It’s hard to believe that the catechetical year is wrapping up! This past year at St. Barnabas, doing the monthly parent presentations for the Finding God family catechesis program, has been such a wonderful experience! We have one more session on the calendar for Pentecost Sunday. This session will be an end-of-the-year/Pentecost celebration. Tops on the agenda is a full, hot breakfast being served to the families in the program. We will also have a prayer celebration, some fun activities, and many words of thanks and encouragement for the families as they gear up for summer vacation.
I learned so much this past year about family faith formation and am grateful that I have been able to share that experience with you here at Catechist’s Journey throughout the year. My hope is that family catechesis will continue to grow and catch on as an effective and meaningful approach to faith formation that respects the role of parents in their children’s faith development and empowers and equips them to embrace their role as the first and primary catechists of their children.
How appropriate that our celebration has been scheduled for Pentecost Sunday, so that we can acknowledge the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit in all of our faith formation efforts and ask the Spirit to continue to guide us, especially in the domestic church!
Special thanks to the staff of St. Barnabas, who welcomed me into their midst and entrusted me with the formation of parents over the course of the year: Fr. Jim Donovan, pastor; Patrick McGowan, Director of Faith Formation; and Deacon Andy Neu, who was my co-presenter for most of the monthly sessions. And, most of all, thanks to the parents, who so warmly welcomed me and allowed me to journey with them in their own faith formation and the formation of their children.
If you are considering implementing a family faith formation approach in your parish, be sure to check out the following:
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