Listen to our "Welcome Podcast"
To Order for Parish or Home Group
back to top GoTo BezalelBooks Homepage GoTo Catholic Exchange Homepage
1. What kind of hardware or software do I need to participate? You will need to have a sound card and might need to change your settings on your computer to receive mp3 files. You would need speakers and any more recent version of software that has a media player. For instance, most of the recent versions of MS XP have this and other operating systems may have an equivalent. Our suggestion is to listen to Welcome Podcast and make adjustments so that when the study begins, you are ready. Soon, our welcome podcast will also be loaded on the homepage and you will also be able to listen to that for both information on the study and also to test your technical ability to participate in the study.
2. How much time does the study take each week? Please be prepared to give at least an hour and a half - two hours to the study each week. This can be done at any time, day or night, and can be done in increments with 15 minutes for podcasts, approximately half a hour or so for reading, and then another half an hour or so for forum participation. Your commitment of this time will allow you to receive the greatest benefit from the study and will also allow your sisters-in-Christ to benefit from the thoughts, insights, and support you share in your posts. Please download the pdf file Women's Study Outline to see what we cover each week.
3. Does Catholic Exchange or the moderator provide technical support? Unfortunately, we do not offer technical support but feel that if you have made sure you can listen to the podcasts, as suggested in #1, you should be fairly certain to have a fun, enlightening experience.
4. Do I have to register on Catholic Exchange to participate in the study? While you do not need to register on Catholic Exchange, we highly recommend you do. Catholic Exchange has many great rewards and benefits to its registered users and registration is free. We pray that you will want to join our growing family! Please make sure your own email account is set up to receive password emails from WordPress or moderator emails from gmail. On occasion these emails have been put into the recipient's spam folder so also please check if any correspondence has been routed that way.
5. Can this study be used for credits towards my religious education certification? NOTE: This study has been approved by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains for continuing education hours. NACC members may claim hour for hour for the class. For credits for other organizations or situations, we highly recommend participants pursue permission within their specific organization and we will be glad to provide a certificate of completion to present to that organization. If you have received permission from your organization or your DRE and would like to do this, you will find a space to indicate this on the registration form that will be online February 15th. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at Bezalel Books @ gmail. com (no spaces) and write the words “course certification” in the subject line. Women participating for credit are required to register as such since there will be a minimum number of posts required in the ten week period, which will depend on the individual DRE or organizational requirements but tend to be no more than what is normally expected of a participant in this study (see #2). PDF Certificates of Completion will cost an additional $2.00, which will be collected at the time of registration, and help cover the record keeping costs.
6.. Can I order this study for a friend or family member as a gift? Yes, this is a choice on the registration form that will be available February 15th. A gift certificate email will be issued to the person indicated on the form when payment is made and you, the giver, will receive a confirmation email letting you know the recipient has been contacted regarding your gift.
7. Can I access the study at any time? Yes, you are able to access the study any time day or night, weekday or weekend.
8. Is there a particular order to follow between the reading, podcasts, and forums? Yes, we would like you to listen to the podcast at the beginning of the week, at your leisure. The podcasts are approximately 10-15 minutes in length. The podcasts identify the chapters that will be covered. Then, again as your schedule permits, you will read the assigned chapters. Reading may take as little as half an hour or as long as an hour. Each chapter does include a small activity that we believe helps “bring the message home” and we certainly encourage you to do this activity. Finally, you share your experiences, epiphanies, or encouragement in the forums. You are free to respond to as many or as few forums as you would like but this works best after the reading and the reflective activities have been completed.
9. What should I do if I don’t have my book? Registration is expected to close approximately two weeks before the study begins. Within that time we expect to ship all books along with introductory letters, the access code to the site, and any other pertinent information. Even so, delivery of the book might not occur until sometime into the first or, on a rare occasion, the beginning of the second week of the study. This might be more applicable to our international registrants but not to a degree that should inhibit international participation. Our first session included women from Australia, Canada, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, and throughout the US including Alaska. To accommodate the possibility of a few extra days for shipping, we have loaded the first three weeks of study materials on the site as downloadable pdf files that you can print out until your book arrives. But this isn't expected to be the case for most women who have registered within the scheduled registration period of February 15th to March 15th.
10. Do I have to login to post comments or responses? No, you do not need to login to post comments or responses but we do ask that you sign your posts so that we can get to know one another and can then use specific names in our own comments or responses. Nonetheless, we do encourage you to register within the study as it makes your posts that much easier! You will have to make sure that you set your email to accept mail from Wordpress as this will be the source of your password when you register. If nothing else, you might find that you have to check your spam mail to see if your Wordpress email was directed to a spam folder. Remember that passwords are case sensitive.
11. Do I have to finish each week’s work within the week it is covered? No, you do not have to work within the time frame that we set up. You are free to continue revisiting forums from previous weeks. We do ask, however, that you do not begin working in a forum before it is opened by a CE moderator.
12. Do I have to respond to all moderator questions? No, you do not need to respond to all moderator questions online especially as you might prefer some of your private revelations to be kept private. But we do encourage active participation in as much as this is the way we will all be able to support one another in our individual journeys with Christ.
13. Can I access the study from different computers? As long as you know the URL and the access code you are free to access the study from different computers. We do ask, however, that you always close the study before walking away from any computer as the participants should be free to share with one another in a private, group setting meant for participants only.
14. Will there be additional sessions of this study? Yes, Catholic Exchange is offering this study April 7-June 14 and again September 8-November 22 however, the registration that begins on February 15th is for the April 7th session only.
15. If I want to register again, but obviously don’t need a book, am I able to? Yes, CE is determining a minimal fee for previous registrants who would like to access the study again.
16. What is the role of the moderator? The moderator takes an active role in focusing the group’s attention on specific subjects, points of interest, and study goals by posting threads and responding to different participants'’ responses and posts. However, the participants are encouraged to respond to one another and not always look to the moderator for individual attention to each post. The participants should be “discussing” amongst themselves with the moderator joining in and, if needed, moving things along.
17. Can participants start new threads? Absolutely! We only ask that you do not post a thread to week before it has been “opened” by a contemplation thread begun by a moderator. Participants should feel quite comfortable starting threads and beginning “conversations” that they feel are on topic and would enhance the overall objectives of each week’s messages.
18. Is this study for Catholics only? While this study celebrates Mulieris Dignitatem, John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Women, it is a blessing for all women and all women can greatly benefit from participating.
19. Is this study for women only? This is a women's study about women in the bible but men can greatly benefit from time spent studying God's special call upon women. We do ask, however, that men create their own weekly thread where women can visit but that male participants respect the women's threads as "sacred space" inasmuch as some women may feel hindered by a male presence in the forum.
20.Is it possible to get a refund? We are not able to issue refunds for the study and do ask that you have read through all the FAQ thoroughly before registering as a way to ensure your success and enjoyment with the program.
21. I have a question not answered here. Please feel free to contact me at Bezalel Books @ gmail. com (no spaces) and write the words "Spring Study Question" in the subject line (to avoid this email being discarded) and I will respond as soon as possible. Urgent question: Call me at 248-917-3865.
back to top GoTo BezalelBooks Homepage GoTo Catholic Exchange Homepage
Fall Session begins September 8th, 2008
Registration is now underway
Introductory Emails and Materials go out mid-August so mark your calendar!
problems or questions? Email Cheryl at BezalelBooks@gmail.com
|
Catholic Exchange Women's Study Fall 2008 session |
|
|
Certificate of Completion NOTE: Certificate of Completion will arrive as a pdf file to the email used for this registration, at which point it can be printed out. |
|
|
First and Second session returning participants In response to inquiries from current participants interested in taking the study again we are offering registration for the online portion only and participants may use their current books |
|
|
Bonus Book Offer Registrants may also purchase a copy of Cheryl's inspirational fiction book, "Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage" as a bonus offer for $6.95 S&H free. This is a $14.99 value |
$6.95 will be added
|
|
Giving the study as a gift? If this is a gift for someone, please send an email to BezalelBooks@gmail.com with the words "Gift Request" in the subject line. In the interior message, please include the Paypal transaction number and provide an email address to which you want the gift notification sent. This address will also be the address that receives all future correspondence for the study. Make sure you have indicated the recipient's address in the Paypal "Ship to:" area! |
|
|
To pay with check by mail download and print out the pdf registration form, complete it and send with a check to the address indicated on the form. |
Mail-In Registration Form |
back to top GoTo BezalelBooks Homepage GoTo Catholic Exchange Homepage