The
St. Bernard Religious Formation Process exists, ultimately, to bring
its members into deeper intimacy with God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
each other; and all of humanity. The Church recognizes that parents are
the primary educatiors of their children. Through the Generations of Faith Program, the Parish of St. Bernard exercises its
responsibility to assist parents with their responsibility to teach
their children about the Catholic Faith. By offering a formal religious
education, the Program supplements the faith formation that occurs in
the family, the parish and larger Church, and the world beyond. The
religious education component is an important part of that faith
formation, as it hands on knowldege and offers Christian witness, which
the student and his or her family may then reflect upon toward a
Christian appreciation for and participation in the Church, and,
through the Church, all of creation.
GENERATIONS OF FAITH
Why Generations of Faith?
The U.S. Bishops have
directed all Catholic parishes to make adult faith formation a primary
focus. In response, Saint Bernard parish provides this process for the
lifelong faith formation of ALL members of the parish. Children
and youth participate with adults. "GOF" helps each of us respond to
our Baptismal call to be the best Christian disciple we can be.
Why we do what we do?
We believe that Generations of
Faith will help parishiners to engage in more meaningful participation
in church events and the Mass. We hope to encourage everyone to reflect
on the significance of these events and to apply Catholic teachings to
daily life. We envision strengthened Catholic individuals, families and
community as the outcome of this program.
Format:
The Opening: Music, prayer and a presentation introducing the upcoming celebration and its focus for the community.
Going Deeper: Age appropriate learning groups with discussions and activities for greater understanding of the theme.
The Sharing: Coming back together to share experiences and insights from learning groups.
The Sending: Return to homes to continue sharing faith in households and others.
The Celebration: Regathering of whole Community to wholeheartedly celebrate The Litrugy and events in the Life of the Parish.
GENERATIONS OF FAITH: Frequently asked questions
Who participates in Generations of Faith?
EVERYONE!
This icludes: Adults, Young Adults, Adolescents, and children (with
their parents), visitors, people from other parishes, friends,
neighbors - EVERYONE!
Does Generations of Faith include toddlers (children ages 1-3 years)? What about preschoolers:
Because each Gathering
lasts from 2 to 3 hours, we have a Play and Pray room for children
under three years that is staffed by the parents with children of that
age and have gone through protecting God's Children course and done on
a rotating basis.
What are "Events" and "Gatherings"?
We are
celebrating "Events" within the Church calendar, ideal or philosophy
(i.e., Advent, Pentecost, Morality, Confirmation, etc.) Each
Generations of Faith "Gathering" is preparation for (and occurs before)
the Church "Event". We plan to have two identical Gatherings per Event,
so that people may choose the Gathering that is most convenient for
them - Sunday morning and Monday evening.
How does Generations of Faith affect sacrament preparation?
We
will continue to have preparation for sacraments as always. Baptism
classes will still be required for parents presenting a child for
Baptism for the first time. Marriage preparation will still
occur.