by Father Renold Lemos for BISMumbai

The COVID-19 pandemic practically put everyone under house arrest. imprisoned within the confines of our homes, this was a wakeup call. To battle this,St. John Bosco Church Borivali began conducting online prayer services, BCC meetings,youth activities, etc., online. However, the children of the parish could not be left behind.

In May, Father Solomon Rapol-Rector and Parish Priest, had an online meeting with the catechists of the parish. Amazed by their desire to continue to form the young ones during this pandemic, he agreed to their consensus to hold online classes for the Sunday School children. This journey in faith formation seemed a perfect joint-response to the pandemic.

Accordingly, on 06 June 2020, the catechists of the parish had their 1st orientation programme through 'Google Meet' with a total of 21 Catechists, 7 of whom were new.. Apart from focusing on faith formation, Father Rapol educated the catechists on facilitating an environment for encouragement of vocations. He quoted the Acts of the Apostles , driving home the need to rise and serve. The faith formation core team then rolled out a Google Form for registration to the Sunday School, also inviting feedback on this initiative. Based on the feedback, the Google Meet Sunday School commenced on 14 June 2020. The catechists are following the manuals provided by the DCC (Diosesan Catechetical Centre) with the relevant participants' workbook.

A month on, this Google Meet Sunday School continues with hope, in faith, thanks to the parents and the faith formation team of dedicated teachers/animators.