Faith Formation

Dear Parents and Guardians,

“WELCOME BACK” TO FAITH FORMATION!!!

It is hard to believe that it is time to begin another school year. I hope your summer was full of fun, memory-making moments! Our entire Blessed Family 7 Faith Formation Team is excited to see all of our children, young people and their families return for Faith Formation.

Our theme for this year is Missionary Disciples are Changemakers. Pope Francis reminds us, “in virtue of our baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples” and that “every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus.” May our shared formation journey empower all of us to share God’s love with others and work to make our world a better place.

Enclosed is the 2026-2027 Faith Formation Important Dates. Please mark your calendar and refer to it throughout the school year. The Class Schedules for Grades K-10 are posted on the Class Schedules/Curriculum page of the Faith Formation websites. They are not included in this mailing. Students are expected to attend all classes unless there is a serious reason for being absent.

Classes begin on the following dates:

          Mon., Sept. 14           Grades 6, 7 & 8              6:00pm-7:30pm at St. Gabriel’s

           Tue., Sept. 15             Grades 6, 7 & 8              6:00pm-7:30pm at St. Gabriel’s

           Sat., Sept. 19              Grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5  9:00am-10:30am at St. Gabriel’s

           Sun., Sept. 20             Grade 10/JtoC2 (SG)     9:30am-12:15pm at St. Gabriel’s

           Mon., Sept. 21           Grades 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5      4:30pm-5:45pm at St. Gabriel’s

           Mon., Sept. 21           Grades 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5      6:00pm-7:30pm at St. Gabriel’s

           Wed., Sept. 23           Grade 9/JtoC1                6:00pm-7:15pm at St. Gabriel’s

           Sun., Oct. 4               Family Program (K-8)               9:00am-11:00am at Queen of Heaven

           Wed., Oct. 7               Grade 10/JtoC2 (QoH)   7:00-8:30pm at Queen of Heaven

           Sat., Oct. 24               Family Program (K-8)               9:00am-11:00am at Queen of Heaven

Confirmation Parent & Teen Information Meeting – Wed., Sept. 16 at 7:00pm at St. Gabriel’s and/or Wed., Sept. 30^th at 7pm at Queen of Heaven in the Cafeteria

Once again, our Grade 6^th, 7^th & 8^th graders may come to class on either Monday or Tuesday evenings. Our move to a Three-Year-Curriculum-Cycle last year allowed us to offer this option which has helped accommodate their busy schedules.

Home Study Materials may be picked up on the following dates:

           Wed., Sept. 23^rd       3:00pm-6:00pm at St. Gabriel’s

           Thur., Oct. 1^st             4:00pm-8:00pm at St. Gabriel’s

Parents may come at any time during those hours on the two dates to St. Gabriel’s Parish Center to pick up the materials. You may want to bring your spring calendar because signing up for a Home Study Material Return Appointment in May/June takes place at that time. It is a 30 minute appointment that both the parent and child/young person attends to go over the material that was covered during the year. 

Parents and guardians are the primary catechists/teachers of the faith. Our Bishops and diocese are encouraging us to involve the entire family in Faith Formation as much as possible. Below are the sessions that include at least one parent attending, and these are included on the Important Dates sheet (enclosed) and Class Schedules (online.)

·        Faith Fest (family faith gathering) in November and March – families attend 1 of 2 dates in November and again in March (for grades 1-5.) At least one parent attends.

·        Parent Student/Teen Workshops for grades 6-10, offered on 2 different dates to accommodate (hopefully!) busy family schedules.

·        Short 30-minute Parent Meeting for Grades 4 and 5 are also on the schedule for this year.

Please note all of the above dates on the Class Schedules.

Our Weekly Program (Saturday’s and Monday’s at St. Gabriel’s) families are asked to look at the enclosed yellow Hall Monitor Volunteer Sheet. As part of our Safety Plan we kindly ask that parents (only 1/session) help watch the hall and entrances when the children are here.

I am very excited to share that Grades 1-5 in our Weekly Class Program are getting new books this year. The children will be able to write in them too! Each week the children will bring home the leaflet for the chapter they covered in class that day. For Grades Kdg – 8 in our Family Program, the publisher updated the Gospel Weeklies to include more content. I hope the children and young people are happy with the new materials.

As part of our mission to accompany families, our high school schedule includes make-up class sessions for the class sessions from January through April. The make-up day and time are noted on the schedules. If a 9^th Grade/Journey to Confirmation 1 youth misses 3 or more of the fall Wednesday night sessions, a make-up session is offered on Sat., Jan. 9^th from 12:30pm-2:30pm. A second make-up opportunity will be offered during the February break week too.
 
In August our parish and Blessed Family 7 welcomed Sue Mendel as our Faith Formation Coordinator for Grades 1-5. She has served as a Catechist in our high school program and most recently for 3^rd Grade. Both of her children participated in Faith Formation at St. Gabriel’s and some of you may recall her son Leo who portrayed John the Baptist at our Advent Wreath Making in 2024. Her gentle presence, faith witness, creativity, skills and gifts add so much to our team! Please feel free to introduce yourself to her when you come to Faith Formation.

Please reach out with questions/concerns - #668-2070. Flocknotes work great too. You may text BLESSED7 to 84576 to be added to our Flocknotes to receive both text 
messages and emails. We are here to be of service to all families.

May God continue to bless you and your family!

In Christ’s Peace, 

Denise York, M.Th.

Faith Formation Director