Faith Formation Update 

As summer comes to an end, we are excited to begin another year of faith formation classes 

for our students! My name is Jenny Herman, and this will be my first full year as the Faith 

Formation Organizer at St. Marcus. Faith formation is comprised of many different areas that 

work together to help us become disciples of Christ. 

According to the National Directory for Catechesis, “Faith must be known, celebrated, 

lived and expressed in prayer. So catechesis comprises six fundamental tasks, each of

which is related to an aspect of faith in Christ....” 

* Faith formation* promotes knowledge of the faith. 

* Faith formation* promotes knowledge of the meaning of the Liturgy and the Sacraments.

* Faith formation* promotes moral formation in Jesus Christ. 

* Faith formation* teaches the Christian how to pray with Christ. 

* Faith formation* prepares the Christian to live in community and to 

participate actively in the Life and mission of the Church. 

* Faith formation* promotes a missionary spirit that prepares the faithful to 

be present as Christians in society. 

-- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. National Directory for 

Catechesis. 2005. #20. 

* “faith formation” has been substituted for the more technical term “catechesis”  

Our program strives to accomplish all 6 of these tasks in each of our classes throughout the 

year. I am grateful for the catechists who volunteer their time for this important and rewarding 

job.  I am open to ideas from parishioners on ways to bring this mission alive in our classrooms: service

project ideas, guest speaker ideas, stories of faith you’ve encountered, etc. 

Because of our smaller class sizes, we are combining a few grades so that we can promote 

stronger discussion among students. Our classes for this year will be K/1, 2, 3-5, 6/7, and 8/9. 

Classes will continue to meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:30pm at the church. 

Important Dates 

September 10: Catechist meeting, 6:30pm, St. Marcus Social Hall 

September 17: Parent meeting, first night of class for grades K-9, 6:30pm 

September 24: Confirmation class for 11th grade and regular classes for grades K-9, 6:30pm 

Oct. 1: Parent meeting for 2nd grade and regular classes for grades K-9, 6:30pm 

Please reach out to Jenny Herman, stmarcus.ff@gmail.com or 320-743-3346 with questions or

suggestions.