ROGERS — A new adult education program is taking shape at St. Vincent de Paul Church. Families of Faith is an answer to a variety of needs in the parish.
Based on the parish policy that requires parents to attend formation to aid their children in receiving the sacraments and a growing interest in parishioners’ spiritual formation, Families of Faith was created.
In the past, parent sacramental preparation classes were held once a month and parents were required to attend six meetings. But starting last fall, according to Debi Snyder, adult religious education coordinator, the program is being expanded to include all families of the parish.
“We wanted to try to give the parents a little more variety because within this group of parents we have some 560 families preparing at some level of sacramental prep,” she said. “Of these families, 440 (78 percent) are Hispanic and 120 (22 percent) are Anglo. … I thought the topics were relevant to any parent and that is why we decided to go forward and open it up to all families.”
Because many families have two or more children, parents have to attend these classes while each child is preparing for a sacrament, such as first reconciliation, first Communion and confirmation.
As a result, it is Snyder’s hope that “more opportunities for the parents to grow in their faith will encourage ongoing spiritual learning for all parents.”
In addition to the parish policy on sacramental preparation, St. Vincent de Paul Church adopted the new stewardship program in 2005. A parish-wide survey indicated more interest and need for adult education.
In October, one of the special events for Families of Faith was a parish mission devoted to educating the congregation on the stewardship program.
Another event that grew out of this survey is the Ask A Priest meeting.
“People let us know that they would like to spend more time with priests,” Snyder said. “So I put every other month on the schedule as an Ask A Priest event in both languages so people would have an opportunity after Mass to ask the priest any questions they might have.
“Basically, we have expanded Families of Faith program this year to offer parents about 27 opportunities to learn and grow in their faith.”
In the regular one-hour monthly meetings for Families of Faith, various parish speakers cover such topics as “The Bible/God’s Library,” “Sharing Prayer with Your Child,” “The Liturgical Year,” “Reconciliation/The Importance of Forgiveness,” “Introduction to Why Catholic?,” “The Eucharist/God’s Living Presence,” and “Confirmation/Understanding the Sacrament” for both Spanish- and English-speaking groups.
As interest in Bible study has grown, Families in Faith offers the Word on Wednesdays (WOW) meetings twice a month.
“We start off with the basics of the Bible — just being able to open up our Bibles and feel comfortable about it — to navigate through it,” Snyder said.
Like many other parishes across the diocese, another opportunity for spiritual formation will happen in this Lent when the Why Catholic? program starts.
Snyder is continually organizing and promoting existing and new ministries for the parish. These include: Next Step/Young Adults, Young Married Couples, Women Growing in Faith, Little Rock Scripture Study and the Couple to Couple League.
When speaking about her work in the parish, Snyder calls it “a blessing.”
“My goal is to help people realize how strongly God is calling them to be his disciples,” she said. “The faith is so rich and so wonderful that when you start to truly understand it, doors open and it is so beautiful. I am dedicated to that aspect of the ministry.”
