As the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule” (2223). Parents teach their children by example of how to be hard workers, how to manage a household and a family, or how to grow in relationship with God. Parents also bear the responsibility of making sure that the formal education that they do receive is one that is proper for their children. So, the Church is here to support parents in their duties — and that is a big part of the religious education classes we offer for the children of the parish. However, that weekly hour of classes is only the beginning when it comes to raising children who are striving to be saints.
“Our hope as a parish is to foster authentic families,” says Alondra Griffith, Family Ministry and Youth Coordinator. “We want our families to be authentically Catholic through and through. We want to see our faith lived out in how they treat each other, in their schools, and in their work communities. Our goal with Faith Formation is just that — to support families in raising their children in the faith.”
This year, in addition to regular Faith Formation classes, the church is providing at-home Faith Formation Boxes from the Pathways formation suite. These boxes contain materials and readings for the parents to use with the whole family. They are meant to take about 20-40 minutes where families gather and pray together, check in on how everyone is doing, read Scripture, and have activities pertaining to the lesson. There are different boxes with different themes. The boxes are different for families who have a child preparing to receive a sacrament this year.
“The boxes have so much great content,” Alondra says. “They are meant to gather families together for formation to encourage parents to be the primary catechists for their children. Formation needs to return to the families and their homes, and this is one way that we as a parish can help support our families in a very tangible way.”
Each family with children registered in Faith Formation will receive one box per semester and the staff will help them figure out which box is right for their family. Boxes include things like ideas of how to celebrate saint feast days or different things you could cook to celebrate. Some highlight the Corporal Works of Mercy and walk families through how they can do these works within their own families and communities.
The church recognizes the importance of families in the role of raising their children. Through that, we also seek to support our families in being the primary educators of their children. We are very excited to provide parents with this resource to empower them to reclaim this important role.
Be sure to register your children for Faith Formation so boxes can be ordered.
For more information, see the “Faith Formation” section on the parish website — tulsacathedral.com — or contact Alondra Griffith at agriffith@tulsacathedral.com or 918-582-6247.
