Please Click Here and Watch Fr Naples Welcome and Introduction
to Family Formation for the 2018-2019 year.
Read Letter from last year to introduce the program:
2017 Pastor Letter to parents for FF (download or read here below).
August 10, 2017
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Grace and peace of Christ be with you. The catechesis of your whole family, including your children and you, is on my heart as one of the most important things that should be happening in our parish. After years of work and thought, planning and prayer, we decided to implement the Family Formation program in the fall of 2016. This program has a new vision with new vitality.
It does, however, call for a paradigm shift and I want to consider again the appropriateness of this approach. At the root of this approach is a fuller understanding of the Church’s call for parents to be the primary educators of their children in Faith and the parish’s role to support families in this mission, coupled with the Church’s insistence that catechesis is also necessary for adults in all times and places. National trends in catechesis are guiding parishes toward this understanding. Parishes that have implemented Family Formation are reporting a stronger Faith knowledge and practice in their communities. Families must be on a journey of faith together, with parents gowning earnestly in their knowledge while they teach their children the basic fundamentals of the faith.
When your children were baptized, you promised to raise and nurture your children in the Faith. This is not an easy task, and we want to support and assist you. The following is taken from the General Directory of Catechesis, Articles 255 and 227:
“Parents are the primary educators in the faith. It is for this reason that the Christian community must give very special attention to parents. By means of personal contact, meetings, courses and also adult catechesis directed towards parents, the Christian community must help them assume their responsibility-which is particularly delicate today-of educating their children in the faith.”
Family Formation replaces former elementary grade Religious Education programs. At the monthly sessions, children gather with a teacher by grade while parents receive catechesis based on the monthly theme and guidance on the home lessons. Wherever each member of the family is in their faith formation, the whole family is growing together. This program’s unique format will draw your family together through the enthusiastic faith of your children. Its creativity and simple concepts make learning fun, as each lesson is written at an elementary level but with adult level instruction to guide and enhance your teaching. Parents do not have to be experts in the Faith, just willing to devote about an hour a week to quality family time in sharing the Faith.
Understanding the busy schedules of today’s families, the weekly lessons at home can be adapted to your own family schedule. The lessons will provide the backbone for your children’s spiritual formation in these formative years. This comprehensive program not only engages young children, it draws families together, and equips parents to do a first rate job in teaching the Catholic Faith to their children, while allowing them to grow personally as well.
The Family Formation and Little Lambs program is for families with children aged three through sixth grade. It follows a three-year liturgical cycle, is faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, is driven by Sacred Scripture, and references the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It covers all tenets of our Catholic Faith.
To register, or to ask any questions regarding the monthly sessions or the program, please contact Theresa McAvinney DRE/Director of Family Formation at 744-6272.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Timothy Naples, Pastor