Analyze a Catholic Mass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyze a Catholic Mass - Essay Example The priest used incense to reverence the alter before each one of the ministers proceeded to their seats but remained standing. The priest greeted the congregation â€Å"in the name of the father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit† to which people responded by chanting the same words and making the sign of the cross, followed by â€Å"Amen†. The priest proceeded to speaks the words of the grace to which the congregation responded. Part of the mass involved the blessing and sprinkling of water. The priest made a brief prayer thanking God for the gift of water and asking Him to bless the water in the name of â€Å"Christ our Lord† to which the congregation responded with an â€Å"Amen†. The priest proceeded to sprinkle the blessed water on the congregation using what looked like a flywhisk. As he did this, the congregation engaged in singing a song. The conclusion of this rite was marked by a brief chant or prayer from the priest asking God to cleanse our since and worthy to partake of heavenly riches. Part of the mass involved reciting of the acclamations â€Å"Lord have mercy† and the singing of the song â€Å"Glory to God in the highest†. After singing and chanting the songs, someone went to read the bible for the first reading and a minister read the second reading. Between the readings, the congregation engaged in singing a psalm. The priest then proceeded to elaborate on the sc riptures that had been read followed by the proclamation of faith which involved the chanting of the apostle’s creed. The priest presided over the Eucharist which involved the breaking of break, Holy Communion, prayer, meditation and singing. The mass ended with the priest proclaiming a blessing upon the faithful. The Catholic mass involves a lot of rights and rituals which fall within the seven dimensions of religion that were postulated by Ninian Smart. Smart noted that the dimensions of religion include

Staff Development Plan Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Staff Development Plan - Personal Statement Example So basically I have to be highly skilled and provide interaction and engagement. Also in order to effectively develop my staff I have to be familiar with the content that is what is being taught in class rooms and the context that is the environment in which this content is delivered and the issues surrounding this content. It is only when I know what areas need development would I be able to suggest and bring about a change. (NSDC, 2008) Although I do encourage my staff to attend seminars, orientations and work shops but in addition I have now planned on introducing job embedded development as it is a professional learning experience that relates to the teachers daily work. Job embedded development is a more effective type of staff development as it connected to what the educator is doing in class on a daily basis so teachers can practically apply what they have learned which in turns help sustain their learning. Some of the main characteristics of job embedded development are teachers working together in groups and holding regular meetings. Research shows that these development activities lead to better problem solving as the problems that exist with in the school are better solved by those who work there and have a one on one interaction with the students. Also teachers working in groups get to analyze the students work more carefully and thus result in an overall increase in student achievement. (Galloway, n.d.) I would also want to help my staff develop through coaching and on job instruction and for that purpose I will appoint staff developers. According to researches staff developers have a huge impact on what students and teachers learn. Staff developers can work with the teachers to increase student achievements, to reach the goals of student improvement programs and to provide on going coaching to teachers who are struggling or teachers who want to enhance certain skills. In my opinion the best thing about staff developers is that they are not in evaluating positions and thus the teachers will be encouraged to be open and honest with them about their problems and weaknesses and in this way a more effective development can take place. (Galloway, n.d.) I would also encourage distributed leadership rather than a top down approach. I would encourage interaction between teachers, students and my self not only with in the school but also with other schools, I would also encourage the parents to participate in order to facilitate better learning and development. I would be open to suggestions brought in by the teachers, the parents and even the students. I would give students and teachers a chance to voice their opinions. I will hold regular meeting with the staff and coaches so as to always be in sync with the progress that is taking place. And I would also arrange regular meetings with the parents and students so that they can also be involved in the development process. (NSDC, 2008) Apart from all the above I would encourage regular assessments to be held in the form of closed book quizzes or tests. Theses quizzes would be made up of fill in the blanks, MCQS and short questions that would require the students to recall what they learned in class. These quizzes would facilitate in students as well as teacher learning. Based on the results of the quiz teachers would have an idea of the concepts that the whole class collectively has a problem with and