St. Bede's Catholic Junior School
RE Curriculum Overviews
Come and See Principles
What is in a name?
Come and See is an invitation to exploration and a promise of life for everyone. The invitation is open to all. In response to the question: ‘where do you live?’ which was asked by the disciples, Jesus invited them to: ‘Come and See.’ (John 1:39) The disciples went with Jesus ‘and spent the rest of that day with him.’
The invitation to Come and See is for all and is there even if the question has not been spoken. Zaccaheus, the much despised tax collector, just wanted to glimpse Jesus as he passed by and climbed a tree to do so, but Jesus spotted him and invited him to ‘come down, because I must stay at your house today.’ (Luke 19:5)
Later in John’s gospel Jesus reiterates the invitation:
'Whoever loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and my Father will come to him and live with him.’ (John 14:23)
We can invite others. Those who receive the invitation may also offer it to others. In John 1:43 Philip invites his friend Nathaniel to ‘come and see’ Jesus. Later on in the same gospel (John 4:28-30) Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. She is so inspired by Jesus that she returns to her village as a witness to his love and invites the other villagers to ‘Come and see the man who told me everything I have ever done. Could he be the Messiah?’ (John 4:29)
In Matthew’s gospel again there are words of support:
'Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.’
(Matthew 11: 28)
Jeremiah the prophet spoke from experience when he related to the people the word of the Lord:
‘You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you. You will seek me and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart’. (Jeremiah 29:12-13)
The words of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel encourages an active seeking.
‘Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.’ (Matthew 7:7).
Come and See offers the opportunity to search, to explore, to discover, and to respond; this is part of what it is to be human.
Children 'Come and See' the wonder of all that is within them and beyond them:
God offers the invitation to 'Come and See';
Teachers facilitate the opportunity for children to 'Come and See';
Religious Education in the Catholic School
Catholic schools are guided in all they do by an important and coherent vision of education. This vision is based on the truth revealed by God about ourselves, our life together in community and our ultimate destiny with God. This gives rise to an educational endeavour centred on the person of Jesus Christ, who is our Way, Truth and Life.
In January 2000, a National Symposium on ‘Expectations of Religious Education in Catholic Schools’ was hosted by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The Bishops issued a statement highlighting the following points:
What is Religious Education?
Religious education is about engaging with the deepest questions of life and finding reasons
for the hope which is within them (1 Peter 3:15).
- It is about the Christian vision of the human person.
- It is the core subject which is central to the life of the Catholic school.
- Religious education is the systematic study:
– of the mystery of God, as discovered through the Bible and particularly through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ,
– the teachings of the Church,
– the lives of the saints,
– the relationship between faith and life.
Expectations of Classroom Religious Education
- Classroom religious education in a Catholic school is primarily educational.
- Excellence in religious education is achieved by:
– clarity of succinct religious learning objectives,
– key content,
– by appropriate methodologies,
– rigour,
– richness of resources,
– achievement of identified outcomes,
– accurate methods of assessment.
With these underlying principles we embark upon a journey which leads the children to understand the relationship between life and faith so that they enjoy:
'Life, life in all its fullness'
John - 10:10