It is by this light that the Diocese of Saint Petersburg has partnered with more than 20 other cohorts around the country to participate in a drive to deepen faith formation within our parishes.

For the last hundred years, the Catholic Church has put children in classrooms to learn about their faith, catechism books in hand, but some might say that this approach reached its pinnacle of success many decades ago due to advancements in technology and changes within our culture. The National Community of Catechetical Leaders (NCCL) has created a project called Parents and Families at the Center of Faith Formation to take the learning of our faith  beyond the classroom and into the world around us. It is part of the Christian Parenting & Caregiver Initiative, and is generously funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. This national outreach program is looking to encourage parishes to reach their attendees where they are with the goal of increasing faith in the home, at church, and in the community for the first two decades of life.

Saturday, September 13th, Faith Formation Directors, staff members, and volunteers gathered at Light of Christ Catholic Church in Clearwater where the third in a series of workshops was held. Along with Light of Christ, other parishes appointed to attend included St. Matthew, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. Mark the Evangelist, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Paul in Tampa, and St. Vincent de Paul. The room was abuzz with ideas, shared inspirations, and excitement about the future of faith formation, specifically family faith formation, in the diocese.

Diane Kledzik, the Director for Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of St. Petersburg who helped organize the workshop locally, explained, “These parishes are designing their three-year plans for family faith formation and listening closely to parents and families in their parishes. They are mapping out their current reality of parish faith formation, brainstorming activities and processes to meet needs and gaps, and creating a first year plan.”

John Roberto, Executive Director of the NCCL, facilitated the workshop and provided challenging yet engaging content that allowed the parish groups to maximize their potential in this worthy goal. With his easygoing and positive approach, Roberto encouraged those in attendance to form their programs, saying “Start with life experience before starting with content. Pray. Don’t talk about prayer: Pray.” He also talked about the importance of modeling our faith for the younger generations.

We’ve all heard that “the family that prays together, stays together”and research agrees. No one is suggesting that the traditional faith formation process should drastically change, it’s just that it needs to grow in its faith also by encouraging an encounter with Christ that will supplement traditional sacraments. One might wonder why this isn’t another mandated top-down program, but that’s because each parish is as unique as a fingerprint. It needs to begin with the parish Church, with the people themselves, and their unique needs.

When asked about how this project was influencing faith formation at her parish, Laura Rivera, Director of Faith Formation at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, said “In groups like this, we feel like a part of something. It’s an affirmation that’s exciting because for so long it was about the child, and now they can grow as a family.” She added, “Family life is sacred and holy, and family life is multigenerational.”

Today, communication needs to go beyond the weekly bulletin. While it is often the core way that parishes communicate with their members, Roberto suggested that parishes communicate in a multitude of ways to reach their particular demographic.  For example,  if a church has a young congregation with many young parents, they should ask themselves how they can help those parents to lean into their faith along with their children. While the older generation may or may not have a Facebook account, it is probably a good idea to use the parish’s social media accounts to engage and invite parents of young children to be active in the parish as they begin to develop their faith.  Posts on social media could be as simple as offering suggestions online on how to make prayer an important part of life at home, planning a seasonal family craft day, or a program for parents and older children to make rosaries together. The point is, it’s not a one and done activity, it’s a process to include, invite, engage, and support our Catholic families.

Improving communication styles across generations is just one of many strategies that the NCCL provides through the Parents & Families at the Center of Faith Formation project. They also teach team building and leading through listening.

This program is yet another wonderful way that our diocese is showing that they care for their parish churches and want to help children and families to not only receive their sacraments, but to receive, believe and participate in the everlasting love of Jesus Christ.  The long-term goal for those who attend the workshops is to then model what they’ve learned within their parishes and to become a resource to their deanery and to other parishes and faith formation directors. While this workshop is not currently open to the public, their website, ncclcatholicfamilies.org is available to anyone who wants to find ideas on how to deepen and strengthen their faith with their families.

This exciting and personal approach to faith formation has the potential to make a big impact on our faith community, and we as parishioners can help with this effort as well by volunteering to be a catechist, engaging with our church community, and by praying for children and families to shine their light towards Christ.

For more information about the National Community of Catechetical Leaders, click here.

For more information about the Office of Marriage and Family Life, click here.