Generations of Faith
2005-06

FOR 2006-07 EVENTS, CLICK HERE

Generations of Faith is an innovative religious formation program for everyone in the parish. It promotes the shared experiences of church life by all ages and generations as a focus for learning. Generations of Faith uses a catechetical process of preparing parishioners for meaningful participation in church events. Through a variety of learning programs, parishioners will be engaged in church events and guided in applying the significance and meaning of the events to their lives as Catholics. The Generations approach weaves home and parish in a comprehensive model of faith formation for all ages and generations.

In conjunction with the launching of the new Peace & Justice Ministry at St. Alphonsus, our events will follow the themes of respecting life, feeding the hungry, caring for God's creation, etc.

Each event is scheduled to be offered on two days:

LENT 2006 PREPARATION EVENT
Practice Justice and Walk Humbly with God

This parish event, held on two separate days, is to raise awareness, understanding, and a personal response to social justice issues. We will do this through the experience of an interactive play exploring Jesus' teaching of the Beatitudes, fun age-appropriate activities and discussions, and an intergenerational sharing of what was learned.

Each session will include:

• A Prepared Meal – Much of Jesus' ministry took place around a meal. The prepared meal will give families an opportunity to relax, eat together, and socialize with other parishioners.
• Breakout Learning Sessions – These one-hour sessions will allow children, adolescents, teens, and adults to take part in activities that will help them to have a more meaningful Lenten season.
• Whole-Group Sharing – Different age groups come back together to share what they have learned. Home kits with instructions will be distributed.
• Reflection – Families will reflect on what strategies they can use to have a more meaningful Lent.
• Closing Prayer

CLICK HERE FOR A REGISTRATION FORM

Call Dorothy Lafin at (630) 257-2414 or Kevin Cody at (630) 257-2371 or email Kevin Cody.

THANKSGIVING 2005 EVENT
Giving and Sharing Thanks: Feeding the Hungry

This parish event, held on two separate days, raised awareness of hunger in the world, of Catholic Social Teaching (CST), of how we are blessed, and what we can do to use our gifts to help those who are less fortunate. We did this through the experience of a hunger meal, fun family activities, and a presentation and discussion for adults and older teens.

Each session included:

• A Prepared Meal – Much of Jesus' ministry took place around a meal. The prepared meal gave families an opportunity to relax, eat together, and socialize with other parishioners.
• Breakout Learning Sessions – These one-hour sessions allowed families, older teens and adults without children to take part in activities that helped them to have a more meaningful Thanksgiving and Advent season.
• Whole-Group Sharing – Different age groups came back together to share what they had learned. Home kits with instructions were distributed.
• Reflection – Families reflected on what strategies they could use to have a more meaningful Thanksgiving and Advent season.
• Closing Prayer

Description of the Breakout Session Activities

Following a meal, activities were offered for two groups: families and older teens/adults without children.

FAMILIES

Families were invited to take part in each of the following three workstation activities:

(1) Talents Poster – God has generously blessed each of us with wonderful talents and abilities, and asks us to be generous, too. This activity helped us find ways to share our talents with others.

(2) Meals in a Bag – Together we helped provide food for hungry families in our area by using our artistic talents in decorating shopping bags that were filled later when the families completed a shopping list together. Families had an opportunity to present their bags at a later Mass.

(3) Thankful Placemats – We made Thanksgiving placemats to remind us what we were thankful for all year: family, friends, the kind or helpful things people had done for us, and the things we did well during the year (school, sports, activities, etc.).

OLDER TEENS / ADULTS WITHOUT CHILDREN

Deacon Terry McGuire presented a framework for participants to understand the Biblical origin of CST as a rich part of our history. Participants viewed a video and entered small-group discussions to identify principles of CST and their relevance to our lives and work today as a faith-filled people.

Volunteers are needed for planning, hospitality, and facilitating the activities. Call Dorothy Lafin at (630) 257-2414 or Kevin Cody at (630) 257-2371 or email Kevin Cody.

For pictures and descriptions of last year's program, click here. For general information about the Generations of Faith program, visit www.generationsoffaith.org.

FOR 2006-07 EVENTS, CLICK HERE