18 May 2023

The Katharine Konnection

Faith Formation 2023 – 2024

Dear Parishioner,

Our parish mission statement calls us to “form loving disciples” and we want YOU to be involved! To assist parishioners in deepening their faith, we offer faith formation opportunities for every member of our parish community. In years past, programs centered on religious instruction only for children. Now the Church focuses on realizing the vision of Vatican II that calls each person, regardless of age, to active participation in the life of the church. You will find that all the Faith Formation programs offered at Saint Katharine Drexel are designed for lifelong growth in faith. This e-mail will be long so feel free to just skim for the information that is most helpful to your family. 

Adults without school-aged children are encouraged to consider registering themselves for our Foundations of Faith program. Each year we have adults without children at home take advantage of the program because we have several great choices for our adults within this program including large group talks and small discussion groups. During Foundations of Faith, we will also be offering mini-courses on a variety of topics. Previous courses have included parenting, marriage, Christian finance, Vatican II, bible study, Church history, the lives of the saints, and social justice.

Sacramental Preparation for Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation for children and youth occurs separately from our core faith formation programs. Children participating in or entering a sacramental preparation process for Reconciliation, Eucharist, or Confirmation, must also be enrolled in either an Archdiocesan approved Catholic school or a parish core faith formation program. All Sacrament Preparation is coordinated through the parish even if the child attends a Catholic school. Information for sacramental preparation will be available in July.

Our three core programs are Home Study, Foundations of Faith (F.O.F) and Family Intergenerational Religious Education (F.I.R.E).

Foundations of Faith: This whole community approach to faith formation is available to every parish household. FOF (Foundations of Faith) meets on Sunday evenings beginning at 5:30 pm. Adults attend general session presentations on various faith topics, attend mini-courses or participate in small group breakouts, while children & youth attend their small groups. Nursery care is available for infants & toddlers. Each evening concludes at 7:00 pm. 

A parent / guardian MUST accompany children to Foundations of Faith. 

Dates: 9/17, 10/1,10/8,10/15, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 12/3, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4,  2/25,  3/3, 3/10,  3/17, 3/24

Note: We are in desperate need of catechists for children of all grades. Pre-k – 5th grade please contact Theresa Anderson at Theresa.Anderson@saintdrexel.org. If you are interested in helping with our middle school class or our high school class, please contact Ana Maria Alvarado at Ana.Alvarado@saintdrexel.org.

Home Study: This option supports the belief that parents/guardians are the primary formers in the faith of their children. The home study option allows parents/guardians to work at their own pace with their child throughout the year. An age-appropriate textbook will be provided for each child, along with the material that helps parents/guardians in teaching multiple children of different ages within the same household.

5/21 (jump start), 9/17(orientation/Book Distribution), 1/7 (mid year gathering), 4/7(end of year gathering). All meetings are at 12:15 PM.

Family Intergenerational Religious Education (F.I.R.E.): F.I.R.E. is open to all households in the parish. Most FIRE groups consist of five to seven households with adult participants taking turns leading sessions. The curriculum is grounded in scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The curriculum is intergenerational; younger and older participants learn from one another. FIRE is open to every household in the parish community.

You can register HERE for our CORE Faith formation programs or, visit the parish website www.saintdrexel.org/faith-formation/ for the full Faith Formation information and Registration Form. Please contact us if you have any questions. 

Ana Maria, Brian, & Theresa