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Published 1 month ago

Volunteer in a Small Community of Faith with Persons with Disabilities

SPRED (Special Religious Development)
On-site, Volunteer must be in or near Chicago, IL
I Want to Help

    • Details

    Available Times:
    Weekdays (evenings), Weekends (daytime)
    Time Commitment:
    A few hours per month
    Commitment Details:
    Up to 6 hours/month. Volunteer catechists typically meet one week/month as a group for 2-3 hours, and then another week/month with the friends with disabilities for 2-3 hours. There is a break in summer months.
    Recurrence:
    Recurring
    Volunteers Needed:
    20
    Cause Areas:
    Children & Youth, Disability, Religion & Spirituality
    Benefits:
    Training Provided
    Participation Requirements:
    Background Check, Attend Orientation

    Description

    Volunteer in a Small Community of Faith with Persons with Disabilities

    SPRED is a parish-based, lifelong ministry that provides faith formation and spiritual nourishment to catechists and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

    A SPRED community is a group of up to eight volunteer catechists who form a community of faith to welcome up to six persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

    Each community member with intellectual and developmental disabilities, whom we refer to as friends, enters into a one-on-one relationship with an adult catechist. The SPRED catechists accompany friends on their faith journey and grow in friendship with them. SPRED communities are organized to serve friends in one of the following age groupings: 6-10; 11-16; 17-21; and 22+, depending on the greatest need of the parish and surrounding area.

    Who can be a volunteer catechist?

    Mature adults who have a desire to deepen their faith within a small community of faith and are open to sharing friendship and accompanying friends on their faith journey can become a SPRED catechist. Prior experience with children or adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities is not required. Training and enrichment are provided for all catechists.

    There are 110 SPRED communities throughout all of Chicagoland! We would love to help connect you to the closest one.

    Location

    On-site
    Chicago, IL, USA
    Directions

    There are 110 SPRED communities all over Chicagoland. We will connect you to the closest group based on your location.

    Please fill out this form

    Instructions:

    Note - we are an agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and the SPRED groups are connected to local parishes. All volunteers comply with the Archdiocese Safe Environment requirements.

    All fields are required
    I acknowledge that use of the Idealist Applicant Tracking System is subject to Idealist's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
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