Each week the Youth Ministry division from the Archdiocese of Washington will give suggestions for Family Faith Friday. We are happy to reprint them here for the families of Little Flower. We will also add our own resources so check back regularly!
The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) in collaboration with three other Catholic organizations developed a 3-part webinar series to help empower families to live out their faith as a Domestic Church. Check out the webinars here: https://nfcym.org/.../strong-catholic-families-webinar.../
Week 2: What are teens talking about? As parents, sometimes it may feel like it’s so hard to keep up with all the new trends. This can cause a barrier to know how to talk to our teens. Thankfully, there are many resources that can bridge that barrier. LifeTeen Parent Resources is a great one to start with. Want to know what a meme is? Want to know about the new video games? Understand social media better? How to help a stressed teen? This parent resource has a rich variety of blogs, from parents and young people, that’ll help you understand what your teens are talking about. Visit: https://ltparentlife.com for more info.
Week 1: As the new year begins and our youth are starting a whole new way of school one thing remains the same -- their goals for the year. So too, we invite you to have a conversation as a family about your goals for the year. Those can be individual goals or goals that you want to accomplish together. Then, we invite you to create your own family statement that brings forth your vision as a family for the year! This does not have to be a tedious task, but rather a task as a family that will foster unity, pride and accountability.
"The family, which is founded and given life by love, is a community of persons: of husband and wife, of parents and children, of relatives. Its first task is to live with fidelity the reality of communion in a constant effort to develop an authentic community of persons."- Saint Pope John Paul II
Download and print your own family mission statement here: (From nfcym.org)
ADW Parent Network Discussions
The Office of Youth Ministry of the Archdiocese of Washington firmly believes that the parents are the primary educators of the faith in the life of our young people. As such, we would like to create a space where parents from all around our Archdiocese can join us to discuss, network and pray together. The purpose of this group is to create opportunities for parents to network with each other, tell us about their needs, and for us to provide resources for them to assist their children. The goal is to help us all accompany our young people in their walk of faith and continue to invite and empower them to be active members of their parish communities.
Earlier this year Christine Lamas provided information on the “Strong Catholic Families: Strong Catholic Youth” initiative which explores how the Catholic Church can more effectively partner with parents to help bring home the faith. This presentation will be replayed twice in February. This is something that can be of great value at our parish for the religious education. school, and youth ministry programs. If you are interested in a parish-based group to talk about how we can implement new programming here at Little Flower please let us know! youthministry@lfparish.org
For more information on the Strong Catholic Families initiative, please visit the NFCYM website at https://nfcym.org/programs/strong-catholic-families/
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From the Office of Youth Ministry: As we all know, parents are a crucial part of ministry. One of the many consequences of this pandemic has been the shift to virtual life. Parents may be overwhelmed with overseeing their children's online school work and attending Mass and CCD classes virtually, all while meeting the demands of their jobs and everyday life.
Clearly, we as a Church are asking a lot of our parents. We also feel called to provide assistance and resources to them to show just how much we care for and value them. These gatherings are open to all and we welcome and encourage all parents across the ADW, regardless of your child's age, to join us.