-
-
Contact Us
-
Kellie De LeoKDeLeola-archdiocese.orgFaith Formation Director
-
-
-
-
Faith Formation is an opportunity to encounter the Living Christ. We, at St. Bartholomew, strive to provide the knowledge our children and families need to walk closer with Jesus. With this knowledge, a personal relationship with Jesus is the reward. He is the strength and the light needed for our lifelong spiritual journey.
St. Bartholomew’s Family Faith Formation Program does this through a diverse faith environment, using the five tasks of catechesis that is dedicated to helping each and every child recognize their individual faith potential.
We are committed to maintaining a Catholic community of companions on the journey in their faith development and towards global service, and life-long learning.
We live this out by showing respect to all people, by being responsible for our actions, by showing reverence and by making right choices.
Family Faith Formation in the parish will be accomplished in partnership with parents and the parish. We will work in partnership to help our families develop a relationship with Christ and help the families strenghten the Domestic Church. Families will participate in liturgical based curriculum at home and attend two gatherings twice a month to maintain our Catholic community.
“Family-centered catechetical programs are opportunities for parents to catechize their children directly, for spouses to catechize each other and for children to catechize one another and their parents” (National Directory for Catechesis #61.2).
-
What is the Goal and Mission of Family Catechesis?
- help families learn how to pray and to discuss their faith together
- help parents better understand their role as primary catechists
- bring families together in order to share and deepen their Catholic faith
- strengthen the relationship between the family and the Church
- establish ongoing Catholic faith practices within the family life
- integrate the family into the parish community
-
What are the benefits of Family Catechesis?
- Involves the whole family in congregational life and learning, building up the faith of the whole family.
- Provides a way to teach, model, and demonstrate family faith practices.
- Provides the resources for families to live Christian practices at home.
- Eases the transfer of learning to the home because the whole family experiences the learning and practices together.
- Builds up the confidence and ability of parents to share faith and values with their children by providing parent education, resources, support, and encouragement.
-
-
Why do we call it Faith Formation?
-
Faith Formation is significantly different from Religious Education. Religious Education is focused on teaching doctrine, precepts, etc., while Faith Formation supports a relationship with Jesus and the Church. It is found that through building a relationship with Jesus, one learns the doctrine of the Church. It is much easier to move from the heart to the head but not as easy to move from the head to the heart. We want our children to KNOW JESUS in their hearts…not just know things about Jesus and about the Church in their heads.
-
-
A Lifelong Process
-
Learning about and living the principles of our Catholic faith is a lifelong process and not one intended to cover just those “Special” events (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, etc.) in the lives of Catholics.
You as parents dedicated your child at his/her Baptism and made the commitment to educate him/her in the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is precisely for this reason that ALL baptized Catholic children and youth from first grade through tenth grade not in a parochial school are EXPECTED to attend formal faith formation sessions every year. We, at St. Bartholomew extend this opportunity to children in Pre-K and Kindergarten.
The faith formation responsibility not only entails enrolling the children in a formal Faith Formation program but also ensuring they attend each week and worship at Mass takes place each weekend as a family.
-
