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Generations of Faith is Whole Community Faith Formation

Let's look back...
Religious education in our parishes was based on a school model for a very long time. In that framework, children were enrolled in a program which followed the school year in schedules, formats and holidays. They met in classrooms with textbooks, were called students, and were taught by teachers. Parents and families were visibly absent. After celebrating confirmation, many disappeared. Adult education was left undone, because religious education was for kids.

There was a problem. If we truly believe that the liturgy is the source and summit of the whole Christian life, including the sharing of faith (which is catechesis) then -- looking at our school model -- we were missing the essential link between catechesis and the Sunday assembly for Mass.
GOF
Whole Community Faith Formation (Generations of Faith) fills in this huge gap found in the school model. G.O.F. is a new framework which begins with a renewed way of thinking about the process of sharing and living the faith within the community.

Let's look at some of the pieces of this framework:
1. In Whole Community Faith Formation (G.O.F.) -- the entire parish is involved in learning and sharing about the faith.
Every member of every age is involved. The Sunday assembly at Mass is the focus.
 
2. Households of the the parish become the main focus of programming.
This makes sense because the household is where faith is shared everyday. [A household: the person or group GOFof people who occupy a single dwelling. Or in a wider sense, the community of people who have regular contact with each other and share meals, even if not living in the same house.] The CHURCH is the people of God, gathered and living wherever they are. The parish is actually a resource to the CHURCH. The church is indeed the people of God living in their own homes and neighborhoods, attending their workplaces and schools, going to the shopping malls and grocery stores. The church -- the people of God -- gathers in all kinds of places. Fundamentally, the church gathers every night for supper. And secondarily, it assembles at the parish church. The goal of whole community catechesis is focused at the point where people actually live their lives. It seeks to deepen and enrich their faith, so the church is WHEREVER THEY ARE!
 
3. The third piece in this framework involves a change in thinking.
The sharing of faith is not an optional program in which you register. Whole Community Faith Formation starts with the premise that faith formation, OR learning about the faith, is part and parcel of being a Christian. It isn't optional -- it's central -- like being in the Sunday assembly at Mass!
 
4. Whole Community Faith Formation is more like a movement or process rather than a program.
It's not a club. It's an unending GOFprocess of announcing the Good News and assisting folks to live by it. So, it can't be completely defined or predicted. It requires some risk of not knowing where it will all lead. Like Abraham and Sarah, like Moses, Miriam and Aaron, like Mary and Joseph, you can't really predict where the Spirit will move you. The idea behind whole community catechesis is to allow this movement of the Spirit to guide us! So, what will this look like in 2008-2009 at Immaculate Conception Parish? Register now to learn more. The G.O.F. Curriculum team is working on that and has been for a while now.


G.O.F. Supports Families
Whole Community Faith Formation is designed to optimize family or household time! We won't be adding things to our already over GOFextended schedules. The large events that we'll celebrate together will focus on things that we already do, like Advent, Lent and Pentecost, to name a few. As we look toward engaging the whole parish more, we may be surprised to find that we actually have more time for our families!