Family Faith Formation – Page 2 – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

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.”

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…

Family Faith Formation Grades 6-7 Salt & Light: This Sunday, October 26 at 4pm at St. Paul

The Liturgical Year 4-4:45pm in St. Paul Parish Hall preceding the Sunday 5pm Youth Mass

IMPORTANT: For Grades 6-7, there are two Family Sessions and four Student-Only Sessions. This opening session is a Family Session (parent/s and children together.) Children may not be “dropped off” without a parent or guardian for Family Sessions.

This opening session begins at 4:00pm with an opening prayer and “Focus on Faith” reflection given by Fr. Jim on “The Liturgical Year.” After the reflection, the pastoral team will guide parents and students in catechesis and small-group discussion…

Family Faith Formation This Sunday, October 19: Grades 3-5 Loaves & Fishes

The Liturgical Year 10:15-11:00am in Powers Hall following the 9:00am Family Mass at St. John

PLEASE NOTE: All sessions are Family Sessions (children and parent/s together.) Children may not be “dropped off” without a parent or guardian.

After participating in the Sunday 9am Family Mass, parents and children gather together for an opening prayer and a “Focus on Faith” reflection given by Fr. Jim about “The Liturgical Year.” After the reflection, the pastoral staff guides parents in small group discussions and reviews the at-home material for the coming month, while the Children’s Faith Formation team guides the children in a related activity. The session ends with all gathered together for a closing prayer…

October 5: Mustard Seeds Launch Our Renewed Family Faith Formation Program!

We launched our new “Family Faith Formation” program with great joy last Sunday with a Family Session for our youngest children and families – our “Mustard Seeds” in Grades K-2.

Kelly Meraw, Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, opened the packed session by welcoming everyone and explaining a little bit about what Family Faith Formation is and why parishes around the Archdiocese and across the country are moving to this model.

She emphasized that Family Faith Formation is not about expecting parents to be “CCD teachers” at home – it’s a way to shift faith formation to be more conversational, to be something that is baked-in to everyday life. Fr. Jim then offered a “Focus on Faith” reflection on this month’s theme of “The Liturgical Year,” explaining the different seasons in the Church year…

Family Faith Formation Launches this Sunday, October 5 with Grades K-2 Mustard Seeds!

Family Faith Formation empowers, supports, and equips parents to impart the faith to their children. Our program for children in Grades K-7 and their families is organized in three grade-level cohorts, and each cohort meets six times over the year (October through April) for 45 minutes. All cohorts focus on the same theme each month, which creates a cohesive structure that supports families with children in multiple grades. Our theme for October is The Liturgical Calendar, and our sessions will be led by Fr. Jim.

The schedule for October is below – our theme for the month is The Liturgical Calendar, and our sessions will be led by Fr. Jim.

Grades K-2 Mustard Seeds: Sunday, October 5 at St. John
10:15-11:00am in Powers Hall..