Faith Formation begins September 14! Click here to download a registration form to enroll your children.
Afternoon Faith Formation
Students in grades Kindergarten through Fifth Grade are bused to St. Ann’s from Central and West Elementary on Wednesday afternoon. Volunteers donate a snack for the youth. Snack time ends and classes begin at 3:30 p.m. Classes are in session for one hour but for the convenience of parents, students may stay until 5:00 pm.
For kindergarten, first, third, fourth and fifth grade students, the Faith and Life series is entirely Christocentric–with Jesus at the center. The Sacraments, the Commandments, prayer and Mass attendance are stressed. There are prayers for each grade level to focus on. Activity books which the children will be able to take home at the end of the year accompany the text book with a great variety of integrating activities. Quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church reinforce the lessons to demonstrate the Church’s teachings contained in each lesson. Teachers are provided skits that the children can perform with various lessons to help cement the lesson in their hearts and minds. The scope and sequence for the Faith and Life series can be found on the Ignatius Press website.
Holy Communion – Second grade children, and their parents, spend the year getting ready to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Sacrament of the Eucharist in Holy Communion. In the fall, the focus is on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In the Spring, the study for the Sacrament of the Eucharist begins, and a First Communion Retreat takes place a week or so before First Communion Sunday. Second grade also uses the Faith and Life series from Ignatius Press.
Evening Faith Formation
The evening classes are for youth in sixth through twelfth grades. The classes are held on Wednesday evening and begin at 6:10 when students start arriving for a light supper. At 6:40, the students are ushered into Church until 7:00 pm. Father or the Faith Formation coordinator speaks to the youth on various topics. At 7:00 pm, students head to their classrooms.
Sixth, seventh and eighth grades use the Faith and Life series by Ignatius Press. Theology of the Body for Middle School from Ascension Press will be taught to the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. This “program is divided into eight segments that reflect the pedagogical approach of John Paul II’s revolutionary teaching.” Sixth grade will be taught the first 3 lessons, 7th grade will be taught the first 6 lessons, and 8th grade will be taught all 8 lessons. One catechist will step in to teach the TOB-MS during the regularly scheduled faith formation classes. Please check the Faith Formation calendar for dates for each grade. The ninth grade will study the YouCat by using the YouCat Study Guide by Ignatius Press and the Catholic Faith Handbook by St. Mary’s Press. Tenth graders will be taught Chosen from Ascension Press. The grades eight through ten programs are pre-requisites for the Confirmation program which is held junior year. Senior year students study the course Altaration from Ascension Press.
Confirmation – For youth in eleventh grade, Father Parrott will teach Confirmation as a Sacrament and will delve into Christian morality. The Sacrament of Confirmation is administered in the fall of their senior year. Choosing a sponsor and saint name, service projects, an understanding of the Holy Spirit, are all a part of this year of study. A bus takes Confirmandi, sponsors and parents to the Chrism Mass each year. The students are also strongly encouraged to attend an InterMISSION or a Steubenville retreat. A mandatory, one-day retreat is held at the end of the summer or in the early fall.
Questions or concerns? E-mail our Faith Formation Coordinator Marcie Cowan.