CONSIDERING  OUR  ONGOING  FAITH  FORMATION

…programming at St. Mary / St. Bridget during 2010-2011

Summer always goes by too quickly.  The busyness of life seems to not slow down for long before it’s back to the school year routine again.  I am hoping you will take a few minutes now – in the relatively slower pace of summer days – to consider how you as a family with school-aged children can best accomplish your ongoing faith formation during this coming academic year and will make plans to carve out some time regularly to grow closer to Jesus and His Church with us.  Registration for fall programs is open NOW.

We have exciting programs for you to choose from:   

              .our family programming*  allows whole families – adults and kids – to gather to learn about the weekly Scripture readings of Mass and the dogmas and doctrines of our faith tradition.  There is great flexibility in this program, in that it is offered three times each Sunday, either before or after one of the parish liturgies.  Any given week, you choose which time block works best in that weekend’s schedule.  We are able to accept as many as are interested in each of the family programs. 

               .our grade level weekly sections* offer students in grades 1 – 5 the opportunity to learn about our faith with other students their own age.   The weekly grade level sessions are dependent on having enough catechists.  Since we limit section population to ten students per catechist, we will be able to fill each grade section with the first ten students who register.  We will place any“overflow” on a “WAITING and HOPING” list.  Please let us know ASAP if you are interested in helping so we can offer more than one section per grade level depending on need.                          

               .our Sunday evening programming for students and their families in grades 6 – 8* give pre-teens and teens the forum to explore our faith on a slightly more mature level.

              .formation for the sacraments**of Eucharist, Reconciliation and Confirmation helps candidates and their families to be ready to celebrate the Sacraments of the Church.

                         The long-standing practice continues:  that children enrolled for a sacramental

                         prep class also have been part of a faith formation program at least one prior

                         year as well as in the current year

              .We offer RCIC (Rite of Christian Initiation for Children) for families with children  older than seven who need to receive initial formation in the faith and any of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist). Talk with us about this when you register your child.

               .In summer, 2011, we will once again offer FFSLL*** (Faith Formation Summer Learning Lab) for students in grades 1-8 who cannot fit any of the above faith formation approaches into the hectic academic year schedule.

*Registration for this program is open NOW. Fees remain the same as the last several years: 
$50. per student, $65. for two students, $80. family maximum. 

Checks need to be made payable to “St. Mary Church” and can be either

sent with the registration or paid at the first class.

**Register for this at the OVERVIEW meeting  There is no fee for preparation for Sacraments

***Registration for this will be in spring, 2011 when dates are announced

  2010-2011 Faith Formation Calendar

  2010-2011 Faith Formation Registration Form

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about faith formation programming  

Contact Deacon Claude Lester   clester@dor.org or394-1220, ext 15.

PLEASE HELP US SAVE MONEY AND ENSURE FAST COMMUNICATION:   We are trying to cut costs wherever possible; one of the logical places to look is postage.  We try to use e mail whenever we can, to provide prompt, efficient communication.  But we need a functioning e mail address for you to accomplish that goal.   THANKS for working with us be good stewards of our resources.