Calendar - Coming Soon!
Greetings Families,
I hope that you are all enjoying the start of summer with family and friends. I just wanted to provide you all with an update on where we think the Faith Formation program is going moving forward into next year.
First, I will be serving as the faith formation director for the pastorate, which means that I will be "splitting' my time between the two parishes. The good news is that Dave Vavasseur has accepted a position to help me with my new responsibilities.
The Faith Formation Program for both Parishes will remain the same for Grades K-5 with a few exceptions:
• After consulting with the Staff and the Catechists OLPH will be switching to a new gospel-based curriculum that is more appealing to the students and easier to use for the catechists. The new curriculum is produced by Pflaum and an overview is provided at https://www.pflaum.com/pflaum-gospel-weeklies-faith-formation-program/
• There is a proposal to change the class times at OLPH to 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. If we do not change to this new time frame, we will be changing the start time to 8:45 a.m., since the 45-minute time frame is just not long enough to cover all the materials needed. Please let me know your preference or if you have any concerns asap.
Our Grade 6-8 Students will be combined for both Parishes and we will be changing our curriculum to the EDGE format. If you are unfamiliar with EDGE, it is a more youth ministry-centered program that focuses more on activities and social interaction than the traditional religious education format, while still providing mentoring and religious education.
Sacramental preparation classes for First Reconciliation and Communion will be combined for both Parishes and will be scheduled on days other than our regular Faith Formation Program. Most likely a weeknight.
Our Confirmation programs for the Parishes will be combined this coming year as well and we will have an exciting opportunity to participate in a new pilot program for Confirmation.
We will continue to have our Family Gathering Sessions at both Parishes and the sessions at OLPH will increase to once a month.
I am also working in cooperation with the Archdiocese to implement an on-line training program for Catechists that will allow us all to grow in our understanding of the faith and better fulfill our vocations.
It is my hope to begin providing a certain level of "hospitality" at all of our events, so that we have light snacks, water, and coffee for everyone on these very busy days.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me. The biggest challenge that we face right now is having a sufficient number of catechists and aids to serve our children. I would like to extend to each one of you a personal invitation, to assist with the program. Jesus himself reminded us only a few weeks ago that the "harvest is plenty but the laborers are few". Please prayerfully consider serving in any capacity as one of those "laborers" in support of our program. We will certainly provide any training or assistance that you may need.
As a Pastorate, we are moving towards a Family Faith Formation Model, where we are tasked by the Pope to catechize families in new and exciting ways and encourage more parent participation in our formation efforts. I hope that all of you will feel comfortable to actively participate in any of the programs that we are offering.
The reality is that although we all work extremely hard to catechize your children, we only get an hour a week for eight months. The sacrament of
Baptism reminds all of us that as parents we are the primary teachers of the faith to our children.
One last thing, if you haven't signed up for Vacation Bible School, I've attached the flyer with the sign-up information.
I look forward to an exciting faith formation year with all of you in the coming months.
Stay cool as summer continues and know that you and your families are in my prayers - Peace!
Deacon Tim Mikules
Pastorate of Our Lady