St. Matthew’s is excited to begin a new faith formation program for families starting this fall! Family Formation draws families together to grow in faith at home and within the Parish. It replaces Wednesday evening classes. Family Formation is designed for ALL Parish families with kids in Grades K-5! This includes those at St. Matt’s school, public schools, and home schools. Mission: Family Formation is designed to help parents respond to the Church’s call to be “the first and foremost educators of their children” and to help families grow in the transforming love of God by understanding and living the Catholic Faith. “The family is a domestic church.” - Lumen Gentium, 11 - Starting this fall, our Faith Formation program for elementary aged children will change to meet the needs of our Parish. Family Formation is a family-based catechetical program for all Parish families with children in Kindergarten through Grade 5 with an emphasis on adult formation. Why the Change? “Parents are the primary educators in the Faith. It is for this same 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 of educating their children in the faith.” – General Directory of Catechesis, articles 227 and 255. In Baptism, parents promise to raise their children in the Catholic faith. Our current Wednesday evening programs focus mostly on teaching children directly, and do not equip parents properly for their role as the primary catechists of their children. Changing to a family-based faith formation program empowers parents to make faith a part of their home. What will Family Formation Look Like? Family Formation combines a monthly church gathering with weekly at home lessons. The first Sunday of each month, children meet in grade-specific class settings while parents gather for adult catechesis and formation. We complete each monthly gathering with the celebration of parish Mass. Parents are given materials and an overview of weekly home lessons to teach their children the Faith. - The program coincides with the school year from September through May, starting in the Fall of 2018. - Monthly gatherings will be on the first Sunday of each month from 8:30AM – 11:30AM, with families attending 10:30AM Mass. - There will be 3 home lessons each month, with families given the flexibility to do these according to their schedule. - First Reconciliation and First Eucharist preparation is incorporated into this program for second graders. Registration begins April 15 for Family Formation! Visit our website and click on Grow In Faith for much more information and to sign up your family!
Come and See! You are invited to attend our Family Formation Preview Night on Wednesday, April, 25 from 6:15-7:30 PM in St. Matthew’s school gym. Families with children in Grades K-5 can come to experience our new program during a night of fellowship, prayer, and education. You will be given more information on Family Formation, as well as home lessons to try out. “Parents are the primary educators in the Faith… Indeed in the same way as the Church, the family is a place in which the Gospel is transmitted and from which it extends.” - General Directory for Catechesis, Article 255 -
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Throughout the year we celebrate feast days of the Saints. There are many ways to celebrate all of the different feast days throughout the year. On September 8th we celebrate the birth of Mary which is a great time to share stories about her life, travel to a Marian Shrine, pray the rosary as a family or eat a large feast including a Birthday Cake. On St. Patrick's feast day on March 17, everyone becomes Irish for the day, we wear green and eat corned beef and cabbage. Often times special Masses are offered on a Saints feast day and some people may even pray a novena (9 days of praying) leading up to a Saint's feast day. Advent has begun which means we are getting ready for the birth of Jesus. This also means we are getting ready for the madness of the holidays. It's important during this busy time of year to make time to slow down, reflect, pray and enjoy time with our family and friends. One way to do so is by celebrating St. Nicholas' feast day on December 6th. Growing up I had several friends who's family celebrated St. Nicholas. I would always hear from my friends about the different fruits and candy they would get in the shoes on the morning of December 6. I decided when I had my own kids, I would make sure we celebrated this feast day. In our house, we will watch St. Nicholas' story by the Veggie Tales and read a few books about St. Nicholas the days before his feast day to help learn about him. On December 5th, we hang our stockings by our fireplace and prepare for St. Nicholas to visit our house. The next morning we all wake up to find our stockings filled with Clementines, Apples, Candy Canes, Chocolates and a small gift which is typically a book, craft or something along those lines. This is one of my favorite holiday traditions in our house. We get a chance to learn about a Saint and then celebrate their feast day together. As my children continue to grow up I hope we can do this more often with other Saints' lives as well. Below is a video with some more information about St. Nicholas. If you wish to learn more about how other countries celebrate and honor St. Nicholas Day, check out this website: http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/around-the-world/ I also invite you to learn more about the lives of the Saints. There is so much they can teach us about how to live a holy and good life. Feel free to share your family traditions for St. Nick's Day in the Comments. - Kate Tyler, Pastoral Associate - You may think of Catholic education as just attending a Catholic school, but there are multiple ways to provide children with a Catholic education. You can participate in your parish's religious education program, teach the faith at home, or enroll in a Catholic school. None of these options are better than the others, they all provide wonderful and unique blessings in the formation of young Catholics. Let's look at three amazing aspects of each form of education. Religious Education
Catholic School
No matter what avenue of education you have had, or you choose to provide for your children, know that they are all good. They all provide children with the knowledge, community, and relationship with God they need to live as members of the Body of Christ. When thinking about Faith Formation, remember that it starts at the home. What parents do to pass on their faith has the biggest impact on that child's future. So before you start stressing about what school to attend, start talking about faith in your family. That is where real Faith Formation begins.
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