St. Brendan the Navigator Parish is now accepting registration for Faith Formation classes for 2021-2022! Click below for the Registration form and 2021-2022 Faith Formation Calendar in Pdf format:
Faith Formation Registration Form - Pdf 2021-2022 Faith Formation Calendar - Pdf

This year in our parish we will be holding in- person classes and we will be using the  Faith and Life series with students in grades 1 through 5.

The Family Faith Program will meet on the first Sunday of each month at Our Lady of Good Hope in Camden. Saint Francis of Assisi Program in Belfast will meet on the second end 4th Sunday of each month and Saint Bernard in Rockland will meet on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month.

Our Junior Youth Group which is made up of grades 6-7 and 8 will meet on the first Sunday of the month at Our Lady of Good Hope Church in Camden.

What is Faith Formation and Who Is It For?

When we think of the term faith formation we may think of children in public school coming to church on a Sunday for classes to prepare them for the sacraments you may have been used to the terms: CCD, Religious education, or faith formation.

First, faith formation is not just for children in public school! It is for all of us! It begins with the first prayer we learned from our parents and continues until our death.

It is true that our parents are our first and primary teachers of the faith, but faith formation is a lifelong process that takes place in a community of believers. For the young child, the first community he or she knows is that of the family. He or she absorbs the culture and the faith of the family; he or she shares in the family's world vision and values. These formative years in the life of the child are most important and the parents are the ones who have this vital role in the early faith formation of the child.

The next stage in the life of the child is that of being introduced to the larger faith community of the church. The parents are now given the opportunity to share their role in their child's faith formation with others in the church who join with them and together they continue the work of faith formation but not in isolation. The church is a COMMUNITY of believers. Therefore, although parents have the right to send their children to public school, Catholic school, private school or homeschool them when it comes to faith formation all children should come together and learn as a community in the larger COMMUNITY OF THE CHURCH!
A child who learns about his or her faith only at home does not get to experience the sense of evangelization, where they learn with others and share experience with others of their own age group and learn how to be a member of the Body of Christ and share that with others.

As children age and mature this faith formation continues and they become rooted in their faith so that they can defend their Catholic faith and not be afraid. Today, we must all be ready and courageous to defend our Catholic faith, no matter what the cost!

When children become adults, this comes full circle and they then pass this on to those they live, work, and play with as well as their own new families. No matter what age you are now, the church continues to provide opportunities for faith formation through providing talks from authors and theologians; by the wonderful Lenten and Advent opportunities provided by the church; by providing FORMED, which we can take advantage of at any time and through materials provided by Lighthouse talks / Media CDs; through Bible study groups and of course through the homilies at mass.

For these reasons, we are asking that all the children of the parish be part of one of the faith formation programs in the parish. It does not mean that you cannot teach your child at home, but it is important that they worship and learn with other Catholic children in the church community.

If anyone would like more information, email Sr. Kathleen at Kathleen.luppens@portlanddiocese.org or call the office at 236-4785. And we always need catechists for several grades for our once-a-month in-person meetings, so if you would like to join us, please contact St. Kathleen.

Our Lady of Good Hope, Camden
The Family faith formation program will attend the 11:00 o'clock mass. Refreshments will be available between 12:30 and 1:00 o'clock PM for those who wish to socialize. Our program will begin at 1:00 o'clock and will end at 3:00PM. We will begin with prayer and music followed by a teaching for parents and children together for 15 minutes. At 1:30 the children will go to their classes and there will be a program for the adults. Children will return at 2:30 for an activity for the parents and the children to do together. The children who are in the sacrament classes, that is years one and two will have a second class during the month that will take place on the 3rd Sunday of the month from Noon to 1:00 PM. Attendance at all classes is expected and children in years I and year II must have full participation to receive the sacraments. Missed classes must be made up. The first Family Formation meeting will be on October 3rd.

Our Junior Youth Group, which is made up of Grades 6,7, and 8 will meet in the Upper Room at Our Lady of Good Hope Church from 1 to 3:00 in the afternoon on the first Sunday of each month.

St. Bernard, Rockland will meet on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month. The children will have class from 9:30 AM until 10:50 am and after that they will take part in the 11:00 o'clock Mass with their families. Classes will be held twice a month and begin on September 19th.

St. Francis of Assisi, Belfast will attend the 8:30 mass and have 20 minutes for a breakfast snack after. Classes will begin at 9:50 and end at 11:00 o'clock on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month and will begin on September 26th.
All our programs at Saint Brendan the Navigator Parish are connected to the Mass and are a required part of the Faith Formation program. If families cannot take part in the suggested Mass before or after the program at their church, it is expected that they will attend another weekend Mass.