Religious Education Newsletter
January 2023
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Message from the Director
Jessie Adrians, Director of Religious Education
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“The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white host.”
-Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen
When I was growing up my household consisted of me, my mom, and my younger sister. My sister was (and still is) my best friend. And while my sister and I loved each other and would defend each other to the bitter end, we also fought like cats and dogs, and this included when we went to Mass together. There were many times that I can remember mom forcing us to sit apart or getting very stern talking to either during or after Mass. I was too young to really understand it, but as a parent, I now realize how stressful that must have been for my mom. And despite the bickering with my sister, I truly loved attending Mass, listening to the readings, and being involved in church activities. It never occurred to me to resist going because I liked being there.
So, as a parent, I was somewhat unprepared for the challenges of engaging our son Andrew in Mass. You would think my line of work would arm me to the hilt with brilliant strategies, but that is not the case. There have been many, many times over the past five years that I wish I could phone up my mom in heaven and ask her exactly how she did it with not one, but two children and as a single parent. Yet, this is what she did, every weekend without fail. As an adult I am forever grateful to her for giving me the two greatest gifts of my life:
- A relationship with the God who created, healed, and redeemed me, and who sustains me through the gift of the Mass where I am nourished by the Eucharist.
- The support and love of the community I was born into the day of my baptism
The knowledge that I am truly and deeply loved by God and the love and acceptance I have found as part of the St. Raphael parish family, has made all the difference in my life. I am no longer a lonely child with divorced parents, but a member of the Body of Christ and a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Each and every day I am invited to the Lord’s Table with all my brokenness and imperfections. God knows me and loves me anyway. It doesn’t get much better than that!
I want to give my son the same gift, but as anyone with children knows, he does not always seem receptive to that gift and there are many times when he would much rather play his DS or run around like a wild man than attend Mass. From talking to other parents, I know that I am not alone in the struggle. The truth is there is no magic bullet since each person is different, but If you are also looking for ways to help engage your children in the Mass here are a few suggestions that have worked in the Adrians’ house:
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Engage in the Liturgy: My husband Josh is “the king” when it comes to engaging Andrew during Mass. He actively takes time to explain what is happening in a way Andrew understands. He also introduced Andrew to the missal and my six year old follows along! At first I thought this would be too hard for Andrew, but our kids are often capable of more than we give them credit for.
Volunteer for a Worship Ministry: Children and teens love to feel a part of what is happening. Andrew and I greet people before Mass because my little boy is highly social and this makes him excited to see his friends at Mass. However, if greeting is not “your thing” there are many other ways to volunteer for a worship ministry both as a family unit or individual. Some examples of worship ministry include usher, altar server, and votive candle care, just to name a few! To find out more, including how to sign up to help click here to be taken to our Worship Ministry webpage.
Talk about the Readings: Andrew and I usually talk about the readings he will hear at Mass and then I ask him to listen for something in the Gospel. We also discuss the readings on the car ride back home from church, and as a result, he often asks to look them up in his own Bible later. If you click here you can be taken to the readings for each weekend.
Those are just a few ideas, but I know that many of you have other (and probably better) ideas. In the coming weeks, families will be sent a short survey, asking for tips on how they engage their children (little, middle and teens included!) in the Mass since we are all in this together. The results of the survey will be shared with families at an upcoming parent meeting in February.
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Wherever your family is on your faith journey, know that Josh, Andrew and I are praying for you. Please pray for us!
Jessie Adrians
Director of Religious Education
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Family Outreach
Kathy Baehman, Youth Ministry Assistant & Family Outreach Coordinator
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How do we pass on the Catholic faith to our kids?
This is what we all want, right?
Keep them Catholic? To raise little saints? But the really big question is, how do we accomplish that? Boy, if I had the foolproof way to answer these questions, I’d be the smartest person in the world.
All we can do is our best. Afterall, God gave all of us free will, and our children have to choose God for themselves freely. If you wanted to say that Adam and Eve had “parents”, it would be God. God was the perfect parent to them, providing everything they needed, loving them, and nurturing them flawlessly. Yet, Adam and Eve still messed up, didn’t they? Keeping that in mind, we still want to do the best we can.
Here are some ways you can work on passing
on the Catholic faith to your kids.
Teach them the basics. Your kids need to have an understanding of the basics from a young age. Basics such as understanding (as much as they can) the Trinity, the True Presence in the Eucharist, why we have Saints, what the Mass is all about, and the amazing blessing the Bible is to us! Understanding these basic principles is going to help in the future lessons we teach them so they can have a greater understanding of everything later on.
Saturate the home. Fill your home with prayers, love, Catholic virtues, and yes, even statues, pictures, medals, and other reminders of our religious heroes. These things can’t just exist at church, they need to be in the home.
Make religion relatable and engaging for children. Meet them at their own level! For me, I have used crafts, activities, and songs to reach children with the word of God at their own level. As your kids get older, start having more discussions, starting prayer journals, and reading more books.
Make sure they really get a good Catholic education. This education can’t come from just a few hours of Religious Education per week! It’s not enough. It has to come from you, their parents.
Weave the faith into your Life. Don’t let faith be like a puzzle piece in your life that could be plucked out and tossed aside. The faith should be so interwoven into your life that if you tried to remove it, you wouldn’t even know where to start, and if you succeeded in removing it, the whole masterpiece would be destroyed.
Lead by example. Children love to imitate, so let them see you living your faith!
Know of my prayers for you and your families!
Kathy Baehman
Family Outreach Coordinator
Youth Ministry Assistant
kathy.baehman@raphael.org
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Sunday School
Gwendolyn Larsen, Sunday School Coordinator
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Hello Families!
I hope that life is treating you well this fine January! We’ve been talking about the Mass in Sunday School. We learned about the different parts of the mass, the significance of some of the items in mass, as well as the purpose of celebrating mass. We created our own churches with doors that open to allow us to see the congregation gathering for mass.
We will be learning about the story of Jonah and the Whale during next class. We will find out how important it is that we listen and obey God, for He knows everything and has a plan for each of our lives. We will be playing a game called “Pin Jonah on the Whale” trying to see who can land Jonah right into the belly of the whale.
We are continuing to create our Holy Alphabet books, working on Q, R, S, and T this month. Each student puts their own unique artistic spin on their pages. They will be taking these home during the last class as a reminder of all that God has promised us.
Have a fabulous day,
Gwendolyn Larsen
(gwendolyn.larsen@raphael.org)
Sunday School Coordinator PK/K
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Elementary School
Jenifer Jensen, Elementary School Coordinator
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Lots of excitement lately, especially through the holidays. Some wish that it would continue with all the family time and festivities, while others are grateful it is done. The new year also brings an ambition to better oneself, like exercise, eating right and creating a routine that family schedules can find manageable. These beautiful children of yours, and God, are surely showing they are ready for a new year too.Some may think it is just them being “antsy”... God knows it is them desiring for something more. Maybe more in the way of family bonding, easing up on schedules or even a structured routine.
As your children enter into this spring semester, embrace the newness of the year with the fresh starts for them and your family. Discuss together and implement some new family time, family goals and boundaries. Attending Mass together encompasses all of this. All this newness may create a bit of anxiousness too. Every family thrives in working together. When you can make the children part of a goal or solution, anxiety lessens and the opportunity for joy erupts. Joy can overcome so many things. Joy brings us closer together. Joy is rooted in who God is. So let the children be “antsy” in their desire of something more, they are giving us the opportunity to practice patience, hope, unconditional love and many other virtues. In practicing those virtues, the things we fail at do not seem to matter as much. Living a virtuous life and receiving Jesus at Mass we find a newness to desire what is that of God, true joy. So let us ALL be “ansty”, God truly knows we desire for something more.
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Middle & High School Youth Ministry
Michael Wilms, Youth Ministry & MS/HS RE
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Praise the Lord!...Now and forever!!
January has been by far the busiest and craziest month of the year for me at the Parish. There have been retreats, Confirmation interviews, new series and semesters starting and much more. I went two weeks without a break and an official “off day” to take care of the basics at home and my own personal health/sanity. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and busyness of life, to move at a nonstop pace that can be relentless over time. The problem is, that is exhausting, and as I write this, I am exhausted. Deep down we know this too, but once you get going it can be hard to slow down, or it can feel like you aren’t able to slow down without falling behind. We live in a culture that says life is about doing things; what you do and how much you do. The question I find myself asking is, “is this really what it’s supposed to be like? Is this bringing me life and am I fully alive?”
The Lord responded with a gentle, soothing voice: slow down, it’s okay. He desires to be with us, and that’s what the Church teaches, life isn’t about doing, but “being.” There is a difference when I make life about actions versus who I am to God. The answer: His beloved child. That perspective changes everything! This is the approach that made the saints change their lives and become the Saints we look to today. When we see ourselves as beloved children and not machines or robots who can do it all, suddenly we become lifted into a newfound freedom. Life seems to have more joy, patience, gratitude and Love in it. I am grateful to the Lord for this reminder to slow down and savor the beauty around me and all of the many graces He blesses His children with.
Here a few of the graces the Lord has shared with me from the past month:
- Meeting one on one with students preparing for Confirmation and getting to see their hearts full of desire to help others in need and get to know the Lord in a deeper way.
- Having dinner with the teens and Core team at Aftershock and engaging in random conversations about cheese, cereal, bagels and life.
- Joining high school students and their parents as they journeyed together with the Saints to find ways to be inspired and invited them into their homes.
- Coming into work to see my 1 year old niece visiting after not seeing her for 2 weeks.
- Having an amazing staff, coworkers and volunteers who have lifted me up, whom I am so blessed with and would be lost without them.
- For all of the hidden things the Lord in constantly doing in my heart and the hearts of all His children, that I fail to sometimes see and appreciate.
Upcoming Events and Retreats:
Feb 10-11: High School Lock-in. High schoolers are invited for our overnight social at Church, come for games, fellowship and fun!
Feb 17-19: (CYE) in Door County: Come experience God through the beautiful nature of Door County. Retreats for high schoolers and adults available: https://www.cyexpeditions.org/teens
Sat, Mar 18: Wisconsin Catholic Youth Rally. Arise Milwaukee is back! Open to both Middle and High School students!! https://www.arisemke.org/wcyr
April 21-23: TEC Retreat. Join us and other youth from the Diocese as we go on this awesome retreat that uses witness, small groups, food and prayer to help us grow in our faith. https://anchorofhopetec.org/events/
Blessed Carlo Acutis…Pray for us!
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Michael Wilms (michael.wilms@raphael.org)
Youth Minister/Faith Formation
Grades 6-12
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Some content in this section may be from FORMED, a Catholic content digital platform that provides 24/7 access to video-based study programs, feature films, audio presentations, and eBooks. St. Raphael has a parish-wide subscription, so sign up for your FREE account by visiting formed.org/signup and searching for St. Raphael the Archangel in Oshkosh, WI.
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Formed video
Come with Brother Francis as he celebrates the life-changing power of the Mass in this inspirational and instructive presentation!
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Ascension
Why should we care about going to Mass? Fr. Mike points out that the heart of worship is sacrifice, and ultimately it’s not about how engaged or entertained we are. Mass isn’t about us; it’s about God and what he asks of us
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Youtube Video
Why is the Mass so important? Why is it the “source and summit” of the Christian life? It is the most beautiful encounter between friends and it is an anticipation of the play that will be our permanent preoccupation in heaven.
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Check the youth page on the St. Raphael website for calendar updates.
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Religious Education
920 233 8044
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