involving parents Archives - Page 3 of 4

Supporting Parents When Children Are Preparing for the Sacraments

Perhaps the question I am asked most when I’m on the road giving presentations is, “What can we do to get parents more involved?” Even Pope Francis issued a call for parents to “come out of exile” to educate their children. From start to finish—from the first day that parents bring their children to religious education until the day they complete their formal formation—we should be speaking to parents, not about how they can pitch […]

Encouraging Family Mass Attendance One Family at a Time

Darcy Osby

Those of us who serve in the ministry of catechesis know the disconnect that exists between religious education and families who do not attend Sunday Mass. How do we get parents who drop off their kids at faith formation classes but do not attend Mass into church on Sunday? We can try gimmicks, requirements, scolding, and guilt, but the only thing that will get families into the pews is conversion. I’d like to share one […]

How to Include Parents in Faith Formation Through Community-Building Family Nights

Julianne Stanz

How do we involve parents in faith formation? This age-old question seems to be getting harder and harder to answer. We seem to live in a “drag, drive, and drop off” culture when it comes to parental involvement in our faith formation programs. We use phrases like “create a culture of expectation,” “invite, welcome, and include,” and “mandate, require, and coerce” when talking about our efforts to include busy parents. But how do we effectively […]

Getting Families Involved in the Classroom with Show-and-Tell

Kathy MacKenzie

One day last spring, I was hanging out in the lobby of our parish center, as I often do when classes end for the day. It was 5:00 P.M., and some of the parents had spent the entire hour waiting for their children by relaxing in one of our chairs, reading a book to pass the time. Others had just arrived, having run a quick errand since dropping off their children an hour earlier. This […]

Parent-Teen Date Night

Megan Arteaga

Editor’s note: This summer, we will be highlighting success stories from the field. Let’s share our stories of what works to inspire each other to great things in faith formation ministries! Today, Megan Arteaga tells us about Parent-Teen Date Night in youth ministry. As youth ministers, we want more parental involvement. We want more parents as adult leaders; we want more parents driving carpools; we want more parents as chaperones; heck, we’d be happy with […]

Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Talk About!

Joe Paprocki

Catechists are always looking for ways to get parents talking with their kids about what they learned in faith formation. Here’s a simple idea I came up with that can help you to review the main points of your lesson and to provide parents with something they can ask their kids about when they pick them up. It’s a half sheet of paper that you can distribute to kids near the end of class. Have […]

Four Ideas for Engaging Parents in Faith Formation

Eric Gurash

While there is often agreement among catechists that parental involvement in their children’s faith journey is essential, it can often be quite challenging to actually encourage and engage parents in the process. The business of family life, the idea that the teaching of the faith is a role reserved for the classroom teacher, DRE, or pastor, and the fact that this level of involvement may not have been required in parish programs in the past […]

Challenges and Successes of Being a Catechetical Leader

Darcy Osby

Every year as a Director of Religious Education has its own unique challenges and successes. I keep telling myself that if I’m doing the same thing as the year before, then I’m doing it wrong. Here are some continual challenges I face and the ways I have found success amidst them. Challenge 1: Recruiting Catechists I have a large program, and even though I have some very dedicated catechists, I also have an average turnover […]

Busy Families and Faith Formation

Kathy Henry

I have a confession to make. I am a soccer mom. This week we will have soccer matches every night for four nights in a row. I am also a DRE and a Ministry Consultant, treasurer for the soccer organization and Saturday concession coordinator, and mother and general problem-solver for five children ranging from middle school to post-college struggling adult. I wear many hats, often simultaneously. I find life out of balance on many occasions […]

Setting the Stage for Evangelizing Parents

Joe Paprocki

I recently came across a good article from a good Web site written by a good resource (someone you should know). The article, “Setting the Stage for Evangelizing Parents,” is written by Patrice Spirou, the Assistant Director of Religious Education for the Office of Formation and Discipleship in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. I had the pleasure of meeting Patrice when I was in Atlanta not too long ago and even had the opportunity to enjoy sitting […]