Family of Faith - Launching this Fall!
This fall, we are going to be transitioning to a family based model of faith formation. Family of Faith will be our Pastorate wide faith formation (or RE) program, that provides ongoing formation for children, teens, parents, and adults. All members of the Pastorate will be welcome to the monthly in-person sessions where children, teens, and adults receive engaging content to help them grow in their Catholic faith!
Why are we making this switch? Great question!
The Church's vision for the formation of children and teens is that parents and the parish cooperate in their essential mission to provide for the education and formation of our young people. This family based model has the distinct advantage of including the parents more deeply in the formation of their kids, helping the parents grow in their faith, and equipping them to better hand on the faith in the home. In light of Into the Deep, Bishop Hying has encouraged the new Pastorates to embrace this model of formation, if they have not yet done so.
There's so much to share about this new model, and we will be communicating a lot about it over the coming months, but here are answers to some questions you may be thinking about.
What does the commitment for Family of Faith look like?
At least one parent from a registered family should attend the monthly in-person session with any school age children in the family. The in-person session is an essential component, as the parents will receive engaging and profound formation in the faith, so as to be better equipped to teach the faith to their children.
Families who are enrolled in Family of Faith will receive additional books and materials that will be used for the education of their children at home between in-person, monthly sessions.
At home work will include a wide variety of resources and activities, centered around helping parents teach the faith in the home. On average, a family should plan to spend 30 - 45 minutes each week teaching their children and learning together. At home learning will always be connected to the theme of the month presented at the in-person session.
What children or families should be registered in Family of Faith?
As our Pastorate cooperates with parents in the education and formation of their children, all children between Kindergarten - 8th grade should be enrolled in Family of Faith and/or a Catholic school.
Families with high school teens will be able to choose from Family of Faith, High School Discipleship Formation, and/or a Catholic school.
Families who homeschool are welcome to enroll in Family of Faith.
Will this be offered in multiple places in our Pastorate?
Absolutely! We will have three options in two locations for the monthly in-person sessions that families will attend together.
If you are not able to attend at your regular day, time, and location, you will be welcome to jump in somewhere else in the Pastorate!
More information about Family of Faith can be found on the Families page of the website.
We would love to answer other questions that have come to mind! Reach out to ask anything on your mind or set up a time to talk to someone on our formation team in person.
