Sacred Heart Church - Southbury, Connecticut, U.S.A.

Whole Community Catechesis

**Please note that the 2008-2009 registration deadline is June 1. Between June 2 and August 15, 2008 there is a $50.00 late fee, and after August 15 only new resident registrations will be accepted.

Registration Weekend: March 29, 2008 and March 30, 2008: Please visit the registration table after all Masses for information or to register.

Faith is our relationship with God. Since the time of Jesus, Christians have discovered the value of coming together in communities of faith (Church) in order to learn about, live and mature in their faith. At Sacred Heart Parish we believe that this process is life-long and that it takes place within the family and within the parish community.

Our parish community serves as a resource for the growth in faith of parish members of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances of life. The faith formation process is not directed primarily to children nor is it a purely academic process. It involves the individual’s immersion in the life, prayer and ministry of the community. In fact, the process we use here at Sacred Heart is a form of Whole Community Catechesis that we call “Growing in Faith Together” or G.I.F.T. While our participation in our parish liturgy, ministry and community life all play an important part in forming us in our faith, we offer a program formally structured around specific events of our faith and liturgy.

During our first year, we focused on 5 church events: All Saints/All Souls, Christmas/Holy Family, Lent, Triduum, and Pentecost.
Our second year “Following Jesus” we focused on discipleship and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
In year three the study was “Celebrate the Sacraments” and learn how these gifts of God’s Grace relate to our lives and our Catholic identity.
This year we will learn about "Professing Our Faith" as we take an in depth look at The Creed and what we believe as Catholic Christians.

G.I.F.T. participants are people of all ages who gather at our church for one of the five offered days and times for each of the six sessions, to learn and prepare for the upcoming celebration of these events. We will refer to these learning sessions as G.I.F.T. (Growing in Faith Together). Each G.I.F.T. session:

will last two and a half hours and will include a meal, an opening all-ages experience, an in-depth learning experience in age specific breakouts, an all-ages intergenerational closing session.
A take home packet will include resources, activities, prayers, rituals, and service ideas for each household. One of the major premises of WCC is that parents are the primary educators of children, and these home packets will strive to provide families with the needed resources to help parents assume this valuable role.
A connection to an upcoming liturgy, church event or Sacrament

Registration for G.I.F.T.

Registration for Whole Community Catechesis, and our G.I.F.T. sessions takes place each Spring. We do this so that we may more accurately plan for our G.I.F.T. sessions and plan training and the development of the learning plans with respect to how many people have enrolled. Please note that the 2008-2009 registration deadline is June 1. Between June 2 and August 15, 2008 there is a $50.00 late fee, and after August 15 only new resident registrations will be accepted.

Those who have missed this registration period should call the Faith Formation offices as soon as possible. We will do everything we can to accommodate your participation within our program. If you have children and you are new to our parish, we ask you to please bring your children’s baptismal certificate and sacramental information with you when you come to register.

We view our relationship with you as a partnership of efforts and will do our very best to provide you with ample opportunities and proper resources to grow in faith. Our hope is that you will find Sacred Heart a welcoming place to worship and learn, as you form meaningful connections to faith and your life situations, as well as to others.

Fees for G.I.F.T. 2008-2009:

Fees for G.I.F.T. may be found on the 2008-2009 G.I.F.T. Registration Form.

It is the policy of Sacred Heart to welcome all. No one will be denied due to financial constraints. Kindly inform us of any financial needs.

Faith Formation Office Hours

9:00am –4:30 pm Monday through Thursday or by appointment
Contact Anne Sharkey or Ami Conlan at 203-264-5065 for further information or to register.