Family Faith Formation

Family Faith Formation 2026-2027

If you are new to St Brendan's Family Faith Formation, welcome! We know how busy family life is, so our program is built on flexibility. Rather than traditional weekly PSR classes, we think of faith formation as a whole family journey.

We are so excited to kick off another year of community, faith, learning, growth, and fun both at home and at church! Follow the steps below to prepare and register for Family Faith Formation.

Family Faith Formation is for any St Brendan family. All families with children in first through eighth grades who are not attending a Catholic school and not yet Confirmed should register for Family Faith Formation.

Family Faith Formation at-church Family Sessions begin on Sunday, September 13.

Here is how it works: First, during a casual 15-minute visit, we’ll help connect your family with the perfect "pathway" for where you are in your journey of faith. From there, you’ll join us regularly (once or twice a month) for an At-Church Family Session filled with community connection, parent small groups, and engaging activities for the kids. The rest of the month, you’ll use our provided, interactive at-home resources to learn with short, 20-to-40-minute Family Meetings at home on your own schedule. If you have middle schoolers (grades 6–8), they’ll also connect with peers at The Roots up to three times a month. We give you all the tools, pacing guides, and community support you need to learn together as a family!

Questions? Contact:

Jacob Doran, Director of Youth Evangelization and Catechesis, 614-876-1272 x231 jdoran@stbrendans.net

Sarah Pennington, Family Faith Formation Coordinator, 614-876-1272 x233 spennington@stbrendans.net

Step 1: Visit

A Visit is a fifteen-to-thirty-minute conversation about your experience of faith, family faith formation (or other program), how you can help our team, how we can pray for you, and what pathway might be most fruitful for your family this coming year. At least one parent must attend, but you are welcome to bring the whole family. These are conducted either in person at the parish office, by phone, or through a Teams video call. After the Visit, you can register your family.

The Visit is the first step in registration for Family Faith Formation program.

In order to best support you and your family as you grow in your faith, we need to have a relationship with you and get to know your walk with God. There is no judgment or test involved in the Visit. Our goal is to be able to accompany and support you. We cannot do that if your family is just names on a spreadsheet or in the parish database.

Step 2: Registration

You will need to complete a child registration for each child participating in Family Faith Formation. As well, you need to complete the parent registration and payment form. After both of these are submitted, you are registered for Family Faith Formation. Use the buttons below.

You must be a registered and active parishioner at St Brendan or be able to obtain a letter of permission from your Pastor to join Family Faith Formation.

Step 3: Join the Team!

We need a team to make Family Faith Formation work!

All parents are encouraged to join our team in one of the below roles. Parents who work with children must be safe environment certified (attended a Protecting God's Children class and have a background check on file with the Diocese of Columbus within the last five years)

Lead Catechist (Family receives 100% fee discount)

Commits to lead elementary age groups during Family Sessions

Aide (Family receives 30% fee discount)

Commits to help with elementary age groups during Family Sessions

Parent Companion (Family receives 30% fee discount)

Helps to lead the conversation during parent small groups and get everyone involved

Intercession/Prayer team

Commits to an adoration hour each week to pray for the families at St. Brendan

Hospitality team

Assists with room set up or tear down including decor and snacks

The Roots - Middle School Youth Ministry

Assists with any of the following: set up, food ministry, student sign-in, tear down

POD Nursery

Assists with littles in the POD nursery during at-church Family Sessions or Sunday morning Mass

Book a Visit

Child Registration

Parent Registration and Payment

Cost

Family Faith Formation Cost:

Family with one child enrolled - $300

Family with two children enrolled - $425

Family with three or more children enrolled - $475

For Sacrament Preparation, we ask that families pay an additional $50 per child to offset costs associated with the program. This is payable on the sacrament registration forms.

After August 17, there will be an additional late fee charge of $25.

We are committed to financially assisting any family that asks. Please let us know if you have any kind of financial need regarding Family Faith Formation or Sacrament preparation costs.

Our Method

Family Faith Formation at St Brendan follows the Catechumenal method that dates back to the early Church. We approach Faith Formation in stages, not ages. Following an initial visit with the Director of Youth Evangelization and Catechesis, we connect your family with the best "pathway" in our program. For example, a family new to Family Faith Formation will probably be in the Seek & Root pathway.

At-Church Family Sessions:

Families gather at Church throughout the year with others in their same pathway. Some of these Sessions are with the whole family together, and some will group parents and children separately with their peers. When separate, parents will be placed into a small group for the year for learning, discussion, and growth. At the same time, children will have a VBS-like experience to learn about their faith and connect with their peers.

At-Home Family Meetings:

Each pathway connects to a boxed resource provided by the church that enables families to learn together at home about a certain topic of the faith. Prayer, conversation, activities, and fun will all take place in each 20-40 minute Family Meeting. Each box comes with hands-on activities that help to concretize the lessons inside. After each Family Meeting, you will submit a photo or text response as a "family follow through." Each box contains between six and ten Family Meetings. You will receive a pacing guide to help you stay on track with your at-home Family Meetings. Don't worry if you fall behind! It is easy to catch up. You can expect to complete 2-4 Family Meetings each month.

We provide the Pathways Suite resources published by Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries.

The Roots For Grades 6-8:

Starting around age 11, peer relationships begin to take on a greater degree of importance. To respond to this fact, children in grades 6-8 attend The Roots middle school youth ministry up to three times a month on Sunday from 6:30pm-8:30pm. We ask that all Family Faith Formation middle grade children attend at least twice each month. Calendar for The Roots coming soon!

At-Church Calendar

Click here to view our at-church 26-27 calendar.

Our first at-church Family Sessions are on Sunday, September 13. All at-church Family Sessions wrap up in April.

Our Family Faith Formation Pathways

Seek and Root

This pathway is for families who have not been involved with a family-based program before. It is ideal for families beginning their faith formation journey, or for those who are returning parish life after an extended time away. This is a time of either inquiry or investigation into the essential teachings of the Church found in the Apostle’s Creed.

In this pathway, families will be introduced to the basic Gospel message through the Seek resources. In four at-church family sessions during September and October, we will start our faith journeys fresh and discuss what it means to be a child of God, to live in a world broken by sin, to accept the saving actions of Jesus Christ, and to be a member of the Catholic Church today.

During November through April, all families in this pathway will use the Root resource, which includes a monthly parent study, seven at-church Family Sessions, and six at-home Family Meetings. Root will teach or remind you all about the Trinity, God as Father, Creation, Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, and the Catholic Church.

At the end of this pathway, your family will have a shared vocabulary of faith and be ready to either continue your formation in the Catholic faith or begin preparing your child to celebrate the Sacraments.

All eleven at-Church sessions are scheduled for Monday evenings from 6pm-7:30pm. There are separate sessions for parents and elementary students (K-5th grades). All promote a shared faith vocabulary and are meant to lead to conversations about faith between parents and children.

First Reconciliation and First Communion

First Reconciliation can be celebrated by any child after they turn 7. The 'typical' preparation year is 2nd grade.

Families preparing a child or children for First Reconciliation will use the Mend resource. It contains eight at-home Family Meetings. As well, Faith Formation families will attend two at-church Family Sessions which will supplement the preparation process for the whole family. First Reconciliation will be held on the morning of Saturday, December 5th.

At-Church Family Sessions for Reconciliation and Eucharist will each take place on a Sunday morning after the 8:45am Mass until 11:15.

First Holy Communion can be celebrated by any child after they turn 7 and complete their first Reconciliation. The 'typical' preparation year is 2nd grade.

Families preparing a child or children for Eucharist will use the Nourish resource. It contains ten at-home Family Meetings. As well, Faith Formation families will attend three at-church Family Sessions which will supplement the preparation process for the whole family.

First Communion Masses will be celebrated at 2pm on Sunday, May 2 and Sunday, May 9.

At-Church Family Sessions for Reconciliation and Eucharist will each take place on a Sunday morning after the 8:45 am Mass until 11:15.

We also hold a first Communion retreat and practice called Jesus Day. This takes place on Friday, April 23. There are two sessions you can choose from, one at 10AM and one at 4:30PM. At least one parent is required to attend with their child.

Catching up on Sacraments? If your child has missed First Communion, don't worry, you are in the right place! We customize your pathway to meet your family exactly where you are.

Continued Growth

This pathway is for families who are continuing on their formation journey, which the Church calls “mystagogy.” All families in Continued Growth should be familiar with a family-based program where teaching comes primarily from the parents and is supplemented with at-church Family Sessions.

The resources for this coming year are called Wonder and Made. In these resources, families will teach and learn about ten of Jesus' parables and what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.

Wonder contains ten at-home Family Meetings that will be completed between September and December. Made contains ten at-home meetings that will be completed between January and May.

We will supplement your at-home experience with at-church Family Sessions each month September-April. Some of these monthly sessions will further teach about the at-home topics, and some will be about Catholic devotionals that you can practice as a family.

Monthly at-Church Family Sessions are scheduled for the second Sunday morning after the 8:45 Mass until 11:15.

Confirmation

The 'normal' preparation year for Confirmation is 8th grade.

Families with Confirmation candidates will use the Zeal resource. It contains seven at-home Family Meetings and one Sponsor meeting. As well, Faith Formation families will attend three at-church Family Sessions which will supplement the preparation process for the whole family.

Confirmation will be celebrated on a date of the Bishop's choosing.

Each Confirmation At-Church Family Session will take place on the second Sunday evening after the 5:30 pm Mass until 8:15pm.

As part of Confirmation prep, we ask that each candidate completes six service/volunteer hours and attend a retreat experience. We partner with Damascus for a weekend Confirmation retreat on November 20-22. Registration and payment for this retreat is through Damascus. When available, a link will be sent to all Confirmation families.

Children in grades 6-8 are also expected to attend The Roots middle school youth group at least twice a month. See the next drop down for more information.

Middle School Students

In addition to their Family pathway, all grade 6-8 children are asked to join The Roots middle school youth ministry at least twice each month to join their peers in dinner, games, learning, and small group.

These nights are a ton of fun and led by area young adults who have been trained for mission to middle grade students.

The Roots meets on Sunday evenings from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Calendar coming soon!

For more information about the coming Confirmation age change, click here.

Contact Us!

Jacob Doran: Director of Youth Evangelization & Catechesis ext. 231

Sarah Pennington: Family Faith Formation Coordinator ext. 233
Kara Shand: High School Youth Ministry ext. 232
Anna Marino: Middle School Youth Ministry ext. 232