Notre Dame grad students serve in Archdiocesan schools, parishes
The Archdiocese of Newark recently hosted a luncheon to introduce and celebrate eight unique teachers and parish apprentices from around the Archdiocese. These individuals are participants in the ECHO Graduate Service Program at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life at UND tthat partners with Catholic dioceses, parishes, and schools to address pastoral challenges with theological depth and rigor.
The ECHO Graduate Service Program provides students the opportunity to work in Catholic schools and parishes across the country while completing a Master of Arts in Theology at the University of Notre Dame. According to the McGrath Institute for Church Life, ECHO was established in 2004 “to prepare a new generation of well-formed and informed lay parish catechetical leaders to serve the Church.” In 2014, Echo launched the Echo Teaching Theology track of their program “to strengthen theological education and faith formation in Catholic schools by training new full-time middle and high school theology teachers and campus ministers.”
The Archdiocese of Newark initiated its partnership with the McGrath Institute’s ECHO Program in 2019. Each ECHO graduate student is assigned a mentor – an Archdiocesan parish employee — to support them with professional, spiritual, human, and intellectual guidance.
The love, energy, and enthusiasm our Echo apprentices give is contagious, as is their deep desire to serve in parish ministry,” Joanne DePasquale-Parent, Diocesan Leader for the ECHO Parish Track said. “Their inspiring presence has enlivened our pastors, parish catechetical leaders, pastoral staff, and parishioners of our Echo partner parishes. We are grateful and we give glory to God for the ECHO program and for the great blessing it is to us all.”
The eight ECHO students completing their service in the Archdiocese come from various regions of the country. This year’s apprentices are: Scott Becker, ECHO teacher at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale; Heather Christman, ECHO teacher at Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township, Therese Douglass, ECHO teacher at Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair; Robert Hernandez, ECHO teacher at Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City; Giana Castelli,, ECHO Apprentice at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Ridgewood; Nicole Clermont, ECHO Apprentice at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in River Edge; Elizbeth Greenop, ECHO Apprentice at The Parish Community of St. Helen in Westfield; and Audrey Gyolai, ECHO Apprentice at Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River.
“I am a recent convert to Catholicism, so I never had the opportunity to serve in a ministerial role,” said Robert Hernandez on the McGrath Institute website. “ECHO allows me to continue my religious education and formation while also letting me give back a little to Christ who saved me.”
Featured image: Following the reception, ECHO graduate students talk with Cardinal Joseph Tobin (center) and Tim Pisacich, Associate Director of Human, Communal, and Spiritual Formation for the ECHO Program (center, right).
