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Faith Formation: Passing on the Blessings and Gifts of Faith to Our Youth
The family is the first place children learn the faith. This is why the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church calls the family the “domestic church” (11). In turn, the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops lays out a number of ways to build a “domestic church,” like always attending Sunday Mass, praying a Rosary as a family, and inviting priests, deacons and sisters into your home, to name a few. Our parish Faith Formation program seeks to also teach children the faith, outside the home.
“Parents nurture faith in their children by showing them the richness and beauty of lived faith,” says Faith Formation Coordinator Joan Cotton. “Family provides a positive and receptive environment. We, as catechists, are there to enhance and encourage students to live by example and to follow the path God has laid out.”
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Joan has been working in her role at Our Lady of the Assumption for nine years. She is thankful to the eight catechists who help share the faith with the youth of our parish.
“Among us, we have approximately 85 years of passing on what we have learned from those catechists that share their faith with us,” Joan says. “We have been so blessed.”
Faith Formation classes are held on Sundays, beginning with 9 a.m. Mass for students and parents. For the 2021-2022 school year, kindergarten to eighth-grade classes will be in-person from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m.
Joan and all the catechists look forward to a more normal year, after disruptions to last year’s program caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, they look forward to having the students back to being with their friends for in-person learning.
Dale Stratford and Rose Ross have served as catechists for 5 and 15 years, respectively. Dale enjoys sharing the Catholic faith with the students. Rose teaches the second-grade class and enjoys helping students prepare for First Reconciliation and First Communion. “Seeing 7 and 8-year-olds come away from the confessional after their First Reconciliation just bubbling with excitement and pure joy is heartwarming,” Rose says.
Besides the weekly classes, students also participate in various ministries of the Mass, depending on COVID-19 restrictions. The first to fifth-grade students act out the Gospel for Christmas Eve Mass and eighth-grade Confirmation students act out the Stations of the Cross during Lent.
All the catechists try to find new and interesting ways to keep all the students engaged in learning about their faith, as each student learns in a different way. In order to teach something, it must be really understood. Dale and Rose find that to be true. Teaching has really helped them grow in faith and understanding.
“Teaching second grade humbles me,” Rose says. “I often feel inadequate to have the responsibility of helping parents teach their children about our Catholic faith. Learning and growing in our faith and in our relationship with God is a lifelong process. My second-graders are constantly challenging me to look deeper into my faith.” Joan is really thankful for the opportunity to work with children and youth to help them grow in faith. She believes it’s important to use the gifts she has been given to spread the Good News. “Sharing the many ways that God shows His love for us must be enforced each Sunday we are blessed to have our students with us,” Joan says. “No matter what life brings, no matter what challenges come to us, it is our responsibility as a child of God to share all the love God has given to the children He has sent to me.”
Joan Cotton, Faith Formation director, along with catechists Rachel Wann and Tracy Urban helping sign up students for Faith Formation classes after Sunday Mass.
