Lay Catholic plugs Sunday-school gap

LAHORE, Pakistan (UCAN) — Arif Noor gets up just before dawn six days a week to rouse children for catechism classes.

“Wake up kids, time to go to church!” shouts Noor as he passes through the streets of Salamat Pura, a small village in a northern suburb of Lahore. About 10 years ago, the 58-year-old Catholic layman became the driving force behind a subsidized Christian educational center at St. Paul’s Church in Lahore archdiocese. Since 2007, the number of centers has risen to 10.

They open at dawn and enable children aged five to 15 to get a religious education. After class, the children go to school, if they attend school, or return home.

The centers are helping to fill the gap left by a shortage of Sunday school teachers in the 29 parishes of Lahore archdiocese.

“There aren’t any Sunday school services specifically for children in our community,” Javaid Joseph, catechist of St. Paul’s Church, told UCA News. “Noor’s program is actually helping our mission.”

Noor, an electrician, is also vice president of St. Paul’s Church.

He said his catechism mission is an act of gratitude for the help his daughter received from a Christian charity after she was badly injured while playing with fireworks in 1986.

Father Nasir Gulfam, praises Noor’s work. “I spent 10 years in Noor’s parish and saw him providing religious books to other parishes also. Such schools are necessary in slums and villages.”

The catechism centers have a custom made syllabus including daily prayers such as the rosary and Bible reading.

A team of 50 volunteer teachers, five in each center, conduct the classes six days a week. The program is self supporting and charges students a few rupees each week which go toward paying basic expenses. Seven centers are situated in churches in Lahore, while three are in Sheikhupura about 40 kilometers to the northwest.

Parents say the centers have helped their children gain a greater understanding of the Catholic faith.

Rafique Masih’s four children have been attending classes for five years. “They are very necessary. My children can now read the Bible and pray on their own,” he said.

PA08528.1584 January 14, 2010 34 EM-lines (354 words)