Faith Formation

St. Mary Nativity Parish has adopted a faith formation program designed for today’s busy families, and one that will help families keep the Lord’s Day holy. All general faith formation will take place on Sunday. We will meet on from 9:25 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. The Sunday Formation sessions will run from September 8, 2019 through May 3, 2020.

Families are asked to intentionally attend the 10:30 a.m. Mass together. If another time is preferred for the family, please feel free to attend that Mass. The goal is to regularly attend Mass as a family, in doing so, it strengthens bonds of the family to the faith. Our Family Mass hosted by assigned grade levels will be on the Third Sunday of each month. Please see the bulletin for details.

Our focus will be teaching through the Lectionary with doctrinal connections throughout the classes. All students in grades 5+ will be responsible for bringing a bible, provided by the parish, to each class.

All students seeking to celebrate First Reconciliation, First Communion, and/or Confirmation must be enrolled in our Sunday Faith Formation OR Day School. Registration for the sacramental preparation programs are separate from the Sunday Faith Formation program. (See Sacramental Preparation for details

Enrollment in Parish Faith Formation Programs

While we recommend that each child begins their journey in our catechetical program, St. Mary Nativity recognizes the role of the parents as the primary teachers of faith (from the Rite of Baptism) for their children. It is traditional for a child to begin their journey to their First Reconciliation and First Communion in first grade and complete their preparation in second grade, and then continue in their formation towards Confirmation in beginning in 7^th grade, with reception of the sacrament in the Spring of their 8^th grade, we realize this is not always the case. In the event children are enrolled in our program ‘out of sequence’, we must assume that the parents have been teaching their children their prayers and other Church teachings.

Due to enrollment concerns, the following procedures must be respected to assure effective registration. Please understand that each child must be enrolled every year they are involved with our parish faith formation classes.

New Enrollments

We ask all new families to register with the parish.

• Photocopies of Baptismal and Eucharist certificates (if applicable) are required. No child can begin classes until this requirement is fulfilled or granted an extension by the director.
• If transferring from another parish, a letter stating the status of your child’s catechetical formation is necessary.
• Families that have moved into the area during the school year will be given individual consideration.
• Tuition and all other fees are expected to be paid in full at the time of Enrollment. This allows us to maintain an affordable program.

Regular Enrollment

For families currently enrolled in the program, the procedure is as follows.

• Enrollment information for the upcoming year will be available in mid-May. This will include the enrollment period,
• Tuition and all other fees are expected to be paid in full at the time of Enrollment.
• Parents (or legal guardians) must complete the enrollment form.
• Parents are expected to attend a parent meeting scheduled just before classes begin.

Enrollment for the upcoming catechetical year closes on September 1st.

Tuition/fees

The tuition and other fees cover a portion of the program expenditures. The parish subsidizes the remaining costs. Revenues are applied toward facility usage, the cost of classroom materials (including textbooks where applicable), and the formation of the catechists.

All families are expected to pay the tuition and other fees. However, no child will be denied formation due to financial difficulties. Families should contact the Director of Faith Formation at (815) 726-4073 in these matters.  A $25 late enrollment fee will be applied to all enrollments after July 31^st.

2019/2020 Sunday Formation tuition is $175.00 per family regardless of the number of children in the family. Families may not be combined with other extended family members.

Please note: While we do not charge a separate textbook fee, all students in grade 5+ will be working from the Bible and are expected to bring it each week. This will be provided and presented from the parish. IF a student loses their Bible, a replacement cost of $25.00 will be incurred to the family.

Prayers for Children to Know: