The idea for Weaving Our Gifts didn’t begin in a meeting or conference room. It began as a conversation between two friends. Catherine Maresca and Susan Piescik were driving back from an atrium training, as Catherine dreamed aloud about what it would feel like if catechists could meet for a weekend of sharing and lively conversation. What if there was a space where peers could trade insights, test ideas, have fun, and encourage one another?
As the conversation continued, they brought their car to a stop. Excited about the prospect and without cell phones to call their friend, Deb Pelletier, who was driving behind them in another car, Sue and Catherine pulled over, flagged down their friend, and gathered to talk about the idea on the side of the road.
“They were very excited. So we literally stopped on the highway, under some kind of bridge to talk it over,” Catherine recounted in a recent conversation.
Out of that conversation, a biennial gathering was born that has gifted catechists for more than 20 years. This unique conference, called Weaving Our Gifts, brings catechists and experts together for a special weekend that feels less like a lecture hall and more like a family reunion.
The first thread of the idea for Weaving our Gifts began spinning at an academic conference in the early 2000s. Catherine was invited to a children’s literature conference in Tennessee to speak about how parables could be considered children’s literature. It was her first academic conference, and she was struck by the deep, shared knowledge the participants had about the books under discussion.
“Their depth of knowledge was phenomenal,” Catherine recalls.”At first, I was impressed by that, but then I was impressed by how happy they were to be in a room with people who understood what they were talking about.”
Catherine said she learned so much by observing that group and seeing their joy of being together.
“That enjoyment really struck me.”
It was that joy she had in mind when she introduced the idea of a catechist conference.
At the time, catechists had formation courses and occasional retreats, but little opportunity for peer-to-peer conversation. Catherine had learned about the atrium under the tutelage of Sofia Cavalletti, who developed the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in Rome in the 1950s. But Sofia loved retreats in silence – sometimes to the frustration of those in attendance who really wanted to talk to each other.
“Because who can we talk to about this work? To be with people who actually know what Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is, to talk it out, that was what we longed for,” Catherine said.
The dream soon became a plan. Catherine had the vision, and her colleague Deb had the practical know-how and connections with a great retreat center in Connecticut. Together, they began building something new. In 2002, the first Weaving Our Gifts took place.
From the beginning, it was clear this would not be a traditional, top-down conference. Other gatherings often followed a church model: structured, hierarchical, led by a few voices. Catherine and her colleagues wanted something different.
Their format included one outside keynote speaker, but the heart of the event was small workshops and conversations among catechists.
“That structure felt really right for catechesis—not just experts talking from above, but everyone offering their wisdom and experience,” Catherine shared.
The name for the gathering came organically. “We needed a title that would represent what this really was,” Catherine said. “Not just listening, but really talking it out, really sharing, really offering your wisdom and experience and weaving together our gifts. That felt right.”
The name captured both the spirit of abundance, with everyone bringing something of value, and the beauty of diversity. Just as different colors of thread make a tapestry, different voices and experiences make the community stronger at Weaving our GIfts.
Catechists are continually learning in their atria, as they observe children, listen to them, develop their own questions and pursue them. Throughout the years, Weaving our Gifts gave them an opportunity to share what they are learnin
For example, Linda Allen brought carloads of adaptations for children with disabilities and freely shared her wisdom with anyone who asked.
“There was nothing official at the time about serving children with disabilities,” Catherine said. “But people came away knowing it could be done. That was a gift Linda gave the whole community.”
Each gathering has been full of these offerings: Montessori insights, biblical scholarship, liturgical wisdom, scientific perspective, even music and storytelling. Some contributions have been as formal as a published paper; others as simple and powerful as a hands-on material adapted for a child’s needs.
And always, the laughter and connection carried the days. Saturday night skits, songs, and poetry readings became traditions. Mealtimes and walks might be as important as the workshops themselves, offering chances to process, question, and encourage one another.
For over twenty years now, Weaving Our Gifts has continued, with the exception of a break during the pandemic. It has given the community not only inspiration, but also concrete fruit: projects brought to completion, new ideas born, and friendships sustained across the years.This fall it will be in Charleston SC, Oct. 30- Nov. 2, returning as a vital space for catechists to gather.
In every season, the tapestry grows richer. Each catechist’s voice, each insight, each question becomes a thread in the larger work.
Looking back, Catherine describes Weaving Our Gifts as exactly what its name suggests. “It felt like a gift.”
2025 Keynote Speakers
Over the past two decades, Weaving Our Gifts has become a place where catechists gather, share ideas and forge new friendships. It has also been a noteworthy gathering where remarkable voices have left their mark.
Dr. Silvana Montanaro, beloved for her work with infants and toddlers in the Montessori tradition, joined near the end of her public teaching years and offered her profound wisdom on the sacred development of the youngest children.
Rabbi Marcia Prager invited participants into the rich tradition of Jewish prayer. And storyteller Jennifer Morgan, with her gift for storytelling, widened our gaze to the cosmos itself, drawing connections between science, faith, and the unfolding story of creation.
Each of these speakers, in their own way, offered gifts that still ripple through our community—threads of wisdom that continue to shape how we see children, prayer, and the world itself.
