A Message from RE Director, Robby Kiley
Dear Religious Education Families,

Welcome to a new year! 

Kim, Theresa, and I are very excited to welcome you all to your religious education home! We will be sending out a quarterly newsletter to all RE families to help keep you up to date with important events, share news and pictures, and help keep you in touch with what your children are learning. In this issue, you will: 

1) Hear from Fr. Bill on the advent of the new year
2) Meet our new Faith Formation staff members and learn about their programs
3) Learn more about Children's Liturgy of the Word
4) Get a look at our Fall mailing and important dates for children in Sacramental years

We hope this newsletter helps keep you informed and engaged with your child's learning! Our goal is to continue to help each family grow in their faith.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to serve you!

Robby
WORDS FROM FATHER BILL
On the weekend of August 24-25, we celebrated the Solemnity of our patron, Saint Pius X. We ask his intercession as we respond to his call to walk more completely with Christ as his intentional disciples. His motto, "To Renew All Things in Christ" is our motto at the beginning of this century, as it was his at the beginning of the twentieth century. To assist us in this task, we have developed a strategic plan for the next five years for our parish. Under the leadership of parishioners Brett Bauer, we enjoyed broad consultation as we focused on the task of evangelization. Now that we have completed our building project, the Lord is calling our parish to evangelize, to spread the Good News of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We can evangelize through prayer, service, sacrificial giving, faith formation, and community life. The Strategic Plan outlines five specific areas to strengthen our role: Liturgy and Worship, Faith Formation, Stewardship, Engagement, and Operations.
 
The Strategic Plan is available online. You can obtain paper copies at the Parish Office. Being responsible stewards of parish finances, we avoided the expense of printing hundreds of copies and putting them at the doors of the church. Please read the Strategic Plan, and join us in our mission "To Renew All Things in Christ." We know that the concept of evangelization is not widely understood by Catholics. For that reason, we will be spending this year in our parish celebrating  "The Year of Evangelization". To kick off the year, we have set aside a special evening (Wednesday, September 25) to host a well-known speaker, Mark Hart, to give us a better understanding of how we can be effective evangelists. Mark has many years of experience in ministry and will help us understand what it means to be someone who evangelizes.
 
As members of this parish, we are walking together with Jesus Christ on our way to the new and eternal Jerusalem. The Lord is challenging us to become more intentional disciples, to trust that his love transforms us. As we share our joy at the good news of his kingdom already in our midst, we will face challenges. We will face the skepticism of those who think we are crazy to initiate this effort at the time of the clergy abuse crisis. However, we respond to Jesus' call in the Gospel of Matthew to "go and make disciples of all nations" by boldly sharing our faith, confident that Jesus will be with us, "even to the end of the ages."

Fr. Bill Schooler
FOR PARENTS OF STUDENTS IN GRADES 2, 7, & 8
We are thrilled to join with our families of second and eighth grade students as they prepare to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation. Sacramental years are busy ones, as parent meetings, retreats, and parties can quickly fill up a family's schedule. Before the year gets too busy, I would encourage each family to stop and pray for those children preparing to receive their sacraments. Your example of prayer will be a great model to encourage  your children through the process!

We know that many families have questions during sacramental years. This is also true for families of seventh grade students, who will be entering into the diocesan Theology of the Body curriculum this year. To help answer these questions, we offer parent meetings at the beginning of the year. Please note the following parent meeting times below. You can also view important dates and documents at any time on our website: StPius.net/Sacrament-Information.

Confirmation Parent Meeting (grade eight)
Monday, Sept. 16-6:00 p.m., Multipurpose Room
Sunday, Sept. 22-11:00 a.m., Multipurpose Room
Tuesday, September 24-12:00 p.m., PLC 104/105

Theology of the Body Parent Mtg. (grade seven) 
Monday, September 23-6:00 p.m., PEC Library
Sunday, September 29-11:00 a.m.,  PLC 104/105
 
Confirmation Retreat (grade eight)
Saturday, October 19-12:15-5:00 p.m., 
Mass immediately following
Students and sponsors (or a parent/trusted adult) will attend the Confirmation Retreat

Theology of the Body Conference (grade seven)
Friday, November 8-6:00-9:00 p.m. and
Saturday, November 9-10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.,
Mass immediately following

First Reconciliation Parent Meeting (grade two)
Monday, January 27, 2020-6:00 p.m., PEC Library
Tuesday, January 28, 2020-12:00 p.m., PLC 105
Sunday, February 2, 2020-11:00 a.m., PLC 105

First Reconciliation (grade two)
Saturday, February 8, 2020
11:00 a.m., last names M-Z
1:00 p.m., last names A-L
CHILDREN'S LITURGY OF THE WORD (CLW)
Did you know that we offer programming for children who are not yet old enough for our Religious Education programs?

On Sunday mornings during the 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. Masses, we love welcoming our youngest parishioners, ages 4-6, to Children's Liturgy of the Word (CLW).  So, what happens with that gaggle of children who leave church each Sunday, following a catechist carrying what looks like the Book of the Gospels?  When these young parishioners are dismissed from Mass, they follow a catechist to the Parish Life Center meeting rooms. There, t he CLW catechist proclaims the Gospel from the Lectionary f or Masses with Children,  from an Ambo with a liturgically correct color of cloth, helping the children to learn that "green is for growing; purple is for preparing; and white or gold is for celebrating." This is the same Gospel as the assembly hears in church.
 
Following the proclamation, the Gospel is explained in age-appropriate vocabulary. The children then pray the Prayers of Intercession (just like the grown-ups in church). Finally, the catechist shares an activity related to the Gospel and they sing songs if time permits.

The children are brought back to church during the offering, where they rejoin their families. This is a wonderful way to help children engage in Mass.

Parents are asked to volunteer a few times during the year. Families are welcome to join us to see what Children's Liturgy of the Word is all about. The children ask some very interesting questions, and I am surprised at how much they really understand. We love our meeting space in the new Parish Life Center - it gives us plenty of room to wiggle and spread out, and we are close to our moms and dads.

There is no cost, but registration is required - you can find more information and online registration forms at: StPius.net/CLW.  

Please feel free to contact us in the Religious Education office for more information:(574) 277-5760, ext: 132, k slott@stpius.net.


Kim Slott
Director, Children's Liturgy of the Word
Assistant Director, Religious Education
MEET MICHAEL RUBBELKE: DIRECTOR OF ADULT FAITH FORMATION
Greetings Religious Education families! 

My name is Michael Rubbelke, and I am the Director of Adult Faith Formation (AFF) at Saint Pius. My wife, Rebecca, and I have two children, Hannah (4) and Caleb (1). We moved from North Dakota to South Bend in 2012 when I started a Ph.D. in Theology at the University of Notre Dame. After I graduated in 2018, I accepted the role at Saint Pius X. 
 
My job is to help adults grow in their relationship with Christ, which involves two main roles. First, I direct the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process (RCIA) to help non-Catholics become Catholic. The RCIA process teaches what Catholics believe and how Catholics live, worship, and pray. Second, I plan and run programs that help adult parishioners grow in their faith. These include Bible and book studies, video and speaker series, as well as retreats and prayer events. My goal is to provide many opportunities for different kinds of people to know, love, and serve Jesus better in their particular life situations.
 
Like other faith formation ministries, AFF will focus on evangelization this year. In the fall, we will focus on "being evangelized," that is, experiencing our faith as Good News. In the winter and spring, we will focus on "evangelizing," that is, knowing our faith and being brave enough to share it.
 
I am particularly excited about some upcoming events for busy parents. In November, there will be a series called "Finding God in All Things." We will use St. Ignatius Loyola's insights about how to be attentive and responsive to Jesus precisely in our crazy and busy lives. We will also have a spring series called "Evangelizing in and through the Family." We will learn about how to evangelize our families and how our families can evangelize the world. 
 
I hope you'll be able to join us, so that we can all go out to the world and share the Good News!

For details about all upcoming opportunities, visit the Adult Faith Formation section of the parish website:


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FALL MAILING
The 2019-2020 Religious Education school year begins September 8. Our Fall mailing should have arrived in your mailbox already.

In this mailing, you will find a welcome letter with news about our upcoming year. You will also find our Religious Education policies and a policy acceptance form. Families are expected to review these policies and each child is asked to sign the policy acceptance form. You can also find all of the content of the Fall mailing on our website: HERE.

Thank you for being attentive to these important policies as we prepare for the new year! Please also pay special attention to the drop-off/pick-up procedures, as we enter into our second year of our new student safety plan.
INTRODUCING: 
MARY CATHERINE MCDONALD

Hello!  My name is 
Mary Catherine McDonald, and I will be joining you all to serve as the Faith Formation Intern for Saint Pius X this year. I am so excited to be working with you all and your kids! I grew up in Granger, attended Christ the King School (as SPX did not have a school yet), went to Saint Joe High School and then went off to College.

Post graduation, I have worked with youth and young adults in faith formation in the areas of: Care for Creation, Catholic Social Teaching, RCIA, and gardening. During that time, I felt a deep desire to return to South Bend, live by family, and really invest in my hometown.

I returned to South Bend, and became a Rector at Holy Cross College. In 2018, I started the Masters of Divinity program at Notre Dame. In my time with the program, I have worked with college students doing service immersions, as well as children and high schoolers grieving the loss of loved ones. I am looking forward to spending the year at SPX and learning more about faith formation ministries! 

SPX was the first place where my faith really came alive, and I hope to be able to plant some of those same seeds of faith while working with our students.
MEET  BRITTANY BAUCOM, DIRECTOR OF YOUTH MINISTRY
Dear Saint Pius X RE Families,

Hello! My name is Brittany Baucom, and I am the Director of High School and Middle School Youth Ministry here at Saint Pius X. In 2014 I graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville with degrees in Theology and Mathematics. Then in 2016, I graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a MA in Theology. My conversion back to Catholicism and faith in the Eucharist happened through youth ministry when I was a senior in high school. I am now honored to serve your kids and teens in their journeys of faith.

Throughout the fall, Middle School Youth Ministry will be meeting on the second Thursday of the month from 6:30- 8:00 p.m.. We will primarily be meeting in the Multipurpose Room in the new PEC addition.

Our kick-off for the fall will take place on Thur., September 12 at 6:30 p.m.. with a cook out and Kona Ice, and will feature Color Wars, a set of games where the kids compete in challenges and obstacles courses while they are covered in "powdered color."

Throughout the semester, we will dive in to questions about objections that people may have to faith in God. I hope to get to get to know your kids at our upcoming events!  

Learn more about Youth Ministry by visiting HERE.
THE YEAR OF EVANGELIZATION KICKOFF EVENT!
Wed., Sept. 25, 7pm
  Activities for all ages!

Featuring: Special Guest, Mark Hart

 
Mark Hart is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Executive Vice President of Life Teen International, a twenty-year veteran of youth ministry and one of the most sought-after speakers serving in the Catholic Church today.
 
Additional details and registration coming soon.
Saint Pius X Catholic Church | (574) 277-5760 | rkiley@stpius.net | http://www.stpius.net
52553 Fir Road
Granger, IN 46530