High School Faith Formation

What is High School Faith Formation?

The Faith Lived

Objective: We live in a time and place where the growing trend among Catholic Parishes is that our young parishioners, in other words our future church, are leaving the pews and the ministries and in some cases, leaving the Catholic Church completely. The natural question that results from this trend is, “how might we show our young people that their faith is worth their time”? High School Faith Formation seeks to not only answer this question but attempts to begin finding a solution to this increasingly large problem. High School Faith Formation should be seen as a transition from school age religious education to adult faith practice.

What it looks like: Based on the Family Formation model of catechesis and formation, once a month, high school teens will come for an in-person session of catechesis and formation. At times this will not look like the traditional “classroom model”. Our youth will learn the faith but they will learn to live it out in action through retreats, pilgrimages, and mission work. The program will also include once a month teen-hosted Masses, where our high schoolers will serve in the various liturgical minister roles such as Lectors and Altar-Servers.

Enrollment Paths: Starting in November 2023, we will be taking enrollment for high school faith formation. Those individuals that fall under the categories below are eligible to enroll.

Path 1: Seeking Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation) Grades 9-12

At the beginning of a child’s 7th grade year families will elect to make the decision to either enroll their child in our Traditional Family Formation Program where their child will receive sacramental preparation and then receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at the conclusion of their 8th Grade year.

At this time families will also have the option to enroll their child in the High School Faith Formation Program. For 7th and 8th grade the curriculum will not change for this family from the traditional model. Once High School begins for the student, they will continue going to Faith Formation sessions (once a month) albeit without their parents, which differs from the K-8 grades. If selected, this program will prepare a teen for the Sacrament of Confirmation and the student would then receive the Sacrament at the conclusion of their Junior Year of High School.

Path 2: Already Received all Sacraments of Initiation Grades 9-12

High School Faith Formation is a true religious education program and all high school age students are welcome to enroll, regardless of if they have received the Sacrament of Confirmation already or not.

Many students attend public high schools and thus are not given formation and catechesis during their high school years. This program is designed to bridge that gap and provide public school students the same religious education opportunities that their private school classmates may enjoy.

Results:

A more robust and vibrant parish community. We live in a day and age where our young people are bombarded with messaging from various sources and not all of those sources fit with our Catholic Morals and Teaching. High School Faith Formation offers parents and families the opportunity to support the Catholic Faith in the home during those critical years. Kindergarten through 8th Grade our young people learn various aspects of the faith. High School Faith Formation is aimed at accompanying our youth and providing them the opportunity to live the faith in practice! Our young people are the future of our faith and it is time that we place their importance at the forefront.