Faith Formation

Hello Faith Formation Parents,

We hope this message finds you safe, healthy, and well considering the most recent circumstances.

Thank you for the opportunity that you give us each year by entrusting your children to us for assistance in raising them in the Catholic faith. It is truly a joy to minister alongside you in this incredible journey toward a deeper love of Jesus Christ and His Church.

We understand that the current situation involving the Coronavirus has made a significant impact to the context of your family life and that this unprecedented adjustment is something with many different elements to consider. The Church as well recognizes the severity of this situation and so we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some updates concerning faith formation and other questions you may be having.

If you have not heard by now Cardinal DiNardo released a pastoral letter to all the faithful in the Archdiocese yesterday which stated that out of a spirit of charity and good will for all our brothers and sisters we must ensure we do our part to not hinder efforts to contain and prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. His full letter is attached to this email. In this letter you will see that parishes will be temporarily suspending the celebration of Mass until it is safe to do so and that faith formation should also not be taking place on campus.  

Given this request the faith formation department at Epiphany has decided that it would be appropriate to make some adjustments to the way we will be concluding this year’s faith formation program:

• We will be honoring the request made for the safety of all children, catechists, and families involved and there will be no more on campus faith formation for this 2020 Spring semester. 
• However, we do wish to be supportive of your child(ren)’s continued faith development. According to our calendar we were just entering the 4th unit in our curriculum entitled, “How are we called to be missionary disciples of Jesus Christ?” To ensure each child is given the opportunity to receive this important information, this 4th unit will be offered as a home study model for all those enrolled in faith formation, which can be completed at your own pace/convenience. 
  • Different age groups use different resources that each contain a certain structure that would provide the best opportunity for this to be accommodated or adapted for use at home. For this reason the corresponding director (Dave – elementary, Megan – Jr. High, and Joey – High School) will be communicating the specific detailed instructions as to what this will look like for your child(ren). 
• Please know that our office is dedicated to supporting you in this endeavor. You may contact us at any point for guidance, support, and questions. 
• If you have a child preparing for sacraments, please be on the lookout for another email which will outline how this situation has impacted those processes. 
  • This adaptation will not impact or affect anyone preparing for sacraments this year or next year. 

We thank you for your flexibility, commitment to your child’s faith development, and for all you do as their best teachers of faith. If you have any other questions about how this heath crisis has impacted Epiphany, we would invite you to look for an email from Fr. Tom sent (Tuesday 3/17) to all our parishioners. This email contains specific details about how Epiphany is responding to this health situation with more details about Church hours, sacraments, and more. If you have not received this from Fr. Tom then please let one of us know so we may pass that along to you for your spiritual benefit.

Finally, know that our department will be consistently keeping each of you in our prayers. We recognize the challenges of this situation but also hope that you find the grace needed to continue growing in your journey of faith. It has been our privilege to work with you this year and we look forward to continuing to do so in future opportunities. May God bless you and your families.    

In Christ,

Matt Kiernan, Charlotte Fulton, Dave Clark, Joey Harvey, Megan Lass, and Ashley Hinojosa.