Faith Formation Education Engages the Whole Family

Story by Karen A. Avitabile

Students across the Archdiocese of Hartford not only have returned to classes in school. They are beginning a year of religious education programs – with a new name. 

Formerly called religious education or CCD (short for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine), Faith Formation is the new name for parish-wide classes that nurture the spiritual lives of children and teens, help them grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ and guide them through the importance of prayer, community and service. 

“The archdiocese is making a strong shift in faith formation away from child-centric models of religious education, formerly referred to as CCD, toward faith formation that ministers to parents and the whole family as well,” says Kelly Henderschedt, archdiocesan director of Faith Formation in the Center for Catholic Education and Formation. 

“It is no longer enough to simply catechize children,” she adds. “There is a strong need to evangelize and catechize the entire family.”

Because children learn about faith in the home with the work of their parents, the Faith Formation program is all-encompassing. “We are really looking at the whole family,” Henderschedt says. “Parents can disciple their own children better than a parish program.”

The latest edition of the Directory for Catechesis, a how-to guide for catechesis in the work of evangelization, stresses the importance of engaging entire families in the faith formation process. 

Because there is a strong need to evangelize and catechize the entire family, the Archdiocese of Hartford, like many dioceses throughout the country, have shifted to family models of faith formation. These models build trusting relationships with parents and provide the necessary skills and encouragement to engage confidently in faith practices with their children. 

“We need to shift our attention from simply being teachers of the faith toward being mentors and coaches to parents, so that parents can partner with the Church and disciple their children in the home,” Henderschedt says. 

There are many ways to engage the whole family in the formation process that include praying as a family at home, volunteering together and sharing in the life of the Church through fellowship with others, says Henderschedt, who provides support and training in the parishes for transition from religious education classes to Faith Formation programs. 

“We are with you,” she says. “We are going to walk with you on this journey. We are helping parents learn to be more comfortable with practicing the faith in the home.”

Parishes should be offering faith formation opportunities that are lifelong, Henderschedt points out. “This begins with engaged couples, young parents, families with children and adolescents, midlife adults and older adults who all need opportunities to grow in their relationship with Jesus.”

The goal of Faith Formation, Henderschedt notes, is twofold: to empower children to grow into lifelong Catholics and for parents to strengthen their own relationship with the Lord. “We want to see families growing in faith that’s authentic and real and lasts a lifetime,” she says. 

If you have not registered your child in a faith formation class, contact your parish office. For more information, reach out to Kelly Henderschedt in the Center for Catholic Education and Formation at 860.242.5573 or kelly.henderschedt@aohct.org.