Lifelong Faith Formation

 THOMAS MERTON SERIES: (AFF) This Lenten Series is on Sundays at 9:45 a.m. in the Bill Hunn Center of St. Catharine Hall. To register you may call or email Ann Northam.

† ADOPT-A-CHILD: If you wish to make a donation to this tuition assistance program, please put it in an envelope and either mail it ATTN: Ann Northam or put it in the collection in an envelope marked Adopt-A-Child. Checks should be made out to St. Augustine Church. Please note that the donation is for "Adopt-A-Child". Our need is $6,435. Thank you in advance!

† Children's Faith Formation (CFF) classes meet Sundays 9:30-10:30 a.m. in St. Augustine Parish Hall. All children, age 4 through high school, who do not attend Catholic schools, should be in Faith Formation. This is an obligation of the Parents, Godparents, and/or Grandparents to see that our young parishioners are formed in the faith. What a gift we have to share! 2009-2010 Faith Formation Schedule

† Wednesday Evening Scripture which meets at 6:30 p.m. each week at St. Augustine Parish Hall, reads and discusses the readings for the following Sunday and is getting ready to discuss the Narrative Books of the Bible in the Great Adventure Bible Series.

† MONDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY sessions take place on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. til Noon, at Sacred Heart in St. Catharine Hall. We are getting ready to begin the story of Joseph in Genesis.

† RCIA WEEKLY SESSIONS: The weekly sessions for those inquiring to learn more about the church are in session on Thursdays, 7:00 p.m. in room #6 of the St. Augustine Parish Hall.

† HIGH SCHOOL BIBLE STUDY: There will be a bible study session for high school students on Sunday mornings when CFF is in session 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. at St. Augustine in the parish office. This will be on the Sundays when there is not a Theology of the Body session.

Catholics and the Bible Now available!

   The new year-long Scripture series by international Scripture Scholar Father Donald Senior explores the Catholic understanding of Scripture. This series is in response to the Synod on Sacred Scripture and its recommendations, as well as this year's Catechetical Sunday theme, Catechesis and the Proclamation of the Word. A new article with reflection questions will appear each month until July 2010.

The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults

Congratulations to Jewell Cook, Wayne Tomlin, Nancy Villier and Shawn Gray who celebrated the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion with Archbishop Daniel at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Indianapolis. They are now in the Period of Purification and Enlightenment and are "The Elect" to celebrate the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 3, 2010.

HearGodsCall.com: Everyone has a calling ... What's yours? Learn more about vocations to the priesthood

Sr. Nicolette Etienne's Vocation Story - the vocation director at Our Lady of Grace Monastery for the Sisters of St. Benedict in Beech Grove, Indiana shares the joys of Religious life.

The Church has good news to proclaim about the family and about human love and sexuality. This good news is important for our children to learn as they are bombarded with many mixed messages from contemporary culture, media and a variety of powerful voices. Catholic sexuality education helps one to understand that sexuality is a gift from God, a precious dimension of human life that requires reverence and care. It sets forth the call to chastity and recognizes the critical importance of the family and particularly parents in the education of their children in human sexuality. Unless the family continually impresses the right attitudes, unless the root values and beliefs of the faith are established in the early years of childhood development in the home, other forms of Christian education can scarcely be effective. In helping parents with this critically important responsibility, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis is implementing revisions to the guidelines for chastity and sexuality education in our elementary schools and both elementary and high school faith formation/youth ministry programs.

For our High School students: THEOLOGY OF THE BODY (TOB). We are excited to be offering this program both on a parish level and with the Deanery Catholic Youth Ministries Office! Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body is changing lives around the world through its positive portrayal of our sexuality as a good and essential part of love and life. TOB provides young people with an opportunity to explore, nurture and strengthen their understanding of what it means to be a Catholic Christian living life with a healthy sense of self and relationship. The program will kick off in August with registrations and an orientation session here at the parish. This will be Wednesday, August 19, from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Throughout the year we will gather all of the teens in the deanery for sessions covering the following topics:

• Created for Love;
• Truth and Freedom;
• Vocation; and Dating with Purpose.

The deanery will also be offering quarterly sessions for parents - so you can take the journey with your youth by knowing what they will be discussing and how you can continue that discussion at home! Be sure to come to the informational sessions on Sunday, August 16, or Monday, August 17.

Our School and Elementary Faith Formation program will be using Benziger Family Life series to provide catechesis on sexuality for our students. This series has been approved by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops for both content and methodology. The role and responsibility of parents in the education of their children regarding faith and sexuality is critical.

Any CFF parent (K-8) or Sacred Heart School Parent for grades 5 thru 8, who did not attend one of the annual meetings should contact the Faith Formation Office for a parent packet. We will now be referring to these classes as the Family Life Children’s Formation Program. Catechists and Teachers will be going through training. The CFF Family Life sessions will take place beginning in January. We will work closely with the families to cover the required teaching in the Religion Curriculum of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.