Encountering Christ: Resources available for shift to family-focused formation

March 16, 2022

Once per month, families come to St. John the Apostle Parish in Norwalk for a meal, a teaching from the pastor, and fun activities.

These Parish Family Nights are intended to help parents, the primary teachers of the faith, to grow and share their faith with their children. 

The parish tapped resources at the Diocese of Des Moines as it shifted from a classroom model to a family-focused model of religious formation. 

“I’ll tell you, since I became a director of religious education years ago, John Gaffney and the Office of Evangelization have always been really important to me,” said Melissa Hill Garcia, director of religious education. “John has given me lots of really valuable information over the years. He has quite a library of all different curriculum that you can borrow and try out. Anytime he doesn’t know an answer, he will guide me in the direction to find an answer.”

The Office of Evangelization and Catechesis also hosts monthly meetings for catechetical leaders so they can learn from each other and hear speakers sharing new ideas.

“It’s a time when we can collaborate and really throw things back and forth and just talk about what’s working and what’s not working,” Hill Garcia said. “It’s really making people feel part of something larger. We’re Catholic. We’re universal. We’re united. We really believe in being part of a greater whole, and the Diocese helps us with that.”

By moving to a family-based formation program, it becomes open to the whole parish, said Father Dan Kirby.

It also builds a stronger sense of community.

“Anytime we come together, form community, love our faith, and celebrate our faith, it’s a win/win. It’s a grace,” he said.

He encouraged the faithful to support the Annual Diocesan Appeal, which provides the funds for the Diocese to assist parishes with programs like family-focused religious education.

“It gives people throughout the diocese of southwest Iowa an opportunity to be a part of the mission of the Diocese,” he said.