Generations of Faith | Good Shepherd Congregation

GOF Calendar

2023-24 FORMATION SCHEDULE

Online Registration and Payment

Generations of Faith (GOF) is our core formation program and is inter-generational. Here at Good Shepherd we see Christian Formation as an ongoing, life-long process. A living faith is always growing and changing as we experience God and interact with one another. Sessions run once a month and follow our weekend Masses. The goal of Generations of Faith is to help all parish members engage the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and embrace the mission to which we are called and for which we are sent forth each week.

Life-Long Faith Formation – The Generations of Faith (GOF) program seeks to foster and develop faith growth across the life cycle. The gift of faith is given by God, and we are called to nurture that gift and help it to grow. Generations of Faith recognizes that this task is never finished but is a life-long process. By gathering parishioners of all ages, we can share our experiences, encourage each other, and give conscious attention to the current state of our faith in God and our relationship to the Church. We can learn from the experience of our elders, but we can also marvel at the wisdom of our youth. Old men and women dream dreams while young people see visions (Joel 2:28) and together we can envision the Kingdom of God and our call to be part of that Kingdom.

Formation as a Community – GOF is formation that brings the gifts of the whole community together. In today’s world people are often separated from their extended families and the wisdom of older generations. The young don’t always have regular contact with older adults. Older adults can feel isolated and not have contact with many young people. But as parish we are a family in Christ. Generations of Faith offers an opportunity to bridge these gaps and helps us to know our sisters and brothers in Christ that we worship with each weekend. As we come to know each other better we are more readily able to enter into our Sunday liturgies with full and active participation, and thereby to build up the Church.

Something for Everyone

All Ages (4 years old to retirees, and childcare for those 3 and younger)
Shared meal and friendship
Making connections with others in the parish
Learning from one another. (After one session an adult shared with us, “I learned a lot from a teen tonight.”)
We plan with the adults, youth and children in mind.
Many sessions include adult faith sharing with adults and youth sharing with youth.

Sessions Include a Variety of Activities

Every session begins with a meal (Supper or Brunch)
Prayer
Reflection and conversation
Intergenerational activities
Age specific breakout activities
Artistic expression
Music
Skits/Dramatizations put on by interested volunteers
Presentation

When does GOF meet?

Each month there will be two sessions from which to choose. Each family will attend one of the two sessions.

Saturday Session – gathers for dinner and runs from 5:45-7:15 PM following the 4:30 Mass on Saturday.
Sunday Session – gathers for brunch and runs from 10:45 AM-12:15 PM following the 9:30 AM Mass on Sunday.

Families with Children

+ Child-level breakout sessions addressing each session’s topic in an age-appropriate way.

+ Growing Faith (Monthly grade level religious education sessions in addition to GOF sessions, included in your GOF registration)

Recognizing that adults bring a basic instruction in the faith and a lived experience of the practice of the faith they can more easily enter into faith sharing conversations than most children. In order to build up the knowledge base of the children of the parish we include a monthly session for children called Growing Faith. This program offers a systematic presentation of the core of the Catholic faith for children K4 through 11th Grade. The groups are divided by developmental levels to explore who we are, what we teach, and what we do as a Catholic community. All children in Generations of Faith are automatically enrolled in Growing Faith, no additional registration or payment is needed.

Get Involved!

Below you find various groups to engage in, whether they be discussion groups, serving teams, committees, classes or events. Join the following groups to stay abreast of updates, join in discussion with other members, and find important related files.

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