GOD WITH US ONLINE is an outreach project of the Eparchial Directors of Religious Education (ECED) and the Eastern Catholic Associates (ECA) and is dedicated to the catechetical renewal of Eastern Catholics in the United States in accord with the Church’s call for a new evangelization.
HISTORY
In the late 60’s and early 70’s a committed and dedicated number of priests, religious and lay catechists from the Ruthenian, Melkite and Ukrainian jurisdictions joined in a collective effort for the catechetical renewal of Eastern Catholic Churches in the United States. Donating their time and in many cases personal funds out of love for God and church they organized themselves initially as the “Total Eastern Christian Formation and Development Program.” Soon after its inception, the effort was embraced by the Eastern Catholic Bishops of the United States and the committee was named Eastern Catholic Conference of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education and given the episcopal mandate to publish catechetical material on behalf of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.
Publishing efforts began in the early 1970s and through countless hours of dedicated writing and editing the God With US catechetical series began to take shape. Grade 1 Book led the way with publication in 1971 with the publication of subsequent grade-level books to Grade 8. These books created the framework for the religious education curriculum, Grades 1 through 8, in the many Eastern Catholic parochial schools and Eastern Catholic and Orthodox church-school programs in the U.S. and Canada.
In an effort to fulfill its original mission of “Total Eastern Christian Formation,” the Eastern Catholic Conference of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education established God With Us Publications and embarked on producing many books for use by youth and adults addressing Eastern Christian theology, morality, Liturgy, Tradition, spirituality, scripture and a trilogy of books called Light for Life referred to as the Catechism for Eastern Christians. God With Us Publications are available here.
Today, under the name of Eparchial Directors of Religious Education (ECED), the mission of “Total Eastern Christian Formation” continues as a catechetical committee of the Eastern Catholic Bishops Association of the USCCB and is a collaborative catechetical renewal effort of all of the Eastern Church in the United States. ECED seeks to fulfill its mission through catechetical publications as well as national, regional and local educational opportunities.