Children’s Faith Formation – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

January Family Faith Formation: Loaves & Fishes (3-5) this Sunday, January 11 / Mustard Seeds (K-2) on Sunday, January 25

We’re so excited to welcome our Loaves & Fishes and Mustard Seeds families back to a new month of Family Faith Formation! Our theme for January is The Sacraments of Initiation, and the sessions will be led by Kelly Meraw, Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy.

We will learn what a sacrament is and what is meant by “sacramental grace.” We’ll focus in particular on the three Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation. These are the sacraments that welcome us into the Christian community and provide the foundation for our lifelong journey in the faith…

Family Faith Formation Advent Retreat – “Waiting in Hope”

Last Sunday over 100 families took part in our Family Faith Formation Advent Retreat for families of students in Grades K-5! Focused on the theme of “Waiting in Hope,” the retreat invited families to take a moment to reflect more deeply on the Advent season and Christ’s coming into our lives.

Beginning right after the 9AM Family Mass, families gathered in St. John Church for an opening prayer that called everyone to open their hearts and minds to the hope, peace, joy, and love that Advent invite us to. Families were then given the opportunity to take part in four different stations throughout the building…

Kids – Come Sing in the Collaborative Children’s Choir on Christmas Eve! Rehearsal on Saturday, December 20

If your child is interested in joining us to sing at the 4pm Mass at St. John on Christmas Eve, come to our rehearsal on Saturday, December 20 at 9am at St. John.

But why wait – start singing at the Family Mass now!

The Collaborative Children’s Choir sings the 9:00am Family Mass weekly during the school year. The Choir is open to children in grades 3-7 (with some flexibility, just ask!) We meet at 8:30am Sunday mornings to rehearse before the 9:00am Family Mass – come join us! To express interest or with any questions please email Music Director William Endicott.

This Sunday, December 7: Advent Family Retreat for Mustard Seeds and Loaves & Fishes (Grades K-5)

“Waiting in Hope” – An Advent Family Retreat at St. John the Evangelist Church following the 9am Family Mass

We will begin by gathering in the Upper Church at 10:00am for an Opening Prayer and an overview of the retreat activities. Parents and kids will move together through a series of Advent activities before returning to the upper church for a closing song and prayer – a great way to enter together into this season of waiting in hope!

REMINDER: All sessions for Grades K-5 are Family Sessions (children and parent/s together.) Children may not be “dropped off” without a parent or guardian.

November 23 Family Faith Formation Recap: “Jesus’ Life and Ministry” with Grade 3-5 Loaves & Fishes

Kelly Meraw, Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, led our Loaves & Fishes Family Session on “Jesus’ Life and Ministry.”

As a Collaborative family we looked at many different ways Jesus has been depicted, in art and our own imaginations! We learned, as one student shared “that Jesus can look a lot of different ways” and that as one parent shared, “Jesus is always our home.”

We learned that Jesus chose to become fully human but was also fully God. The students learned about the four big reasons Jesus became incarnate for us: to demonstrate an inclusive table, to teach, to heal, and to make us whole with God’s forgiveness…

November 16 Family Faith Formation Recap: “Jesus’ Life and Ministry” with Grades 6-7 Salt & Light

Our first Grade 6-7 Salt & Light Student Session was a resounding success!

More than 60 students gathered together with the Pastoral and Children’s Faith Formation teams, as well as our adult and high school volunteers, for reflection, discussion, and even a little competition around this month’s theme of “Jesus’ Life and Ministry.”

As Sr. Colleen Gibson SSJ, who led the session, noted in her opening remarks, “This month we are talking about Jesus’ life and ministry, and I’m going to do it in about 15 minutes, which is not enough time to do Jesus’ life and ministry. I’ve given my whole life to this, and we’re going to do in 15 minutes.”

November 1 Confirmation Retreat Recap: Beloved by God, Called to Be a Light in the World

On All Saints’ Day, more than 60 Confirmation candidates took part in the first Confirmation retreat of the year. In keeping with the feast day, the retreat focused on the call to holiness each of us is given as beloved children of God. Filled with witness talks, skits, walk & talk reflection time, and small group activities, the day was a wonderful opportunity for the young people of our Collaborative to see themselves through God’s eyes and to grow in faith and fun with one another as they prepare for Confirmation.

As night fell, the group joined in night prayer in St. Paul Church, where they lifted their voices in praise and worship…

October 26 Confirmation Enrollment Mass Recap

Last weekend at a packed Sunday 5pm Youth Mass, our Confirmation candidates signed the Book of Enrollment in the presence of the community, signifying their desire for the sacrament and commitment to the process of preparation.

The candidates are committing to deepen their relationship with God through the process, explore what it means to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and to remain open to what God is asking of them at this moment.

As a community, we are asked to keep these young people in our prayers, and to be living witnesses to the faith with our lives, in and out of the parishes.

This Sunday, November 2: Grade 2 Sacrament Prep Session: Introduction to the Sacrament Year

10:15am in Powers Hall following the 9am Family Mass at St. John

This opening session will introduce children and families to this special year of preparation for the reception of the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday morning and are so excited to begin this journey with you!

IMPORTANT!This is a Family Session – children and parents together. Children may not be “dropped off” without a parent or guardian.

October Family Faith Formation: Not So Ordinary Time

In the first sessions of Family Faith Formation this month, Fr. Jim explored the topic of “The Liturgical Year.” As our Collaborative embraces the theme of renewal and since faith formation and enrichment is a never ending journey, we thought it might be worthwhile to dive a little deeper into what our faith teaches us about the season of Ordinary Time!

Did You Know?

Ordinary Time isn’t called “ordinary” because it’s typical or because other liturgical seasons are more exciting!

“Ordinary” refers to ordinal numbers, meaning that ordinary time is counted by ordered weeks (typically 33 or 34 per year!) For instance, this week is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time…

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