Faith Formation K to 5th

We began this year’s faith formation program on September 17th and will continue into May with some breaks for holidays and special events. Each weekly session begins with attendance at the 9:30am Mass. At the end of the Mass the children are dismissed to the narthex where they meet their teacher and then walk together to the Sacred Heart School building. Sessions conclude a noon.

We believe Faith Formation is critical in the life of a child. The Catholic Church maintains that parents are the primary teachers of their children and we applaud those parents who actively work to pass on the faith by taking the children weekly to Mass, engaging in prayer and Bible study with them, and showing by their own lives the value of being Christ’s disciple. In truth however, many parents can’t or won’t do one or more of these things and so Faith Formation hopes to fill in at least some of what is lost.

Registration paperwork is available using the link below, in the parish office or in the narthex of the Church. Completed forms may be dropped off at the parish office or placed in the collection basket.

NOTE: If you have a child(ren) older than 7 who have not been baptized or have not received their First Communion, please contact Lisa, our Faith Formation Director, at 727-541-4447 or via email at sacredfaithformation@gmail.com. She can also answer any questions you might have

Here’s a common question:

Since they are not preparing for a sacrament, why should I enroll my child in Faith Formation when they are in 3rd through 6th grade?

This is a reasonable question. Most children prepare for and receive their first communion in 1st and 2nd grade and confirmation in 7th and 8th. On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be any need for the children to attend in the other grades. But, of course, there is a need. Allow me to offer two.

First, remember that our goal is to help parents pass on the faith to their children and it simply takes time – more than just a few years of once a week classes on a Sunday morning. A child that does the minimum isn’t going to learn much of the faith and are certainly not likely to know their Bible or develop any kind of prayer life. To effectively do the job, we need the children at mass every week and attending Faith Formation every year, and even that won’t be enough if the parents aren’t doing their part at home.

Second, dropping out of Faith Formation for 4 years is hard on the child. They are far less likely to go to Mass, take advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation, and be able to pray. Effectively, they have no active faith with which to navigate home and school life and, to put it bluntly, we are killing their faith! We are taking them away from all that God offers to children.

I know that some parents think of Faith Formation as one more activity and perhaps something that competes with other things they find more important. I’d want to challenge that thinking. What could be more important that sharing our faith with a child? And, if the parents don’t believe that faith matters, perhaps they too need to put some time and effort into learning and growing in their own faith. Perhaps they aren’t aware of its power or don’t understand that Jesus came “that they might have life and have it abundantly (Jn. 10:10). Who wouldn’t want that?