Faith Formation
Time: Sun 9:50 – 10:50 am
Includes PreK - Gr 8 Faith Formation & Pre Confirmation (Gr 9 - 10)
*Please note: 2nd, 3rd, and 10th Grade are Sacrament years and there will be separate Sacramental preparation in addition to regular Faith Formation classes. Sacramental preparation may include special family days and retreats.
2024-2025 Religious Education Schedule
Our faith formation program strives to form disciples in children and their families. Our team of catechists accompany youth on their journey with Jesus through engaging activities, discussion and service activities.
Grades K-8 will be using “Finding God” from Loyola Press. The “Finding God” website provides many resources for family discussions and activities that support the curriculum and strengthen families. Children and their families will also learn to connect what they learn in class with the Mass each week.
Grades 9 & 10 will use The Search from the Augustine Institute. It is a video-based program designed to enkindle wonder as it takes people on a journey through life's enduring questions. In addition, we will use Ascension's Venture: The Bible Timeline for High School. Venture introduces teenagers to the "big picture" of salvation history in a way that is simple to understand.
Grade Requirements/Guidelines (NOT FINAL, SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
2024-2025 Religious Education Schedule
Grades K-8 Curriculm/information
Grade 2 Penance Requirements/Guidelines
Grade 3 First Communion Requirements/Guidelines
Grade K-1 Syllabus
Grade 2 Syllabus
Grade 3 Syllabus
Grade 4 syllabus
Grade 5-6 Syllabus
Grade 7-8 Syllabus
Grade 9 First Year Confirmation Prep
Grade 10 Confirmation Requirements/Guidelines
St. Mary's Church offers Faith Formation classes for children Kindergarten through 10th grade.
"Parents are the first and foremost catechists of the children. They catechize informally but powerfully by example and instruction." (NCD, #212). The parish community further catechizes children in parish events and in mass. In addition the St. Joseph Religious Education program also fulfills this mission by providing assistance in catechizing our children in a formal setting.
The (NCD) National Catechetical Directory states that as parents, their roles as catechist’s include the following:
"They communicate values and attitudes by showing love for Christ and His Church and for each other, by reverently receiving the Eucharist and living in its spirit, and by fostering justice and love in all their relationships. Their active involvement in the parish, their readiness to seek opportunities to serve others, and their practice of frequent and spontaneous prayer, all make meaningful their professions of belief. Parents nurture faith in their children by showing them the richness and beauty of lived faith."
Our programs are designed to help you in this role.
Religion is the expression of the lived relationship between people and God. Like any relationship, it is living and dynamics. Effective religious education is a lifelong process. It begins in the home, "the little church", and develops in the catechetical programs of the parish, and is supported within the loving community of believers.
Our goal is to teach the Gospel message of Jesus, and to show children how it can be applied in their daily lives. Helping the children to have a sincere and "personal" relationship with God is our priority! We will strive for an honest and sincere practice of faith, and we will attempt to accomplish this through prayer, service, and study.
It is our God-given responsibility to teach our children to love, to serve, and to be giving people. Our love, our values, and our faith are passed on, not only by what we say, but also by how we live.
Tony Comstock
Faith Formation Coordinator
[email protected]
"Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means." -Albert Einstein