Faith Formation
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. We are still looking for one catechist for the 2025-26 school year. I am also 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 11 th grade and regular classes for grades K-9, 6:30pm
Oct. 1: Parent meeting for 2 nd 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.