The 2022-2023 FFM calendar can accessed here: Faith Formation 2022-2023 Calendar

FFM Parent Orientation Meeting Slides  has the slides from the Parent Orientation Meeting that was held on August 27, 2022.

The goal of Family of Faith Ministry is to help families deepen their love for Jesus Christ through encountering Him as a family in breaking bread with the whole parish, in learning Catholic faith together in the spirit of fellowship, sharing the faith at home and in helping families to live out our mission and service.

The Family of Faith Ministry brings the entire family together to worship, share, pray, learn, and become evangelizers of our faith – fostering a life-long journey of discipleship for the family. We believe that the stronger the parent/child engagement in the Faith, the more effectively children will mature into authentic and life-long disciples of Jesus Christ.

St. Joseph Family of Faith Ministry is a family-based weekly program of faith formation and sacrament preparation taught by parents to their children at home with monthly support classes at the Church for parents and children/youth in their respective classes.  We believe that faith begins in the home and that parents are the primary source of faith education for their children. To that end, St. Joseph Parish is here to offer resources and guidance for sacramental preparation. Parents are to commit to dedicate time at home to grow in Faith with their children and prepare them to receive the Sacraments.

Unique with its flexible schedule, this program is designed for parents who wish to teach their children the Faith more intentionally and help them live it well before, during, and after their initial reception of Sacraments. We believe that the stronger the parent/child engagement in the Faith, the more effectively children will mature into authentic and life-long disciples of Jesus Christ.

St. Joseph Family of Faith Ministry Participation

Here are the steps to complete each month (September – May):

1. GATHERING AS ONE: Attending the 12 noon mass on the first Sunday of each month as a family is part of the Family of Faith Ministry.  Families will participate in being either greeter, usher, children choir, lector, offering gift or altar server.
2. PARTICIPATE: Parents will attend a session with the priest at the Dominican Auditorium on the first  Sunday of each month. Children will have a session with their catechists in their classroom on the first Sunday of each month at the same time as the parent session. The Sacramental Prep students will have one additional Sunday meeting for parents and students per month.
3. TEACH: Parents will engage their children weekly throughout that month in activities using the Family of Faith/Sacramental Preparation materials.  At our monthly meetings, the priest will go over the month’s materials so the parents are ready to teach their children at home.
4. LIVING OUT OUR MISSION AND SERVING OTHERS: As disciples of Christ, families bring the Faith to others through living out our mission and performing acts of service by doing projects and activities, as planned by the Family of Faith Ministry.
5. SCRAPBOOK: Each family will make their own Family Storybook throughout the year. Create a monthly reflection of your family’s experience of being a domestic Church at home. You can include pictures of your family doing activities together either indoors or outdoors.

6. MISSION PASSPORT: Each child will be given a Mission Passport Every First Sunday when they attend the Mass, the passport will be stamped with a picture of a Saint.

Our New Method: Family Catechesis

Grades K-6 and Adaptive Faith

We’re getting ready for an exciting year with a new way for families to learn our Catholic faith.  Our primary resource is the ground-breaking Family of Faith program from Sophia Institute Press. As this is our second year using the program, we are continuing with the “Family of Faith Volume II: The Sacraments“. This is a 4 year series that follows the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Once a family has gone through all four years, the cycle simply begins again (with the same resources) because now the children are four years older!

PARENT’S GUIDE:

• Background essays covering each month’s content
• Notes for conveying this content to children in age-appropriate ways
• Instructions for activities and craft projects
• Stories of the saints and other notable Catholics

Suggestions for living the faith at home, such as…

• Guidance for creating and decorating a prayer space
• Prayers for special occasions
• Tips for talking about tough subjects

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY BOOK:

The Children’s Activity Book is designed to help children come to know the Catholic Faith through fun games and activities. The Parent’s Guide offers talking points for how to use each activity in the children’s book as a teachable moment, leading the child to a deeper relationship with Christ.

Activities in the Children’s Activity Book include…

• Age-appropriate readings and activities
• Scripture memorization and copy work
• Prayer memorization
• Saints biographies
• Games and crafts
• Drawings and coloring pages
• Journal pages
• Prompts for original prayers and reflections
• Student Family of Faith materials

Click here to watch this short video which describes this simple new program:
https://vimeo.com/341799160

Click here to view a preview of the Parent’s Guide Book in English.