Generations In Faith Together!

An inter-generational approach to life-long faith formation. All ages learning, growing, living in faith, through common experiences, age-specific learning and interactive sharing.

Generations In Faith Together (GIFT) involves everyone in our faith community. Through this innovative approach, all ages learn and grow through our experiences and participation in Church life.

  • This was enjoyable and time well spent.
  • I learned working together in all ages is fun!
  • I need to look for ways to be saint-like in everyday life.
  • I was excited by children and adults sharing their faith together.
  • It is good to see the gifts in others.
  • I was excited to learn more about the feast days so I can understand them better when I come to Mass.

What will it look like?

The first Sunday of each month, we will:

  • come together for a simple meal
  • enjoy an opening experience that includes prayer and activities
  • move into age-specific or intergenerational learning activities
  • reunite to share our experience
  • receive a take-home kit to connect our learning to our everyday lives.

Who is it for?

The short answer is Everyone! The longer answer is:

  • Adults (singles, couples, parents, grandparents, college students, etc) who want to learn more about their faith
  • Children and teens who attend Catholic school and want to participate in a faith formation opportunity with our parish community
  • Children and teens who have participated in our Faith Formation program
  • Pre-school children who want to learn about their faith too!
1When and where do we meet?

The first Sunday of the Month from 11:30 AM to 1:45 PM at the Chapel + Cultural Center.

GIFT 2019-2020 Speaker Mini-Series
22 September 2019 Written Records and Authorities (The Bible, Didache, Apostolic Tradition, the Teaching of the Apostles)
27 October 2019 Guide to Faithful Citizenship
24 November 2019 Christian Beliefs (The Creeds of Athanasian, Apostles, Nicene)
15 December 2019 Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist) Sacraments of Healing (Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick) Sacraments of Service (Marriage and Holy Orders)
19 January 2020 Commandments of the Church
9 February 2020 The Trinity
22 March 2020 Prayer and Spirituality
26 April 2020 Mary and other Women in the Church
May 2020
2How do I sign up?
Contact the Chaplains Office at 276-6518
3What is Generations in Faith Together?

Generations in Faith Together (GIFT) is an approach to faith formation that emphasizes 3 things:

  • Faith formation is a life-long process (in other words, we dont need to learn everything about our faith by the time we are confirmed, and we can all benefit from continuing our faith development as adults).
  • Our faith is best formed by experiencing it, not just studying it.
  • The events and liturgies of the church year are a rich curriculum for our faith formation.
4Why are we doing Generations in Faith Together (GIFT)?

Generations in Faith Together hopes to meet several needs in our parish:

  • Interest in more on-going faith formation opportunities for adults.
  • A more experiential approach to learning for our children and teens.
  • Resources for individuals and families to integrate their faith formation into their daily lives at home.
  • More opportunities to get to know more people in our parish.
5What's the difference between a GIFT Gathering and an Event?

Each topic or theme (for example the Feast of All Saints) will include 3 parts:

  • A Generations in Faith Together gathering to help everyone learn about that theme and prepare for the event.
  • The Event itself which we will all more fully participate in and experience because of our preparation.
  • A Home Kit to help you continue your preparation for the event and apply what you learned to your daily life.
6What's a Home Kit?
A Home Kit will include a variety of resources and activities related to that events theme to be used at home. Examples of items you may find in a Home Kit are: prayers, reflection or discussion questions, listings of related Bible readings, listings of web sites and books, family activities for children and teens of varying ages, etc. The Home Kits will be distributed at the GIFT Gatherings and there will be one kit available for each household.
7When do I do the stuff in the Home Kit?
You decide what works for you. You may choose to talk about some of the discussion questions over dinner with your family or friends. You may choose to set aside one night after the GIFT Gathering to do some of the reading or activities. You may choose to include something from the Home Kit in your daily prayers.Committees or other small groups in the parish may choose to use one of the reflection questions in the Home Kit to start their meetings that month. You may choose not to use it at all.Its completely up to you.
8I’m not sure about this; can I try it once and see what its like?
Yes, if you’d like to give it a try, select one event and register for the individual gathering and come and see what you think. If you decide you like it, you can sign up for more later.
9How can I volunteer to help?
We are looking for volunteers to help in a variety of ways from greeting people at the door to leading small group sessions to making desserts to helping find resources for Home Kits to cleaning up after the session. if any of these sound like something you might be interested in, check the appropriate line on the registration form and someone will contact you with more information.
10Is Generations In Faith Together (GIFT) taking the place of regular weekly Faith Formation sessions?
The answer to that is YES! We will be gathering once a month (on the first Sunday of the month). The gatherings will be our primary focus for Faith Formation in our parish.
11What about First Communion, First Penance, and Confirmation?
Preparation for reception of first sacraments is separate from the GIFT process. Preparation for the sacrament of Penance will take place in the late Fall and preparation for the sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation will take place during the Winter and early Spring. If you are interested in celebrating these sacraments this year, check off the box on the registration form and details about our parish process will be sent to you.
12What if my kids go to Catholic School?
We invite your family to participate in the GIFT Gatherings. We hope that this will be a great way to further enhance your faith development and strengthen your connection to our parish community.
13What if I have a question that isnt discussed here?
Contact the Chaplains Office at 276-6518

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued its first report assessing compliance by dioceses nationwide with “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” This report is based on a thorough review by independent auditors of the work of U.S. dioceses since June 2002 to establish effective procedures to receive, investigate and act upon complaints of clergy sexual abuse of minors; to prevent future abuse through background checks and the creation of safe environment programs, and to promote healing by providing comfort and assistance to victims, among other goals.

Independent auditors found the Albany Diocese in complete compliance with all provisions of the Charter. The USCCB’s full report an recommendations can be read at www.usccb.org. The report on the Albany Diocese audit and full information about our Diocese’s programs to address clergy sexual abuse of minors is available at www.rcda.org.

The Albany Diocese has a zero tolerance policy for clergy sexual abuse of minors. We encourage all victims of clergy sexual abuse to come forward for help. To report an incident of abuse, please contact the Albany Diocese Assistance Coordinator, Frederick Jones at (518) 453-6646, or write to him at assistance.coordinator@rcda.org . Detailed information on the Safe Environment procedures for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany can be found at: https://www.rcda.org/offices/protecting-children-young-people