Family Faith Formation
A LITTLE ABOUT FAMILY PROGAMMING…
Each year, more and more families register for the weekly FAMILY PROGRAM held in Dougherty Hall.
What do we DO at these family sessions? A sampling of parent comments shared at the end of last year’s program will give some insights:
…My family and I have spent the last two years in Families at Ten. At first we chose the class because it was convenient to go right after mass on Sundays and did not add to our hectic weekly schedules, But I came to enjoy the fact that the class would expound on the readings from Mass and help everyone come to a better understanding of what God was asking of us.
…My family has enjoyed the families at ten and five programs. We find the reduced pressure and flexibility of not needing to attend every week helpful with our busy lives. Deacon Claude has put together engaging programs that has allowed us as a family to continue discussions at home. I like that this is a program that we can do together as a family, not just having the kids disappear into a classroom for an hour. It allows us to share our ideas about faith with our children more so than if they were in a traditional religious ed. setting.
…We really enjoy the Families at 10 program for several reasons. It gives us time "together" away from the daily hustle to relax, communicate with each other and learn more about our faith. Our son enjoys the program because it is always FUN. We play games while learning, share ideas with other families we know, and think about ways to better ourselves and others in the community. You (Deacon Claude) do an excellent job preparing the program and involving everyone during the class. I believe all the families enjoy this time no matter what age. I know I have learned a lot in the past several years and look forward to next year.
…My family joined family's at 5 this year and I thought it was a great and fun way to learn about our Lord and how we should live as Christians. It was a great experience to do this as a family because if your children see that you as parents are involved in our faith then they will also grow and be involved in their faith.
…We have enjoyed the Families program for a couple of years now. It's a great way to engage the entire family in sharing our religious education while sharing it with our friends and new acquaintances from the group. It is interesting, fun and often enlightening. The kids learn and the adults often are relearning or remembering things that we may have forgotten from our youth education programs.
…We have liked the Families program because it is flexible and allows us to attend as often as we can, but it's not a problem if we miss a week. It is nice to be able to participate together as a family to better understand the readings of the day rather than having separate religious ed. instruction. It has helped me as a parent to better understand things and to be able to explain them to my kids. I think it helps the kids to be more engaged with the mass, too, if they have a better understanding of the readings.
…the sessions helped us to really engage with the kids about the content vs. "how was religion class today?" that we'd typically ask when they were in the other program. We'd then be able to follow-up on what we discussed during the week or apply it to activities we did as a family. Another helpful part of the program was to hear how other families felt, practiced, etc. We felt it built a stronger sense of community than the after school/mass program.
…We enjoy the family time together and the sharing of ideas. We also enjoy the flexibility of the schedule (10 am or 5 pm). Our three children's individual perspectives have allowed them to learn from each other.
…I loved coming to class with my daughters, especially right after 9:00 mass. I was better able to understand what the liturgy was trying to teach us, as I am not really equipped to teach the girls myself. I can tell they learned a lot each week, and we are all better people for it. I loved the simple games that helped teach us how to be better Christians and citizens. The lessons definitely resonated with me and my kids. We talked about things that I am sure would have never been brought up in conversation if we hadn't attended Families at 10.
These are the words of just some of the families who have been part of the FAMILIES AT… program at St. Mary’s.
FLEXIBLE. On a given week, the Sunday program at 10 AM may work better in your schedule; another week, it may be the 5 PM program. And this year there is even more flexibility as we continue to offer the FAMILIES program at 8:30 AM on Sundays in St. Bridget’s.
FUN-FILLED is another trademark of these sessions. In each session, we use a variety of teaching approaches and activities. Often we are rushing to get through the day’s lesson in just an hour; the time never drags.
FAITH-FILLED is what these sessions are all about. We spend time each session coming to a better understanding of the day’s Scriptures and how to apply them in our daily lives.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Contact Deacon Claude clester@dor.org or 394-1220, ext 15.