"No family drops down from heaven perfectly formed; families need constantly to grow and mature in the ability to love." -Pope Francis, "Amoris Laetitia"
Our focus at Epiphany is on forming families. We believe that by focusing on forming families, we are building a stronger domestic church and ultimately a stronger church community.
Unlike traditional school models of formation, our Family Formation program brings the entire family together to eat, play, pray, break open the Word of God, and share topics of our faith. We only gather twice a month at the church in the following ways:
First Session of the Month: Families gather at the church for a Catechetical Session (lunch always included!). After lunch, parents/adults will stay in a group session to break open a topic of faith with a facilitator. Meanwhile, children are broken up into age-appropriate classes with catechists. Our hope is that families are sent forth from our session with the knowledge, courage and confidence to continue the conversation at home or with those they encounter.
Second Session of the Month: Families gather at the church for a Community Session! This time together allows our community to celebrate a particular feast day, season, or celebration with each other. It is marked with food, fun activities, great conversation, and lots of time for kids of all ages to interact, for parents to catch-up with one another, and for families to have dedicated family time. For example, for our Community Session in November, we hold an annual Friendsgiving celebration!
All The Weeks In-between: Using the tools received at Family Formation, families decide together how they will celebrate, live, prioritize, and honor their Catholic faith in their everyday lives. Some choose a particular prayer time together, some commit to a certain devotion, others may seek ministry involvement in the parish. We understand that families have many demands on them and their time -- we work hard to support them in choosing what works best for them.
Note about Middle School Students: Our middle school formation program is a hybrid of our family formation program and a youth ministry program. When Family Formation meets, middle school students will gather together with a catechist, just like other grade-levels, or will partake in our community session celebrations.
For the weeks in-between, students typically meet as a middle school youth ministry for prayer, reflection, formation, service, games, fellowship, and fun in Parish House #5, our youth house!