Family Faith Formation Registration
Family Faith Formation Registration
Dear Parents,
For all members of our families to know and live our beautiful Catholic Faith more deeply, we will be offering Family Faith Formation this year. The Church has emphasized that parents are the primary educators of their children. That includes choosing who educates your child- Catholic school, public school, charter school, homeschool, etc. It also means providing our children with the opportunity to learn other skills. As parents we may not have technical ability like playing the guitar to be able to teach our children, so we find someone else to fill that role. Yet God calls each of us to live our faith. So passing it on to our children depends less on educational expertise and more on journeying together, providing example, and talking about how faith impacts our daily decisions.
Any change challenges us, and this will be a big shift from weekly religious education classes geared toward children. We hope that Mass will be your primary focus. God designed us with a need to worship Him and at Mass we encounter Jesus’ sacrifice re-presented to us so we can join our sacrifices to His. Participating in Sunday Mass every week meets the bare minimum to be Catholic. And yet it should be so much more!
To that end, we will ask your family to cover material at home at your own pace (2-3 lessons per month) and then come to the parish for a Family Gathering once per month. On that Sunday the expectation will be to worship at 9 a.m. Mass together and then go to the gym 10-11 a.m. With enough volunteer catechists, we hope to offer breakout sessions where the children go to assigned classrooms for some of the time during the Family Gathering. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Kevin.
As the main component, we will be using GPS- God’s Plan in Scripture by Ascension. You can find details here: https://ascensionpress.com/collections/gps-gods-plan-in-scripture. By covering the Bible, making connections between individual stories, and seeing how God’s Word inspires our beliefs, sacraments, prayer, and moral life, we will have a firm foundation on which to build in the coming years.
Families with children preparing for sacraments (typically 2nd and 8th grades) will have some additional material to cover at home and extra events in which to participate at the parish to ensure readiness for these momentous occasions. We will continue to use Blessed in 2nd grade and Decision Point in 8th grade.
The two-year requirement to receive sacraments continues. That means your family should be enrolled for your child’s 1st and 2nd grade years to receive First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion in 2nd grade. Likewise, 7th & 8th grade registration is necessary to receive Confirmation in 8th grade.
For those who prefer the classroom model, we ask that you give this different approach a chance. Every parish we have spoken to that has implemented Family Faith Formation has done it differently. Yet every one of them lists many fruits that have blossomed as a result. Adjustments will need to be made over the course of the year, but we can do it because of the Holy Spirit guiding us. We have a dedicated group of people committed to praying for our families. We also ask that you pray for this endeavor and that we accomplish God’s will.
To register your family for Family Faith Formation please complete the online registration form to the left. If you are facing a financial challenge with regard to the fee, please contact Kevin.
Thank you for allowing us to journey with your family toward eternity.
In Christ,
Father Pendzick, Pastor, & Kevin Damitz, Director of Religious Education