10:15-11:00am following the 9:00am Family Mass
(Powers Hall at St. John/Parish Hall at St. Paul)
October 19, 2025 at St. John: The Liturgical Year
November 23, 2025 at St. Paul: Jesus’ Life and Ministry
December 7, 2025 at St. John: Advent Retreat
January 11, 2026 at St. Paul: Sacraments of Initiation
March 1, 2026 at St. John: Lenten Retreat
March 15, 2026 at St. John: Vocation
IMPORTANT: 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.
Please Note: If you have children in both the K-2 Mustard Seeds and 3-5 Loaves & Fishes cohorts you do not need to attend both sessions on the same theme. You can attend either session with all your children – we will have activities for both age-groups at all sessions, so choose the date that works best for your family.
After participating in the Sunday 9am Family Mass, parents and children gather together at 10:15am for an opening prayer and a “Focus on Faith” reflection given by a member of our pastoral team (Fr. Jim Laughlin, Kelly Meraw, Sr. Colleen Gibson.) After the reflection, the session leader guides parents in small group discussions and reviews the At-Home Discipleship material for the coming month, while the Children’s Faith Formation team guides the children in a related activity. The session ends by 11:00am with all gathered together for a closing prayer.
In the weeks in between the Family Sessions, parents continue the lessons at home on their own schedule, in whatever space and time works best for them, leaning on resources from the Family Session and their children’s grade-level books. Families can also gather with friends or relatives in small groups to work together. Most importantly, families continue the conversation throughout the month, baking the richness of our faith into the daily interactions of family life.
One of the great things about the Family Faith Formation model is the flexibility. With only six in-person sessions scheduled over the course of the year, we are hopeful that most families will be able to attend most sessions. If you miss a session, you can gather your family together to watch the recording which will be posted below, along with the At-Home Discipleship material for the month.
At-Home Discipleship and Session Recordings
October 19, 2025: The Liturgical Year
At-Home Discipleship
Grade 3: Chapter 10 “The Church Year” (pp. 91-98) and “The Year of Grace” (pp. 225-226)
Grade 4: Chapter 10 “Celebrating God’s Love/The Liturgical Year” (pp. 91-98) and “The Year of Grace” (pp. 225-226)
Grade 5: Chapter 9 “Celebrating the Liturgy” (pp. 83-90) and “The Year of Grace” (pp. 225-226)
November 23, 2025 at St. Paul: Jesus’ Life and Ministry
At-Home Discipleship
Grade 3: Chapter 4 “Jesus, the Son of God” (pp. 35-44)
Grade 4: Chapter 5 “The Son of God” (pp. 47-54)
Grade 5: Chapter 5 “Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (pp. 47-55)
December 7, 2025 at St. John: Advent Retreat
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. In Powers Hall, Faith Formation staff and volunteers provided creative crafts that gave kids a chance to create advent wreaths of all sorts and to explore the characters in the manger scene.
In the St. John Chapel, students and parents alike joined Sister Colleen to reflect more deeply on how we can prepare ourselves for Christmas (including sending them home with a “reverse” Advent calendar) and how the four weeks of Advent can be a journey of faith for the whole family. And in the main church, Kelly Meraw taught families to sing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” while exploring the themes of hopeful waiting and praying through song.
To end the retreat, everyone returned to the main church, where they joined in singing the first verse of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and then were sent forth in a prayer that called each family to be beacons of hope this Advent and to ready their hearts for Christ by sharing God’s love with the world!
January 11, 2026 at St. Paul: Sacraments of Initiation
Click Here to View the Sacraments of Initiation Session Slides
At-Home Discipleship
Grade 3: Chapter 11 (Celebrating God’s Love)
Grade 4: Chapter 11 (Sharing in Christ’s Life and Work)
Grade 5: Chapter 10 (Joined to Christ), Chapter 11 (We Celebrate the Holy Spirit)
March 1, 2026 at St. John: Family Lenten Retreat
March 15, 2026 at St. John: Vocation
Click Here to View the Vocation Session Slides
At-Home Discipleship
3rd Grade: Chapter 16 (Called to Serve), Chapter 23 (Living Our Faith)
4th Grade: Chapter 12 (Responding to God’s Call)
5th Grade: Chapter 15 (The Sacrament of Holy Orders), Chapter 16 (The Sacrament of Matrimony)