Family Faith Formation at St. Theresa

St. Theresa believes that learning and faith formation should be conspicuous in every element of parish life whether the experience is liturgical, prayerful, spiritual, a work of service, a work of justice. Learning occurs in more than a classroom setting or during a lecture. Faith formation and learning should prepare us for connecting our lives, living, and actions to our Catholic faith.

We also recognize that parents are the primary educators of their children and that the path to holiness begins in the home. We are committed to assisting parents in the awesome task of educating and forming their children in the Catholic faith.

The National Directory for Catechesis and the General Directory for Catechesis state that all efforts to catechize and form faith must incorporate the six tasks of catechesis:

• Promoting knowledge of the faith: Catechesis fosters "the gradual grasping of the whole truth" through a study of Tradition and Scripture. This task is realized by deepening one's knowledge of the Creed, "a compendium of Scripture and of the faith of the Church."
• Liturgical education: Catechesis teaches the meaning of the liturgy and sacraments, aiming to bring the faith to a "full, conscious, and active participation."
• Moral formation: Catechesis fosters conversion of life by transmitting the spirit of the beatitudes and values of the Decalogue, and witnesses to the "social consequences of the demands of the Gospel."
• Teaching to pray: Catechesis calls the disciples to pray with sentiments of Jesus' prayer: "adoration, praise, thanksgiving, filial confidence, supplication, and awe." The Our Father is a "summary of the entire Gospel," and handing it on is a "true act of catechesis."
• Education for community life: By means of an apprenticeship (the catechumenate) that witnesses to (1) a spirit of simplicity and humility, (2) solicitude for "the least," (3) concern for alienated, (4) fraternal correction, and (5) mutual forgiveness.
• Missionary initiation: By equipping the faithful, especially the laity, "to be present as Christians in society through their professional, cultural and social lives." (Sowing Seeds 24-25)

St. Theresa’s Wednesday Faith Formation (WFF) uses a blended approach to learning and faith formation. WFF includes grades Kindergarten through 8^th grade and their families. A blended approach combines classroom instruction in grade-specific groups led by a catechist (approximately 20 times during the school year) along with family faith formation gatherings (four times during the school year).

The family faith formation gatherings are called Generations of Faith (GOF) Festivals. GOF Festivals are offered to every member of the parish; however, they are part of the WFF schedule. At GOF Festivals, families gather together in a learning environment where faith is shared and nurtured. All children must be accompanied by a parent or other adult. Click here to go to GOF Webpage

For more information about Family Faith Formation, please contact Kathy Wipf, St. Theresa Director of Religious Education, at 279-4654 ext 204 or by email: kwipf@saintheresaiowa.org