This year our parish will be using the Faith and Life Series for students in Grades 1 through 8. Families will have the option of using it online only or online with a once-a-month in-person meeting. The Family Faith Program will meet on the first Sunday of each month at Our Lady of Good Hope in Camden. St. Francis will meet on the second Sunday of each month and St. Bernard’s will meet on the third Sunday of each month. We pray this program will meet the needs of all our families!

The online course will be powered and presented by My Catholic Faith Delivered, which is an online management system that allows students to learn their faith anytime, anywhere. The program includes prayers, voice overs (they will read the text for the student), games, music, text, videos, and assessments.

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.

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. We may have been used to the terms: CCD, Religious Ed 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 they know 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 home school 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/her faith only at home does not get to experience the sense of evangelization, where they learn with others and share experiences 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 the child ages and matures 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 a child becomes an adult, 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 like Scott Hahn; by the wonderful Lenten and Advent opportunities provided by Fr. Bob, Fr. Hyacinth and Deacon Bob; through the Cell groups; by providing FORMED, which we can take advantage of at any time and also through materials provided by Lighthouse Talks/Media CDs; through Adult Bible Study Groups and of course through the homilies at Sunday 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 can’t teach your children at home, but it is important that they worship and learn with other Catholic children in the Church community.

We have also decided that beginning this year all our programs will be connected to the Mass. Mass participation will be a required part of the Faith Formation Program.

The programs for each church will be as follows:

St. Francis, Belfast – Children 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. Classes will be held twice a month and will begin on Sept. 29.

St. Bernard, Rockland – Children will have class from 9:30 AM until 10:50 at which time they will be taken to the 11:00 Mass. We invite the parents to join them. They may be picked up after the 11:00 Mass. Classes will be held twice a month and begin on Sept. 29th.

Our Lady of Good Hope, Camden – Families will attend the 11:00 Mass. Refreshments will be available between 12:30 and 1:00 PM. The program will begin at 1:00 and will end at 3:00. We will begin with prayer and music, followed by a teaching for parents and children 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 children together. The children who are in the sacrament classes will have a second class after the 11:00 Mass. These dates will be on the yearly calendar. The first meeting will be on October 6th.
Attendance at all classes is expected and children in Year I and Year II must have full participation in order to receive the sacraments. Missed classes MUST be made up.

We have many opportunities for parishioners of all ages to help us in many ways! Most of all we need the prayers and support of the entire St. Brendan the Navigator Parish. If you would like to help with any program, please contact Sr. Kathleen. With your help we will have a wonderful, vibrant Faith Formation Program!