Dear Faith Formation, Pastoral Assistants and Catechists,

September was a busy month for everyone, as the registration process for faith formation programs and processes intensified at the parish and archdiocesan levels. Today I want to highlight three events that reminded us of the dedication and commitment of many coordinators of the parish as well as several of its volunteers.

• Meeting of Coordinators for the preparation of couples for the Sacrament of Matrimony. This meeting, which took place on September 13 at the chancery, we reviewed the policy on catechesis and formation that is being carried out in the parishes. This policy will be updated in the coming weeks and will be submitted to the archbishop for approval. The titles of materials that are being used for preparation were also shared and some programs that are recommended were discovered. We will continue to meet with the coordinators to support their ministry and improve the formation given to couples and work will be done on the area of family enrigment.
• Catechetical Encounter in Spanish. More than 165 people participated in the catechetical encounter 2024 at St. Louise Parish in Bellevue. The theme was "Adaptive Catechesis" presented by Ana Barraza who works in the diocese of Sacramento. In this meeting, practical guidelines for working with children and families with different abilities stood out. Father Gary Lazzeroni the opened the Encounter presiding the Eucharist. In his homily, he emphasized the importance of being echoes of God's word and involving all children with different abilities in sacramental preparation. We thank the parish and the Santa Luisa team for coordinating this event.
• Orientation Workshop for New Catechesis and Youth Ministry Coordinators: Lastly, we held our annual orientation for new catechetical coordinators and youth ministry leaders. At this event, participants received information from the human resources department, the archives department and the Partners in the Gospel liaisons, provided an update of the actual process and the future activities parishes will continue working on until they become a canonical parish; this event was held at the Archbishop Brunett retreat center. We thank our team of the Department of Lifelong Formation for their organizational skills and support for the success of this event.

As you can see, the start of the 24-25 school year has initiated in a very positive way and we are sure that many more families will receive the sacraments and we will form a vibrant church, responding to the vision of Archbishop Paul Etienne. Thank you so much for your ministry and dedication.

Carlos Carrillo

Director of Lifelong Formation Department

FAITH FORMATION NEWS

(For printed copies)

Confirmation Retreat Dates

Confirmation retreat dates and locations have been set! Please fill out the parish interest form if you are interested in bringing your Confirmation youth to a retreat. Dates and locations are below. Find more information in the interest form.

January 25th at Our Lady of Fatima, Seattle

March 22nd at St. Frances Cabrini, Lakewood

May 3rd at St. Nicholas, Gig Harbor

PAFF Support and Christian Initiation/OCIA Support Meetings

Maryknoll Bilingual Workshop

This workshop will focus on the methodology of the pastoral circle: see-judge-act that integrates the Scriptures and the Social Doctrine of the Church to discover how your own story is interwoven in the mission of God's love. Lunch is included and there is no cost for your participation. Facilitator: Jacquelyn Hopper. October 19, 2024, 9:00am-4:00pm at the Isaac Orr Conference Room at the Chancery.

Corinna Laughlin, Liturgy Consultant and Carlos Carrillo, Director of Lifelong Formation, will walk us through the volume, highlighting what’s new and different. This new translation of the rites gives us an opportunity to revisit the vision of the Church for the process of adult initiation, and to reboot our parish programs. This presentation is geared towards pastors, deacons, faith formation leaders, and core team members.

Two options for participation:

• Zoom webinar on November 7, 7:00 - 8:00 PM
• In-person seminar on November 19, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM in the Isaac Orr Room at the Chancery (910 Marion St., Seattle 98104). This session includes a more in-depth exploration of the OCIA.

Please note: The November 19th session includes a more in-depth exploration of the OCIA.

Don't forget these important dates regarding the new manual:

November 1, 2024 - Order of Christian Initiation of Adults may be sold by publishers

December 1, 2024 - Order of Christian Initiation of Adults texts may be used

March 05, 2025 - Order of Christian Initiation of Adults texts must be used

SAVE THE DATE

CHRISM MASS: Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 7:00PM at St. James Cathedral

MARRIAGE & FAMILY LIFE

At Home with Faith

To view the full content for At Home with Faith for October, click HERE

To sign up for the Faith Formation newsletter, click on this link:

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/LCTmY8s/FFnews

Betrothed Marriage Preparation Retreats

The Betrothed retreat invites couples to prepare for a joyful, lifelong marriage. Blending hands-on learning of practical life skills with excellent catechesis, this marriage-prep retreat is designed to impact on the quality of a couples’ communication, conflict resolution, and shared sense of mission. Completion of this retreat fulfills the requirements of marriage preparation for the Archdiocese of Seattle. Retreat led by: Fernand & Debra Ricard

LITURGICAL CALENDAR

Be sure to check the Liturgical Calendar pages in both English and Spanish. These pages will contain who and what the Church celebrates specifically in the month of OCTOBER.

Please note: If you receive this newsletter before the beginning of the next month, content on the webpage will not update until the 1st of each month.

St. Therese of Lisieux - October 1

• St Therese of Lisieux: Living Faith Beads
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux: Lessons for Daily Life

St. Francis of Assisi - October 4

• St Francis and the Animals
• St. Francis of Assisi Worksheet

St. John XXIII - October 11

• Saint Stories: Saint John XXIII
• The Virtues of Saint John XXIII

St. John Paul II - October 22

• Pope encourages Catholics to get to know St. John Paul II better
• 21 Awesome Facts You Didn’t Know About John Paul II

Sts. Simon & Jude - October 28

• Saint Jude: Saint of the Impossible
• Who Were Simon and Jude?

FAITH FORMATION IDEAS

October Monthly Devotion - The Holy Rosary

• How the Rosary Teaches Us to Pray
• Activity: Album or Flip Chart Easel for the Mysteries of the Rosary 
• How to Pray the Rosary - A Scripture-based prayer
• The Rosary - Catholic Central (video)
• Explore the origins and evolution of the Rosary (video)

Mental Health Sunday - October 13

The USCCB encourages parishes to consider highlighting mental health year-round, and especially through one or more liturgies on the weekend following World Mental Health Day (and during the course of the annual nationwide Novena from October 10-18). For this year, this would take place on October 13, 2024, the twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

"Everyone who needs help should receive help."

Respect Life Month

Since 1973, the Catholic Church in the United States has observed October as “Respect Life Month.” This year, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities invites Catholics to commemorate Respect Life Month by embracing this moment of Eucharistic Revival to direct and strengthen our efforts to defend human life.

Halloween - All Saints & All Souls

• 5 Spooky Saints to Help You Celebrate Halloween
• The Catholic roots of Halloween, the Vigil of All Saints' Day
• It’s Time for Catholics to Embrace Halloween

• Catholic Central: Saints (video)
• The Meaning of All Souls Day (video)
• Celebrating The Day Of The Dead As Catholics

For more feast days & observances not included here, visit the Liturgical Calendar resource page.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Maryknoll Bilingual Workshop - October 19, 2024 at the Isaac Orr Conference Room at the Chancery. For more information and to register, click here.

OCIA Manual Webinar - November 7, 2024, 7:00pm, online via Zoom. For more information and to register, click here.

OCIA Manual Workshop - November 19, 2024 10:00am-3:00pm at the Isaac Orr Room at the Chancery, For more information and to register, click here.

PAFF Conference - June 10, 2025, at the Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center, Federal Way

ARCHDIOCESE OF SEATTLE

Lifelong Formation