St. Paul Parish

What does Faith Formation look like for children in grades 1-5?

Our elementary-age ministry, called Flock, is so named because Jesus often calls His followers sheep! Literal sheep learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd and follow him to safety and sustenance. As “sheep” in the Lord’s Flock, we learn to recognize the voice our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, so we can grow, mature, and live a life devoted to God and serving others.

Elementary Flock contains three components: Large group time, class learning/prayer time, and family faith nights. Elementary Flock takes place mostly on Wednesday evenings, 6:00-7:15 PM, with a few other special events.

• Large group time: When they arrive, children go to their classroom for attendance and “check-in” with their catechist and class. At 6:05, all five elementary grades transition to the large group room. We do a game together, learn about our Saint of the Week, discuss if there’s a special liturgical time coming up, and hear any announcements. Classes are dismissed back to their classroom around 6:20.
• Class learning & prayer time: In class, each catechist leads their class through learning, activities, crafts, prayer, and so on. We use a wonderful curriculum from Loyola Press called Christ Our Life as our framework for each grade. Catechists are encouraged to bring their class into the Church regularly for prayer time, exploring the holy spaces, and learning reverent (respectful) Church behavior. Classes dismiss at 7:15 PM.
• Family Faith Nights: This refers to the evenings when the parent(s) or grandparents attend with their child(ren), rather than simply dropping off and returning. Family Faith Nights begin at 6:00 PM, just like normal class nights, and end between 7:15 and 7:30 PM depending on the event. In 2023-24, we have six Family Faith Nights:

What’s a catechist?

“Catechist” is the church term for someone who passes on the faith. The term comes from a Greek word that means “to echo.” Catechists, whether they are teaching young children, teens, or adults, are “echoing” and passing on the truth Jesus gave the Church, not their own opinions. In 2021, Pope Francis decreed that catechist is an official lay ministry within the Church! He said, “those called to the instituted ministry of Catechist [are] men and women of deep faith and human maturity, active participants in the life of the Christian community, capable of welcoming others, being generous and living a life of fraternal communion. They should also receive suitable biblical, theological, pastoral and pedagogical formation to be competent communicators of the truth of the faith.” (Antiquum Ministerium, paragraph 8).  We have a wonderful team of dedicated, faithful catechists who love God and His children!