December Week 1 Faith Formation
Welcome to December …the final month of 2020! Advent is a period of spiritual preparation in which many Christians make themselves ready for the coming, or birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Celebrating Advent typically involves a season of prayer, fasting, and repentance, followed by anticipation, hope, and joy…consider it a “Little Lent.”
Many Christians celebrate Advent not only by thanking God for Christ's first coming to Earth as a baby, but also for his presence among us today through the Holy Spirit, and in preparation and anticipation of his final coming at the end of the age.
Please view the following link for our December Parent video as we look at the questions; “How did God keep His promise to humanity? When and how did God Himself enter the world? and Why did God decide to become man?
Recommended resources for Lesson 5: In the Fullness of Time
- Video: Christmas According to Kids
- Video: Ignite Your Catholic Faith - God in Human-Form
- Article: The History of the Advent Wreath
- Video: Why Did Jesus Come?
December Pacing Guide
A great resource to reference for suggestions on a weekly schedule:
https://sophiainstituteforteachers.org/uploads/lessons_approved/December_english_guide_.pdf
Additional topics of interest to highlight for the month of December:
Advent Family Materials
Fr John ordered some Advent family activity materials a while back and Adam has added them to our parish website. Here are the links if you’d like to take a look at those if you haven’t seen them already.
https://www.stjoschatham.org/1st-sunday-of-advent-2020
https://www.stjoschatham.org/2nd-sunday-of-Advent
https://www.stjoschatham.org/3rd-sunday-of-Advent
https://www.stjoschatham.org/4th-sunday-of-Advent
St. Mary Press - Free resources for Advent and Christmas
Restored Order
Level 3 Families: You should have received your next informational email and video from Cindy Essex focusing on the “Purpose of the Journey.” We are nearing our first Restored Order Mass in January, so please continue to watch for updates as we have them and please keep all of our youth in your prayers as they approach their special day. Many thanks to Cindy Essex for her time in preparing, guiding, nurturing and supporting all of our families through this meaningful time…especially in this very unusual year.
Teaching the Liturgical Year
Here is a weekly lesson based on this Sunday’s (December 6th) Gospel, available to help aid understanding for each age level…includes both educator guides and student activity pages.
https://sophiainstituteforteachers.org/uploads/docs/Advent_Upper_Week_2_TG+Answer_key.pdf
“SJW Faith Formation Families” Private Facebook Page
JOIN US, if you haven’t already. There are additional articles/info/videos shared there, and we wouldn’t want you to miss anything! We invite members to post pictures and share experiences of how the year is going for your family, through the year.
Children’s Worship Bulletins
Here is an age-appropriate puzzle page to complement our scripture readings for the week