Religious Education for Children K-8

WHY BE A PART OF OUR PROGRAM?

The goal of our program is to help your child deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ; we are creating disciples!  We understand that there is a big difference between knowing about God and knowing God and we strive to create a balance in these two aspects of catechesis. Every child is created by God and in His image and we strive to reach children where they are and help them thrive through a variety of learning styles and activities.  All children are called to Christ and we want to answer that call! 

Guided by the documents of Vatican II and the National and General Directories for Catechesis, we respond to our baptismal call to proclaim the Kingdom of God by:

• creating a positive and welcoming learning environment where lifelong learning and faith sharing can take place.
• leading people to Christ through the Word of God, the Eucharist, and the rich tradition of the Catholic Church.
• forming disciples who witness the Gospel through our lived example of prayer, service and sharing.
• living the challenge of the Catholic Social Teachings in the pursuit of unity, justice and peace.
• building partnerships as co-workers in the vineyard that respect the ministry and mission of all.
• meeting participating families where they are and guiding them along their faith journey.

PHILOSOPHY OF THE PROGRAM

Parents are the first educators for their children in faith.  The home is the domestic church and parental involvement is the key to creating a lifelong faith.  

Parents remain the most important ones, no matter how long a child goes to school. It is through their understanding and practice of their faith at home that allows the child to continue to learn as an extension of their religious education in class.

The curriculum and participation in each grade should be approached the same as the public-school curriculum and the advancement from one grade to the next.

“The family’s catechetical activity has a special character, which is in a sense irreplaceable...Education in the faith by parents, which should begin from the children’s tenderest age, is already being given when the members of a family help each other to grow in faith through the witness of their Christian lives, a witness that is often without words but which perseveres throughout a day‐to‐day life lived in accordance with the Gospel...Christian parents must strive to follow and repeat, within the setting of family life, the more methodical teaching received elsewhere. The fact that these truths about the main questions of faith and Christian living are thus repeated within a family setting impregnated with love and respect will often make it possible to influence the children in a decisive way for life. The parents themselves profit from the effort that this demands of them, for in a catechetical dialogue of this sort each individual both receives and gives.”

‐ Pope John Paul II (1979 Catechesis in Our Time)