Dear Saint Miriam Faith Formation Families,

We know this has been challenging time for many of us, your family, and for our church, too.

We found ourselves closed due to the pandemic for almost 15 months, save two weeks. We reopened in April this year, but many of you are still to return. We understand the hesitation, but the parish won’t survive without you. Your being part of us, and your children, are our future!

Our school reopened in June – and has remained so – but our increased costs to provide PPE, deep cleaning, and safety protocols has been tremendous. In total, the parish lost approximately $87,000, but we still stayed present to support, pray and worship. Now, it’s time to come home.

Last year Monsignor Jim called it a time of ‘being different’, and we thought it would be okay before the year end. While we are still dealing with the effects of the changing pandemic, we have proven our ability to worship and educate safely!

This is why we wanted to update you regarding our upcoming 2021 – 2022 Children’s Faith Formation (CFF) year. We listened, we heard your concerns, and we are responding.

As Monsignor mentioned in one of his blogs, we tried to incorporate a hybrid approach to our faith formation program last fall. We used a program called Gospel Weeklies, by noted publisher, Pflaum Publishing Company. While we were excited about this approach, as it dovetailed both print and virtual program components, the majority of our families said it was too burdensome and they actually missed in-person faith learning. Therefore, we are returning to in-person CFF starting September 26th 2021 with the same protocols that have kept our school safe and Covid-19 free since June 2020!

For in-person learning, we will offer both Children’s Faith Formation and Sacramental
Preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation. We will also still be offering PrepPlay this year for families who would like to participate in Mass and have their childr/en cared for. However, Monsignor has asked that this option be limited to 15 children to allow for increased distancing.

All faith formation in-person classes weekly will be done in our lower U-Classrooms with safe distancing policies. Each classroom being used is sanitized daily by our cleaning staff to ensure all of our safety.

To keep things simple this year, until we find a way to normal scheduling, our Sacramental Calendar at Saint Miriam will include only First Holy Communion in the month of May 2022 (with exact dates to be determined by our return this fall.) If your child is to participate in First Holy Communion, please complete the Registration with this information so the supplemental material can be ordered.

The Gospel Weeklies will continue to be distributed weekly! We will order individualized materials and extra supplemental material, as needed, for the distribution and fees will remain the SAME once again to help families back to regular Mass and CFF attendance. Last year we reduced the cost of the CFF Program by half, absorbing the added costs, to help you and your family. After all, that is what a parish is all about!

Finally, experts predicted the end of church worship and the end of our reliance on God’s love and providence. We disagree. A life without God is a life without hope. Parents are the primary faith teachers of their children. We pray you won’t fail them at this critical time in our history. What will they do when we are gone and they are left without us and with no faith or God?

Please use the following link below to register your child/ren for this fall term so we can order material and plan accordingly. The total cost for the program, options included is only $100 per child, plus $25 to help defray materials and packaging. (Additional siblings are only $75, and we will include materials.) The Sacramental Fee will also be the same as previous years at $50 to include sacramental materials and needed supplies, as well as extra instruction by our teachers.

Have a blessed remaining days of Summer and look forward to seeing you all in the fall starting Sunday, September 26th!

Brother Sean, OSF
Director of Religious Education

Monsignor Jim, OSF
Pastor

Please Use This Link to Register: www.mySaintMiriam.org/CFF