September Adult Meeting

Agenda This PowerPoint includes: Slides for opening questions to help orient parents into their role of primary teachers of their children Slides to introduce the A Family of Faith program Story Book Project Closing reflection

Raise Your Hand if You Agree… Teaching requires special skills you can only get in college classes. Once parents have finished their show of hands, ask a few of them why they agreed or disagreed with this statement. Follow up with the question: How many of you think you could never be a “teacher”? Then ask: Why is that case?

Opening Questions Who is your child(ren)’s first teacher? Who is their most important teacher? Once parents have answered the opening questions, affirm the vital importance of their teaching role in the lives of their children in a manner similar to the following: You are your children’s first teacher, and the most important teacher they will ever have. Despite what our culture often tries to tell us, being a teacher does NOT require any special skills or certifications for parents. We are always teaching our children! We are teaching them even when we are not trying. In fact, we can’t help but teach our children. Teaching is what we do naturally, just as learning from parents is what children do naturally. Especially in the younger years, before peer groups become more influential, parental guidance is far and away the most important factor in who a child grows up to be. And even once kids enter their teen years, parents continue to have more influence than they may think.

Familiaris Consortio The example and witness of parents “leave an impression that the future events in their children’s lives will not be able to efface.”

The goals of the Family Program are: To encourage To equip you to be your child’s primary catechist Over the next nine months, this program will give you all the knowledge and tools you need to bring your children up in the Catholic Faith, and specifically the first part of the Catechism.

Your children will be learning not just from the fun activities they do, but even more from your example and witness. This is something they cannot get in any classroom, no matter how good that classroom is.

You do NOT need to do every activity in the book. Moms and dads who have looked through the Parents Guides may feel overwhelmed at the number of activities available. Emphasize to them that the activities are offered as resources to choose from, and they should always use their best judgment about which activities to do. They do not have to do everything. Large Group Sharing Put parents in groups of 6, and give each group a copy of the Trivia Game handout. After a few minutes, go over the provided answers and declare a winning team. You may return to the PowerPoint to introduce this year’s Story Book project.

Story Book Project Explain that at each adult meeting, you will learn about key parts of the Catholic Faith. One of these is that each and every person, and each and every family, is absolutely a part of God’s marvelous plan. We will be learning this year about events that took place thousands of years ago. But the story of Salvation History that we will study is not just in the past. It continues to take place in our lives in a deeply personal way. In the beginning, God created the universe out of nothing, and God continues to create throughout all ages each and every time a human person is conceived. God determined to create you! You were created in His image and likeness. As God spoke to our fathers in faith and showed them His plan of salvation, God still speaks to you and calls you to become part of the story of His saving love. The story of faith that we will study this year is indeed our story as well. These are not distant truths to be memorized, but rather life-giving truths to be lived each day. God has called us each by name – this is the story of salvation history. This is our story! Throughout this year, the activities we work on will all go into a Story Book.

At the end of the year we will all bring in our Story Books for a “show and tell” session. Note: If your parish is providing each family with a scrapbook, you may distribute them now. You will keep this Story Book throughout this year, and add to it as you do the lessons each month with your children. At the end of the year we will all bring in our Story Books for a “show and tell” session. (This session also provides some accountability and encourages us to do good quality work!) This month, your task will be to decorate the cover – complete instructions are in your parents’ guide.

Familiaris Consortio “The ministry of evangelization carried out by Christian parents is original and irreplaceable. It assumes the characteristics typical of family life itself, which should be interwoven with love, simplicity, practicality and daily witness.” Ask parents to reflect on this quotation in silence for a few moments, and then spend more time offering encouragement to parents. If you were able to arrange ahead of time with a couple of parents to share brief success stories, do so now. Some parents in the group may be nervous or skeptical that they can do this. Assure them that they can! Close in prayer such as: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Dear Lord, Thank you for bringing all of here today as we begin this exciting and humbling journey together. Please bless all our families in a special way, and especially our parents, as they strive to witness Your love in simple, practical, and loving ways each day. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.