Children's Faith Formation
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Our Faith Formation Program
For the 2020-2021 year, we are implementing a change in our Children's Faith Formation. The family is called the "domestic Church." Family is the primary place where the faith is taught, experienced, and shared. Parents have a great responsibility as the primary teachers of their children in the Catholic faith. To assist parents with this great responsibility, we have decided to transition all of our Children's Faith Formation to a new program called "A Family of Faith."
This program empowers parents to grow in their faith personally and to pass on that faith to their children. It emphasizes intentional time spent together talking about faith with their children and praying together as a family. Take a look at the program and register at the end of this page!
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How it works
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Once a month, all parents will attend a lesson teaching them the lessons that they will teach their children that month. (Due to the pandemic, the parent lessons will not be in-person. They will be taught via a video session with the Director of Religious Education until such a time arises where they may be held in-person.)
The parent lesson will give parents the knowledge, resources, and understanding of the two lessons and various age-appropriate activities that they will be teaching and participating in with their families at home for the rest of the month.
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The Curriculum
A Family of Faith follows a four-year cycle: one pillar of the Catechism is covered per year from September-May. Parents are given a detailed picture of authentic and vibrant Catholic family life, the tools to implement this life in their home, and age-appropriate readings, games, crafts, and other activities to help them deepen among their children a love for Christ and His Church.
After four years, families will have been guided through the entirety of the Catechism and will have developed a broad understanding of the Church's teachings. Families then cycle through the program again in order to deepen their knowledge and develop the habits needed for life-long spiritual growth.
You can learn more about the Family of Faith Curriculum at the publisher's website here.
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The parent guide
The Parent guide includes:
- Background essays covering each month's content
- Notes for conveying this content to children in age-appropriate ways
- Instructions for activities and craft projects
- Stories of the saints and other notable Catholics
- Suggestions for living the faith at home, such as…
- Guidance for creating and decorating a prayer space
- Prayers for special occasions
- Tips for talking about tough subjects
- Ways to bring the liturgical year to life in the home
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The children's activity book
The Children's Activity Book is designed to help children come to know the Catholic Faith through fun games and activities. The Parent's Guide offers talking points for how to use each activity in the children's book as a teachable moment, leading the child to a deeper relationship with Christ.
Activities in the Children's Activity Book include:
- Age-appropriate readings and activities
- Scripture memorization and copy work
- Prayer memorization
- Saints biographies
- Games and crafts
- Drawings and coloring pages
- Journal pages
- Prompts for original prayers and reflections
- Student Family of Faith materials
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COVID-19
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Due to the current pandemic, the following precautions are currently in effect but are subject to change:
- The parent lessons will be made available virtually through a Google Meet session with the Director of Religious Education. The parents will be responsible for joining this meeting before they begin teaching their children the lessons of the month.
- While we wish that the parent lessons could be taught in-person with a lesson being taught to the children at the same time by parish catechists, that is not possible at this time.
- We also wish that families could gather for fellowship in-person but that also is difficult to facilitate safely during this time.
- Sacramental preparation classes will be done in-person.
- Students and catechists will be required to wear masks when a mask order is in effect from the government.
- Precautions will be taken to promote social distancing, good hygiene, and cleanliness.
- Surfaces will be cleaned before and after use.
- The parent lessons will be made available virtually through a Google Meet session with the Director of Religious Education. The parents will be responsible for joining this meeting before they begin teaching their children the lessons of the month.
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Monthly Meetings
The monthly meeting will be at the first Sunday of each month at 1:00pm and comprised of a Google Meet session with the Director of Religious Education for A Family of Faith.
Links to each session will be sent via Mailchimp newsletter the Wednesday prior to each session.
Hopefully, in the future, these meetings will be in-person and provide fellowship with other families, but, due to the pandemic, we are unable to do that at this time.
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Expectations of the Program
- Parents commit to learning from the provided monthly class
- Parents will teach their child(ren) the appropriate lessons at home from what they have learned themselves, always following the provided syllabus
- Families will attend Mass every weekend
- Parents will complete the monthly survey of what they and their children got out of the lessons and how they encountered God that month
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Contact Us
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Halie Chrysler-Barrhaliechryslerbarrstm-stg.orgDirector of Religious Education
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Please register at the end of this page!
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A Family of Faith is for every family with children in Kindergarten to 8th grade. All families from our parishes (St. Monica-St. George and Holy Name) are invited to take part in this program, regardless of whether their children are enrolled in Catholic school or not. All are encouraged to join this program! The goal of this program is to reach all families in our parish and form them in the faith and bring them closer in relationship, both within the family and also in the greater community.
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A Family of Faith is a resource created by Sophia Institute for Teachers. It is designed to empower parents to be the first educators of their children, a responsibility laid upon them by God! This is meant to bring the family together, uniting everyone in our common faith in Jesus Christ.
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The primary difference will be that parents are the catechists for their children. This is a radical change from the previous model, in which the parish provided traditional classroom-model classes and teachers. While this is a great responsibility, it is also a great opportunity for parents to learn the Faith and bring the family together, uniting them in faith.
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Good question! The issue with having Faith Formation in a classroom setting is that it has not been an effective way for the Faith to be passed on to our children. As they grow up, children end up leaving the Faith. Our goal is to have our children become full, active, and devoted Roman Catholics - true disciples of Jesus Christ who are on fire with the love of God in their hearts and following the true teachings of the Church completely. We think that the best way to do that is through both parents and children being engaged and involved in the Faith, sharing that together.
Also, the pandemic has provided the impetus for us to move in this direction. With many families who are not comfortable sending their children to in-person Faith Formation, this provides the opportunity for all children to receive education in the Faith which is solid and gives families an opportunity to grow together as Catholics.
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Be not afraid! A Family of Faith has very easily understood lessons. Before having to teach a lesson, parents first learn and gain knowledge in the Faith, which helps you then teach with confidence. Other tools are also available to you to help you answer questions that you do not know. It is a great opportunity to get to know your Faith better!
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Be not afraid! A Family of Faith is a very easy to use resource, providing parents with solid and easily understood content and step-by-step instructions for each activity. It is developed so that, with a small amount of preparation, the lesson can be taught effectively by any adult!
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There will be no monthly meetings in-person, due to the pandemic. Instead, videos will be created for the parents to learn the lessons that they will teach their children. These videos will be released on the first day of the month.
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All of those who wish to receive First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion or Confirmation must take part in A Family of Faith. In addition to taking part in this program, there will be in-person sessions once per month for each of these programs. Please see the links below for First Reconciliation/First Holy Communion or Confirmation for more information.
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Email will be the normal method of communication.
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Please contact the Director of Religious Education above for any other questions!
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Register for A Family of Faith!
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The window for registration for our Children's Faith Formation program and the Sacramental Preparation programs has closed! Please contact the Director of Religious Education with questions.
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