Family Catechesis
Helping Build Faithful Families
For a variety of reasons, parishes across the country are inviting parents to become the primary catechists of their children. The Christ Our Life Family Catechesis program makes this possible by working in conjunction with the core Christ Our Life program. Our Family Catechesis program is unique in that it helps parents grow in their own faith while they guide their children in core faith formation. This flexible and engaging program nurtures faith and helps build community.
How It Works
Christ Our Life Family Catechesis combines parish-based group meetings and grade-specific instruction by trained catechists with at-home lessons guided by parents.
Each group meeting has three parts:
1. Welcome (15 minutes) for children and parents
- Leader introduces the theme to families through prayer, sharing activity, Scripture, and discussion.
- Children are then dismissed to their grade-level faith formation lessons.
2. Connect (30 minutes) for parents only
- Leader covers the theme through multimedia and discussion in a more in-depth manner.
3. Close (15 minutes) for parents only
- The group meeting concludes with a wrap-up, closing prayer, and invitation to catechize their children at home with easy-to-use At-Home lessons and Student Books.
Components included in Family Catechesis
The Christ Our Life Family Catechesis components are designed expressly for family faith formation.
For the Leader
Slide Show Presentations – High-quality, complete slide show presentations give a positive visual impact to group meetings and ensure successful presentations to diverse groups. Each slide show presentation includes embedded media clips and presentation notes. 5 are unit-themed and 2 are seasonal (Advent/ Christmas and Lent/Holy Week/Easter).
Director Guide – The Director Guide has everything needed to implement a successful family catechesis program in any parish, including suggestions for promoting the program, introducing the program to families, and alignment to popular family faith formation methods.
Leader Guide – The Leader Guide takes you step-by-step through the slide show presentations with preparation pages, audience-specific scripting, tips, and visual cues.
Additional Components you purchase and use in conjunction with the Family Catechesis program.
For Families
The Student Book, At-Home Edition, and Interactive Lesson Reviews – Parents carry forward the unit content at home during individually paced lessons that suit the needs of their families’ schedules, using the Student Book together with the At-Home Edition. Interactive Lesson Reviews are an easy way to gauge children’s understanding and monitor progress.
For Grade-Level Catechists
Parish Catechist Guide and Other Program Ancillaries – The Catechist Guide contains catechetical background, clear plans, and scripting to help catechists confidently convey faith concepts. Grade-level catechists use this resource in conjunction with the Student Book to teach the first lesson in each unit during the grade-level lessons.
Call 800-621-1008 to order. Introductory price of $99.95 includes the 7 Slide Show Presentations with 2 Bonus Informative Presentations to help introduce the program, the Director Guide, and the Leader Guide—all delivered digitally.