Faith Formation

The overreaching goal of all Faith Formation at St. Margaret’s is to bring our children and their families into a deeper relationship with our God by preparing them to become active members of our Catholic Church.  We strive to develop in them a sense of engagement to a community of believers who gather together regularly to participate in the Eucharist and recognize their obligation to care for all members of the Body of Christ.

We hope to accomplish this by providing a welcoming and nurturing atmosphere for the children and their parents alike.  We offer programs and gatherings that will help them to better understand their Catholic faith; deepen their personal relationship with the Lord and prepare them for receiving the sacraments.

A child’s formal Religious Education can begin as early as three years old.  All parents of these young children are given the opportunity to register their child in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Program.  The parents of any child who isn’t registered in CGS when they enter Kindergarten are once again encouraged to register them for either CGS or the Faith First Program.  All first graders are required to participate in some formal Religious Education to begin their preparation for receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharist in the second grade.  Parents and children in the Level 1 Faith First program attend monthly gatherings in the church auditorium.  They are instructed on topics such as prayer; the liturgical calendar; the infancy narratives; the parables; baptism and the Mass.  Children registered in levels 2 – 6 are instructed in weekly classes held at the home of a catechist or at the parish, using an approved grade level text from the Faith First series by RCL publishers.  Each grade level has gatherings that have been designed to enrich their studies for that year.

As a parish we hope to move toward our goal having CGS as our sole parish program. Until this is fully accomplished we will continue to work towards this goal by using the philosophies and the curriculum of CGS to prepare our grade level gatherings.

Registration

Registration for our Faith Formation program starts in May. Forms are sent by mail to all registered families with children in grades 1 – 6. We ask that they be returned by July 1st to enable us to have the proper number of books and supplies when classes start. If you live within the parish boundaries and would like to have your children attend our program please contact the Faith Formation Office. Financial support for the program may be made in installments over the summer but is requested to be paid in full by September.

Faith Formation Office:

Monday through Wednesday:
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.; 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.;
Thursday: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Religious Education Office is closed on Friday.  
Summer Hours - Monday through Thursday, 9-11, 2-4.