Catholic Family Night, 0-2
Primary: Is being with God and his people a safe and happy experience? Ages 0-5
Secondary: Am I safe, comfortable, and loved? Ages 0-5
What is real faith and why do I need a Church? Ages 19-35
How should I live my values? Ages 19-35
How do I love in different seasons of life? Ages 35-50
Description:
Catholic Family Night brings together families with young children for intentional community and the opportunity for faith sharing. It is a weekly, two-hour Friday night evening gathering of families with young children and occurs about 3 times per month. “The night includes prayer, focused discussion [in men’s and women’s groups], and time for parents to connect with their children.”
Evening agenda:
0-10 minutes- Moms supervise children; children play together and moms have informal time to visit.
- Dads move to another room and engage in faith sharing and discussion, often guided by a book study or Bible study of their choice.
60-70 minutes
- Transition
70-120 minutes
- Dads supervise children; children play together and dads have informal time to visit.
- Moms move to another room and engage in faith sharing and discussion, often guided by a book study, podcast, or Bible study of their choice.
Previous successes:
Program locations:
- Most Holy Trinity Parish, in Saco, ME, is part of a triparish community that totals about 5,000 families. Saco is a small town with a population of about 20,000. Holy Trinity’s partner parishes are in rural Maine. Participants drove up to about 30 minutes to participate in Catholic Family Night
- Felt sense of community grew within the parish
- Individual families reported that intentional community was immensely helpful in their own faith journey.
- During the shutdown, children from attending families were asking to see the other children and mentioned missing the fun that they had at Catholic Family Night.
Investment:
No training is required. A coordinator who could arrange for physical space, remind attendees of dates, and lead the selection of book/Bible study materials is helpful.
Notes from experience:
- Coordinator Joshua Houde reports that this ministry went through a series of iterations before it became something consistent and manageable, including monthly potlucks and weekly Friday meetings that attempted to coordinate child care so that moms and dads could engage in the discussion and study at the same time.
- The group in Maine began finding a rhythm of structured and unstructured time for the children’s play right before the pandemic hit. It included some unstructured play time, some play time in which the adults joined a game, and concluded with a Brother Francis video from Formed.
- This particular group of families also participated in a monthly excursion, which usually occurred on a Saturday, such as a sledding afternoon or meeting up at the local Fall Fest. Occasionally, parents would use the monthly excursion as a date night, arrange for child care individually, and meet up for a group date.