It’s hard to believe its 2020 already! Since we are now about midway through our Ministry year, we wanted to share highlights from our Faith Formation programs, the changes we have made since last year to engage our families, and our remaining challenges as we march into 2020 together.

As you know, we’re truly blessed with a vibrant and active faith community here at Notre Dame, but we still face certain challenging realities. Our culture has shifted significantly in the last few decades. More people than ever consider themselves as “unaffiliated” with any religion, and the old “drop off” model of catechesis is no longer working.  What can be done to combat this reality? Since December of 2016, our parish has been on a path of renewal rooted in missionary discipleship.  The role and engagement of parents in their children’s faith formation is vital to this journey of renewal! Our greatest hope is for all to experience a personal relationship with Jesus and become actively engaged in parish life.

SHEPHERD’S CALL—Our Shepherd’s call ministry will be celebrating its 5th year this February 16! Faith leaders provide a safe, nurturing environment for little ones (ages 1-4 yrs. old), to play, explore and grow in faith while their parents attend Mass.  Since its inception, the ministry has experienced significant growth, initially serving during the 9am Mass to now also serving during the 10:30am Mass. The use of the physical space where the ministry is held has also expanded to better accommodate the needs and stages of the children; the room is divided into two areas, one with exploratory toys geared towards little ones; the other side (preschool section) has a kitchen, train table and craft area. Faith leaders read to the children, sing, sometimes dance, but always have fun!  About 6-18 children are cared for at each liturgy.  We currently have about 14 faith leaders, both regular and back up people. Since we serve 2 Masses each Sunday, we require 2 - 4 volunteers for each, so more volunteers are always needed and welcomed! We cannot emphasize enough the significant impact that Shepherd’s Call has had in helping many young families become engaged in Sunday liturgy, build community and become engaged in parish life.  If you are interested in serving in this ministry, please stop by the Shepherd’s Call Room any Sunday morning to find out more!

ELEMENTARY FAMILY FAITH—This past year, we have made changes to our Faith Formation programs for both parents and children of all ages to assist in this ongoing process. The Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW) on Sunday mornings is a great example. Last year, this was only offered during 9:00 am Mass, and a handful of times at 10:30 Mass, but it is now regularly available both at the 9:00 and 10:30 Masses, giving parents more choices. To make the CLOW messages more age appropriate, we are also splitting out the 4 ^th and 5 ^th graders; having more faith leaders to assist has been a great blessing. All of these changes have significantly enhanced the experience for everyone.
 
We have also made exciting updates to the Sacramental Prep programs in response to feedback from you! For First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, the parents and children now experience the same topics in their separate settings.  We have shortened the parent videos substantially, to allow the appropriate time for table discussions. For the last 15 minutes of the sessions, the parents and children reunite to work on a fun craft or activity related to that day’s theme. One recent activity involved taking strips of paper with the words and phrases of the Act of Contrition: the goal was to put the parts of the prayer in the proper order. We also send home a brief summary of the main points from that day’s lesson to encourage families to continue the discussion as a family.

For the Non-Sacramental programs, one important change has been in the monthly Elementary Family Events schedule. Last year, the activities were only offered on Sundays, but now we offer them on a variety of days and times. For example, the December 14, 2019, Christmas Story Scavenger Hunt was offered on a Saturday morning, with 14 families participating!

MIDDLE SCHOOL FAMILY FAITH—For the Middle School which is offered monthly, we now offer a choice of Monday or Tuesday evenings. In the past, Tuesday was the only option. We are working to make the program more exciting and relevant to our 6 ^th, 7 ^th & 8 ^th graders by inviting guest speakers from our youth community. We are also planning group activities using technology, such as phone apps like TikTok, to engage everyone and inject more fun while learning.

One exciting development is the introduction of our Fall and Lenten Discipleship Groups as part of the Parent Component for Middle School families (although these are open to anyone in the parish).  This is a great opportunity for parents to participate in faith sharing with members of the general parish community.  The variety of topics as well as the meeting days/times of these discipleship groups have offered more options for parents in both scheduling as well as in the option to select themes based on personal faith interests/callings.  Stay tuned for our Lenten schedule, which we will share in the near future!

HIGH SCHOOL/CONFIRMATION PREP.—For the Confirmation Prep Program, we have invited several young speakers to provide witness talks to both the parents and confirmation candidates at each session. Recently, Chris Wallburg shared the challenges he faced during his own faith journey. Those receiving Confirmation need to learn certain Catechism questions and prayers, and we are providing creative learning, through things like crossword puzzles and Jeopardy games. For our Confirmation parent sessions, we are also including new activities, such as a recent Advent Visio Divina exercise (prayer through sacred art), using a painting representing the Annunciation.

SPEICAL NEEDS —We are blessed to have a faith journey offering for families with children with special needs.  We currently have several special needs children that attend Shepherd’s Call on a regular basis.  We have 2 Special Needs teens in our Confirmation Prep program and also have 1 special needs child preparing to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion. We also have 3 students in our non-Sacramental special needs class.  Teens and young adults with Special Needs are welcomed as well to participate in Special Needs Youth Ministry. 

OF OUTMOST PRIORITY…  As mentioned, engaging parents is one of the most critical aspects of our path to form missionary disciples.  Our goal is to provide opportunities for parents to seek an encounter with Jesus, and/or grow in a personal relationship with Him. Their transformed hearts and lives will inevitably impact the faith lives of their children.

Many parents have expressed a desire for more assistance from us so that they can provide more instruction to their children at home. We are excited about their desire to be better equipped and are working on providing those opportunities.  Please stay tuned for some exciting news that we will share in the next few weeks in this regard.

The value of experiencing liturgy together as a family cannot be overstated!  This practice, as well as family engagement in ministry and faith sharing, will enable families to experience faith formation in communion with the entire Notre Dame community and beyond, and not simply as part of a program.  We continue to invite and highly encourage more parents to attend weekend liturgy with their children regularly.

As we continue to work towards higher levels of engagement by our families, a significant challenge remains and that is the need for more faith leaders at all levels.  Our goal is not to “fill an open slot” but to engage individuals who feel a personal and passionate call to make a difference in the faith lives of families at various levels.  We continue to work at nurturing as well a positive environment for our faith leaders so that they too can experience spiritual growth and fulfillment with this particular service opportunity.

Our Faith Formation team would really enjoy meeting with anyone who is interested in finding out more about this aspect of our mission and renewal. We’re very excited at the prospect of continuing to collaborate with our families and the community at large for the rest of the ministry year!