For over 30 years the Catholic Church has been promoting a catechetical[1] “vision” of lifelong faith formation for all members of a parish community. The Center for Ministry Development, an independent, non-profit organization, has created Generations of Faith as a way to empower faith communities and their leaders with an effective program to reach all members of a their community. This program has been specifically designed to be shared by all ages, from the couple whose children have grown, families with teens, young children and even infants to single adults and widows and widowers. It takes what each generation has learned throughout their lives and allows for all of us to share these “pearls of wisdom” with each other. This program is also approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and meets conformity with the Catechism.
Generations of Faith uses an Event-Centered Catechesis approach to re-engage all of the generations by making participation in parish life and “events” the centerpiece of faith formation. It strives to help all generations understand all of the parts of parish life, the events we use to celebrate it, and enables them to participate fully. The lifelong curriculum is a six-year, systematic, repeating curriculum that focuses on Church year feasts and seasons, liturgy and sacraments, justice and service, prayer and spirituality, Creed, and morality. These six major themes of the Catholic faith provide foundational catechesis that is continuous throughout life. This curriculum will allow us to work toward the “vision” but also help us to continue building a supportive faith community among all of the generations by learning together and re-engaging us in the life of our parish. We will focus the content of this program so that we can garner a better understanding of each of these events of our Church life so that all ages can actively participate in the events. It will connect catechesis with liturgy, justice and prayer.
When we look at this approach from our Davisburg Catholic Community life, we see that we have many of these pieces already thriving here! Even though we are just a fledgling parish, we are already offering the convenience of 2 Mass times, have celebrated Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday service, Holy Thursday, Reconciliation, Stations of the Cross, and many others. We also strive to make our Worship space look as much like a church as possible by using banners, flowers, our cross, Altar and candles all which has been either created or donated by you. Another segment of our Faith life is doing works of justice and acts of service, and our DCC family has proven numerous times how much we care. We have adopted families at Christmas time and all worked together to show the spirit of the season. We have collected Easter Baskets, school supplies and so much more to benefit the needy. We have been blessed to be able to offer our Parish Family the chance to celebrate the Sacramental Celebrations!
We have come so far in making the dream of a new Catholic Church in Davisburg a reality in the 3 years since Fr. John West said our first Mass, and Generations of Faith and our own Sacramental preparation will help us achieve this. We mention all of this to help you realize how many of the components of Generations of Faith are already alive and thriving here in our Community!
What Happens At a Session?
Each intergenerational session will be comprised of the following:
v Registration and Hospitality
o We will begin each session by gathering together after Sunday Mass to share a meal together.
o During this time everyone will sign in, locate their nametag, and pick up their handouts for the session.
v Gathering and Prayer
o The facilitator of the session will welcome everyone and provide an over-view of the theme.
o We will open with a prayer service.
o Sometimes the teaching team will lead us in a community-building activity.
v All-Ages Learning Experience
o Each session will have a multigenerational experience. This equalizes the ages, so that listening to music or songs, watching a dramatic presentation, making an art project, watching a video, hearing a story, participating in a ritual, or praying together will help different ages become comfortable together as a faith family.
v In-Depth Learning Experiences
o We will engage in learning activities and discussions to explore the meaning of the event or theme.
o This provides a marvelous chance for parents to develop their skills of sharing faith with their children.
o This also allows parents a chance to learn new ideas from other parents and adults.
o We will have a “Carpet Sitters Club” available for children between the ages of 1 and 4 to allow the parents to fully explore the topic without interruptions. This is not mandatory group but is suggested for parents of young children to help them get the most of their time.
v Sharing Learning Experiences and Home Application
o The whole group will re-gather to share what they have learned or created during their learning experience.
o We will have an opportunity at this time to reflect on what we have learned.
o We will then pass out and go over the items that will be included in your Home Kit and prepare ourselves on how best to utilize the home activities.
v Closing Prayer Service
o We will close with a prayer.
What Is A Home Kit
With this program we gather together only 1 time per month for an intergenerational meeting, so to continue the learning throughout the rest of the month, each household will be given a “Home Kit” especially designed to help us put what we have studied to use during the coming month.
An example of a home kit for the Easter Season may include:
v The People of Faith Magazine written for that season of the Church year.
v A page of Dinner Table Reflections that can be used during the Easter Season.
v Prayers for the 50 days of the Easter Season.
v Activity suggestions that can be shared with your family, such as decorating Easter Eggs or baking Easter bread will be included for the families in our program.
v Service project ideas focusing on new life, such as activities to care for God’s creation, ways to celebrate Earth Day, etc.
v Articles and items that our Adult participants might find interesting may also be included in their Home Kit.
Month to month the Home Kits will strive to offer prayers, activities, etc. that will allow our participants a chance to continue their learning at home.
[1] CCC 5 “Catechesis is an education
in the faith of children, young people, and adults which includes
especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in
an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the
fullness of Christian life. SOURCE: http://www.secondexodus.com/html/catholicdefinitions/catechesis.htm