLA meeting in October. The organization gives DREs, coordinators of religious education (CREs), and youth ministers around the Diocese a way to gather together to promote spiritual and professional growth and facilitate communication among themselves and the diocesan Office of Catechesis. It offers talks, training, and retreats. All CLA members can vote and hold office.

On Wednesday, Aug. 10, Dericks will present DRE/CRE training at the Evangelization Center at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison.

Dericks worked as a recruiter before becoming DRE of Our Lady of Consolation in 2013. She also serves as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and a facilitator of OLC’s Virtus: Protecting God’s Children program. Dericks has served as a catechist since 2000 when her daughter started religious education. In addition, she has taken many online classes and also through the Diocese over the years. Dericks also served as vice president of CLA for two years.

“The CLA has had wonderful speakers at our meetings. It is also great getting to know the other DREs, CREs, and youth ministers and bouncing ideas off each other, especially if you are a new catechetical leader. I’ve become friends with many of them. For the DRE/CRE training, Dericks will teach, “what the job requires, go through a typical academic year, and go over the guidelines of being at DRE/CRE,” she said.

At the retreat, Geraldine Kerr, a licensed marriage and family therapist for individuals, couples, and children in Hackettstown, talked about how catechists can accompany students who are experiencing the reality of divorced parents. They attended Mass at which Father Yojaneider Garcia, director of the diocesan Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation, told the catechists, “We are called to be a reservoir. We know that when a reservoir is full, it begins to pour out the water around it. As catechists, we must be full of Jesus to begin to pour out to people around us,” Father Garcia said. “As catechists, we must have an experience with the real Jesus. We need to remember that we do not just share a knowledge about Jesus. It is not a class. It is not just giving doctrine. Jesus is not a concept. He is a person. It is a living experience that we share with our students,” the priest said.