Family #9 sees boost in Faith Formation enrollment as parishes work together

The Beloved Disciples of Christ the Lord family saw something shocking when they united its Faith Formation programs. Attendance increased 25 percent across the board.

Five of the six parishes in the family, also known as Family #9, offer faith formation programs. As the family formed, they streamlined their registration process. Interested families can access a Google form and see what programs are available in the Lancaster/Cheektowaga/Depew area.

“They can look at the schedule and all the different programs and different types of classes offered, and then click the site where they want to register their kids,” explained Becky Hoag, faith formation director at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Lancaster, adding it has worked out “really beautifully.”

Fifteen families from St. Mary’s are taking classes at different parishes because it fits their schedule better. Members of other parishes are registering at St. Mary’s for the same reason.

The parishes use the same program, Loyola Press’s “Finding God, so people can move from one parish to another seamlessly.

“It’s pretty cool,” Hoag said.

St. Mary’s offers faith formation for students in kindergarten through 10th grade in many different models, including Traditional, Collaborative, Parent led, Hybrid, Family Sessions, Edge, Home Study, and God’s Family.

Each parish will use what best meets the needs of the families in their parish.

“Combining six parishes, it was a challenge because we all do our own thing. The way we deliver classes is specifically different in all of them. That’s why we have so many options. We’re looking at that over the year and see what else we can streamline,” Hoag said.

Ideally, the parents come to class for family sessions together with their kids, then continue to teach the faith at home. Some parents don’t feel qualified, so they prefer to drop their kids off.

For Sacraments they use Dynamic Catholic’s “Blessed” program. The kids learn some of the material from the Blessed book in class, then finish the work at home with their parents.

“I find that in those sacramental years, the parents learn a lot from their children with these programs and really enjoy it,” Hoag said.

Getting parents involved and having catechesis take place in the home is key to really understanding the material.

“That’s our job, to support and encourage the primary catechists to their kids,” Hoag said.

St. Mary’s has 114 families meeting once a month seven times a year. December’s Advent themed session saw 95 families show up.

“Our parish center was full. It was stunning to walk into a parish center and see 20 round tables of eight chairs each practically full,” she said. “It was amazing.”

Sessions last 90 minutes, with icebreaker and themes that come from Loyola Press. They include a 30-minute service project. Hoag said that’s why many people come.

“They love that. They’re working closely with their children on serving the needs of others.”

They’ve written letters to the elderly, made Thanksgiving placemats for the residents of Symphony Manor and retired sisters at Villa Maria. In February they made sandwiches for St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy.

Hoag isn’t sure how to account for the increase in attendance. She attributes it to the young families coming back to church.

St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Cheektowaga has been using Matthew Kelly’s “Dynamic Catholic” for its confirmation students. The series uses videos and open discussions, and there’s an opportunity for self-reflection on how Christ is working in each students’ life.

“Kids that are in high school, the last thing they’re thinking about is how they find God in their lives,” explained Sharon Pikul, faith formation director at St. Philip’s. “What this program helps them to understand is becoming the best version of themselves requires that they follow the gifts and the talents that God has given them. In doing that, they give back to God. That’s real hard for a 14 year old to make a connection to because they’re more interested in what sport  they are in, what dance class they are going to, where their friends are hanging, what social media has to say. So, Dynamic Catholic for me is one of those programs that helps kids see there is another dimension to being a teen in today’s society. There’s your spiritual side.”

Pikul sees a few reasons why the number of attendees has been on the rise.

“Some of it is people being more relaxed and coming back after Covid, so they reconnected with us. Some of them are brand new people who have moved into the neighborhood, so those are new bodies coming in. And we also have a lot of folks who have recommitted their faith and are bringing their kids back for religion classes even though they have skipped a few years in between. So, those folks have also come back,” she said.