We are about to go on a recruitment campaign. For the next four weeks a staff member will be speaking at each Mass about our parish’s current ministry programs. You will be hearing from Sr. Regina this weekend, then Fr. Dan will attempt to summarize. We will each describe our various ministries and also our parish’s needs and opportunities. This month of presentations will conclude with a Ministry Weekend in the parish auditorium on November 5 and 6. The theme we are stressing is “1 Plus 1.” We are shooting toward a goal where every able member of the parish attends one Mass most weekends and then commits to one additional ministry or service project. Many of you will rightly say that you have done your part over the years or even over the decades and that it’s time for the younger members to step up. That is absolutely true and that is absolutely the point! We ask your openness to our efforts over the next month and welcome your feedback as to how we are doing and what we should be doing.
Religious Education
The philosophy and goal in our Religious Education Program is to establish a dynamic partnership with parents of children who attend the parish religious education program. This goal can only be developed in each child and family by a sense of belonging to a Faith Community. Our goal is to nurture a faith that is alive and mature which can affect our everyday actions and is deeply rooted in our Catholic tradition.
The religious education of a child begins in their early years and continues in a more formal manner when the child enters school. We believe that parents and religious educators in partnership can develop a faith that is truly alive in each child. This partnership requires a working relationship of: communication, collaboration, and cooperation.
The Religious Education Program provides formal instruction in the faith; the family provides the practice in the home, the community, and in our world. A religious education program cannot accomplish what a family and the practice of faith can do to deeply root that faith in their children.
The active participation of the family in weekly worship, good works, faithful attendance at religious education classes and the study of the faith at home will enrich both the family and the entire parish faith community of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.