St John of The Cross Religious Education

The parish is a formational community. As Catholics we believe that our experience of
God is mediated through signs, Sacraments and human experiences, hearing the
word preached and seeing it lived. The purpose of the faith community is to facilitate
the reception of and growth in the Gift of faith.

To understand the relationship between faith and formation we must first
acknowledge that no person, text or program can guarantee faith too anyone. God is
already present. Faith is God's gift. This is a reason to hope and to pray. We place all
our efforts in the hands of God. We are called to share our faith with one another, that
we might see and feel God's presence among us.

The goal and mission of this parish community and the religious education programs
are the same as the mission of Jesus: to bring about the Kingdom of God. We do this
by proclaiming the message of Jesus; forming a community of welcome, support and
prayer; celebrating the sacraments and rendering service as a response to the call of
justice and love.

It is the role of the Christian Formation Director to create structures and environments
where this is more likely to happen. It is to enable Faith to grow and to provide means
to continue the development of a relationship with God.
The programs will provide for the needs of all ages of the Parish.

Christian formation is based on the central truths and beliefs of our Faith. We are
rooted in one God, Jesus as word and the spirit who gives life.
We are redeemed, called to serve and to love one another. The church is a
community with beliefs, rituals and moral values. These beliefs, rituals and values will
determine our texts, curriculum, prayer and celebrations. They will effect our
participation in community, our prayer and Eucharistic life and involvement in social
action.

The results of Christian Formation will touch all areas of the Parish. They will reach to
households, families, focus groups, committees, organizations and the total parish
community.

Christian Formation is the total life of the parish. Everything we do as a community is
about who we are. We are continually forming and being formed by each other and by
our actions

In a formational Christian Community, there are several components to be included in
the development of programs. They are to Evangelize, catechize, bond with the
church, call to ministry, call to social awareness and involvement in the sacraments
and prayers of the church.

Our approach in our structured programs is to follow a process developed by well
known religious educator, Thomas Groom. This method of learning is to begin with a
familiar human experience; reflect on the why of it; relate it to the stories of our
faith(vision); dialogue between the experience and the vision to see how it speaks to
our life and finally to respond in Faith.