Meet Our Catechists

All of our catechists are trained by the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Each level of certification includes 90+ hours of lectures, presentations, prayer, personal album work, and practicum. Together with clergy and scholars from around the country, as well as several seasoned Formation Leaders from the National Association, our catechists have participated in a lengthy and on-going research/adaptation process to ensure all content reflects Orthodox theology.

Our catechists are under the direction of Fr. Symeon Halsell. He is the Senior Pastor at St. Athanasius and a home-schooling parent. 

Joanne Gish (jgish@westmont.edu) currently serves as Coordinator for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at St. Athanasius Orthodox Church. She became Orthodox in 1987, together with her husband, and they have raised three children in the Orthodox faith. Joanne has over 30 years of experience working with children in religious education and the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program is unlike anything she has encountered before. For Joanne, studying CGS has been an awe-inspiring journey of personal growth in her relationship with the Good Shepherd. She is a trained catechist for both Level I and Level II.

Jane G. Meyer (janegmeyer@gmail.com) currently serves as our Level III catechist. She appreciates the insights one can learn from young children and feels honored to work with them on a weekly basis in the atrium setting. She is also a children’s book author; you can read about her writing and other projects at www.janegmeyer.com.

Cheryl Fisher (31.25.cheryl@gmail.com)  is our Level I catechist. Cheryl has taught in a Montessori school, and after homeschooling her children for 18 years, she enthusiastically welcomes the chance to support the children of St. Athanasius in their journey with the Good Shepherd. 

Kate Vander Laan (kvanderlaan@westmont.edu) is trained in all three levels and currently serves in the LII atrium.  The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has been a significant means of God's life-giving grace from the moment she joined the CGS team as an observer in 2006. As she has served in the atria, she has come to a deep appreciation of the essentialism of the 3-6 year-old child and a growing admiration for the emerging sense of vocation she sees in the 9-12 year-old children.