The sections that follow explain the advantages of using the Sycamore resources for catechesis and teaching. Make sure you have read the WHY START A GROUP page here, to understand the Sycamore vision.

There are over a dozen sacramental and catechetical courses that can be run using Sycamore. See the full list of sacramental pathways here.

For detailed information about how to plan and run your sacramental programmes click here. And follow these links for more general information about Sycamore planning and leadership training.

Sycamore started as a course for enquirers who know little about the Christian faith. But the structure, timetable, resources and methodology can easily be adapted for use with more formal sessions of catechesis or teaching.

“Sycamore has been an overwhelming joy for many people, it has enabled them to open their hearts and to share their faith in ways they never imagined possible. Many people who were reluctant to speak about faith openly, have gained confidence and trust through participation in the discussion topics, and have been amazed at the difference it makes to their prayer life, to their understanding of scripture, and to their desire to develop a personal relationship with Jesus. This is for us a grace filled and blessed moment in the life of our parish, the foundations go very deep in these groups and friendships develop and grow each year, and it’s wonderful to witness people’s growth in faith and commitment to the Lord” (Pauline, a parish RCIA coordinator who has used Sycamore with RCIA for four years)

On it’s own, the content within each film is not comprehensive enough to serve as a systematic presentation of any given topic. You simply cannot present God, Jesus, the Bible, the Church, Prayer, Love, Christian Social Teaching, etc in a twenty minute video.

But there are two ways that Sycamore can be used as part of your catechesis or religious education:

(A) SYCAMORE PLUS: HOW TO EXPAND A NORMAL SYCAMORE SESSION INTO A CATECHETICAL SESSION FOR SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION

You can expand a Sycamore session by working through a set of readings from the YouCat. See our YouCat page here.

• You introduce the topic by running a normal Sycamore session. This involves a short film and open-ended group discussion.
• Each session has some required reading from the YouCat on the relevant topic. The references are found in the online “Session Guides“. These readings give a solid catechetical foundation for sacramental preparation, and they can be supplemented by other readings and videos.
• Over the following week, the participants study the YouCat readings at home. They have their own copy of the book. They commit some regular time to this study. In this way they deepen their understanding of the current topic and supplement the input from the Sycamore films. Visit this page for more information about how to use the YouCat.
• At the next meeting, the participants have a new discussion, based around their reflections on the YouCat readings. This discussion is more catechetical. It gives participants a chance to share more deeply and to ask questions. It gives the leaders/catechists a chance to clarify and deepen the discussion that started the previous week when the Sycamore film was used.
• You can alternate between the film and the YouCat: One week you watch the film and have a normal Sycamore discussion; the next week you spend discussing the YouCat readings. This makes the course longer, but gives you much more space to discuss the YouCat readings and give proper time to the catechetical aspect of the course.
• Or you can combine the YouCat discussions with the next film: At the beginning of the session you spend some time discussing the YouCat readings from last week (e.g. for 30 mins); and then you introduce the new topic by watching and discussing the new film (e.g. for 60 mins). This is possible but doesn’t give as much time for each discussion.

See the main page about Sacramental Preparation and Catechesis here.

“We used Sycamore to introduce a group of about 18 people to the Catholic faith. Most of them had little or no Christian background. I love how these short videos announce the Gospel message, the ‘kerygma’, in an attractive and clear way. We found Sycamore to be extremely effective in helping those who were curious about Christianity to become open to a relationship with Christ. The structure of each video encourages the building of community within the group, especially through the discussion questions. In my view, Sycamore is the perfect starting-point for evangelisation, and can be a springboard to deeper catechesis” (Hannah, a parish catechetical coordinator)

(B) SYCAMORE AS A SUPPLEMENT TO YOUR CURRENT CATECHETICAL AND SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMMES

You can use Sycamore to introduce a topic before you go into it more deeply, or to supplement a topic that you have already covered, or to encourage discussion about a topic that is already well known.

• You choose which Sycamore module is relevant to this part of your course, and simply build in the time to run a normal Sycamore session on this topic. Each time you add a supplementary Sycamore session you are adding an extra week to your course, so you need to take this into account when you plan your programmes for the coming year.
• You can find the full list of the 20 modules here and decide which ones could be helpful in your situation.
• You can follow the Basic Timetable for an Enquiry Session here.
• You can customise the session as much as you wish, but there is no need to change the basic timetable too much, because you are not trying to turn the session into a full-blown catechetical session. It is a stand-alone supplementary session that complements the more formal and systematic catechesis you are already doing.

“Sycamore was an excellent informal introductory programme about the Catholic faith, which generated thought provoking discussions amongst participants and helped to build up a sense of community. Sycamore seems to appeal to every age and would seem to fit with the early stages of an RCIA programme” (A Parish Evangelisation Coordinator)