Children's Programs
Our faith formation programs for children are designed to support parents who are the primary educators of their children. It is through this spirit of collaboration that we strive to enhance your child's faith formation.
Children's Education:
Pre-K to K
Children infants to age 5 gather together from 9:30-11:00 a.m. with their parents twice a month to listen to stories, sing songs, create beautiful artistic masterpieces, share a snack, pray, and play. Come join us for some Christian fellowship and parental support. Schedule varies during months when early release days fall on 2nd or 4th Wednesday of the month. No registration fee required.
K-1 (Children's Liturgy of the Word)
Children will leave the "Big People's" liturgy and experience a "Little People's" liturgy of the word. They will sing a seasonal Psalm and Gospel Acclamation, listen to the Gospel reading from the Children's Lectionary, participate in a children's homily with Chester the Church mouse, recite the "Little People's" creed, and offer prayers of the faithful. Then, they will rejoin the larger faith community for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Children will grow in their appreciation of the Liturgical Year, the Sunday Gospel stories, and the rituals and responses associated with the Liturgy of the Word. This formation will help them prepare for their full initiation into the Church and to participate more fully in the Church’s liturgy. We usually need 6 liturgists at the 9:00 Mass and 4 liturgists at the 11:15 Mass who can commit to about 2 Masses per month. Also needed are 1 or 2 people to work on supplying homily props and keeping our closet tidy. Training is provided.
Grades 2-4 (Faith Formation Classes)
Children will participate in weekly small group experiences, learning from Scripture and the Catholic Tradition. The children will use the “Faith First” workbook, which is a spiral curriculum that has four units corresponding to the four pillars of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church: We Believe (Creed), We Worship (Liturgy and Sacraments), We Live (Christian Morality), and We Pray (Christian Prayer). Under the direction of a catechist or catechist team, the children will use the lessons in the workbook for discussion in class and at home. They will also participate in activities, projects, special seasonal lessons, and prayer experiences that will help them grow in their relationship with God and their understanding of the Catholic faith. We usually need about 6 catechists for grade 2, 6 catechists for grade 3, and 4 catechists for grade 4 who will work in pairs leading about 10-15 children per group. We also need adults and/or teens that are willing to provide childcare for catechists' preschool children at church. Training and lesson planning time is provided.
Grades 5-6
:
This program will help pre-adolescents explore the Old and New Testaments. We will be exploring key figures in salvation history by learning their stories. In order to promote a higher level of biblical literacy, in one of the years our pre-adolescents will be continuing or beginning their life journey with figures from the Old Testament, such as Abraham, Moses, Ruth, and Isaiah. Figures from the New Testament, such as John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, Jesus, Mary, and Judas Iscariot, are highlighted in the other year. The lives of these biblical characters will inspire, challenge, and puzzle us as we make connections to our own life experiences.Typically, we will need 4 catechists for this program who will work in teams for a group of 25-30. We always need assistance from parents to coordinate our occasional socials, service projects, and involvement at liturgy (which may occur on other days and times).Training and lesson planning time is provided.
Ungraded
(SPRED - Symbolic Program of Religious Education for Persons with Disability)
SPRED welcomes persons with disability of all ages to be an accepted and
visible part of our parish by creating an environment of warmth and
friendship. Persons with
disability and the volunteers who work with them one-on-one share themselves
in small faith communities offering an opportunity to grow spiritually and
to meet new friends using a simple symbolic approach to catechesis.
The direction of the program is always to work toward inclusion in
our parish functions, such as, prayer and liturgy, service and outreach, and
community fellowship. We typically
meet for three 6-week sessions (fall, winter, and spring).
This program will need a lead
catechist, an activities catechist, and a faith friend for each participant.
Training is provided.
Catholic School Education:
Holy Cross School (co-education)
Cheverus High School (co-education)
McAuley High School (young women)
