Recently, the National Community of Catechetical Leaders (NCCL) conducted a survey of more than 300 parish catechetical leaders, asking them to identify the most critical issues in catechesis today. At the top of the survey was “Parent Education and Formation.” Simply put, catechists and catechetical leaders recognize that, if we want to form children in faith, we need also to form their parents!
Of course, this begs the question, “What resource(s) can we use to provide formation for parents?” One popular resource used by many parishes for formation of parents is my book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe, which guides readers through the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Creed, Sacraments, Morality, and Prayer. A Well-Built Faith has available a free Leader Guide that provides 20 easy-to-use faith formation sessions for adults! (Click on Extras on the Loyola Press Store page for this book to find the guide.)
The first session shows how we can offer parents a little H.E.L.P. when it comes to understanding their faith. These four pillars provide us with all of the H.E.L.P. that we need:
H = We Hold on to our faith, which is summarized in the Creed.
E = We Express our faith in the liturgy and sacraments of the Church.
L = We Live our faith according to Catholic morality.
P = We Pray our faith by maintaining a healthy prayer life.
Each session provides a step-by-step outline for engaging parents, whether in-person, virtually, or hybrid. When purchasing 15 or more copies of A Well-Built Faith, pay only $6 per copy!
Let’s do our best to offer parents a little H.E.L.P. when it comes to learning their faith.
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