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Our Faith Formation model for families with children in Pre-K – 5th grade encompasses the following components:
- Sunday Mass
- Home activities
- Family Events
- Parent Small Groups
(1) Participation in Weekly Sunday Mass
Families are invited to experience Sunday Mass as a family. In order to better engage the children in the liturgy, special attention is given to the children during 9:30 Mass on Sundays through Child-friendly homilies; encouraging child participation: children are invited to be Prayer of the Faithful readers and hand motion leaders during Mass; Presentation of Church teachings: children will learn about various aspects of our Catholic faith through engaging themed units. Click HERE for a special overview of the Family Mass.
(2) Family Faith EventsParents and children participate in pre-scheduled family events.
St. Joseph Pilgrimage
Join us for a St. Joseph Pilgrimage! There are eleven sites around the Diocese whose patron is St. Joseph or the Holy Family. You are invited to join Fr. Alex and a member of the faith formation team as we spend some Saturday mornings in September, October and November visiting seven of those sites. Please click here for our complete schedule.
If you wish to take any or all of these pilgrimages independently with your family, please feel free to get your own Pilgrimage Card by contacting Diane Byrne, who can be reached at 973-538-1358, Ext. 111 or dbyrne@ndcarmel.com. Please click here for the prayers for Stations 1-7.
(3) Home ActivitiesFamilies will be given simple activities to do at home. Parents are asked to share their family's participation in the activity, usually through a picture.
(4) Parent Small Groups
Parents are invited to attend a zoom small group session in the fall and/or spring for parenting related discussions.- Topic for fall: Parenting With Joy
- Topic for spring: Raising Kids Who Care
Schedule for Families with a Child Preparing for First Holy Communion Sundays 9:30 (Mass) – 12:00 PM
The program for families with a child preparing for First Communion has four components:- Participation in the 9:30 AM Family Mass
- Participation in elementary home activities
- Participation in family events
- Sacramental Preparation Sessions - On the dates above, families attend the 9:30 AM Mass and then proceed downstairs (parents and child) for the preparation session