St. Richard Parish

Church:  1509 Grand Avenue - Racine WI, 53403 - 262-637-8374

Life Long Learning

Everybody’s Talking

Everybody’s talking about the new approach to Christian formation which is called Life Long Learning.
Have you heard about it? It’s a rather new concept in growing in our faith and passing it on. In the past we
have emphasized the formation of children through Catholic schools and catechetical instructions. It has always
been stressed that parents are the primary teachers of their children when it come to matters of faith.
Over the years parents have commented that their formation is not as “up to date” as they might like when
their children pose some questions. Now we realize how important growing in faith is for folk of all ages.

Our Life Long Learning program will start on September 23rd, after the 9:00 a.m. mass.

All the participants including children and adults will participate in either a family centered activity or small group discussion for about 15 minutes.  Following that activity or discussion the children will join with other children of their age for about an hour of instruction.  At that same time, their parents and all other adults in the program will participate in an adult formation session.

This will replace our Sunday morning Religious Education program.  This year's program will take place on 14 Sundays between September and May.

Good News!

There will be no fee for the program this year.  We will be using books and other materials that we already have on hand.  Registration for Life Long Learning will begin soon.

Questions about Life Long Learning

Question: Can children be registered for Life Long Learning if their parents do not come with them?

Answer: The expectation is that children would be accompanied by at least one of their parents. Children
will talk with their parent(s) about their faith during the family activity. It also makes a great impression on
children when they see their parents and other adults learning and growing in faith at the same time that
they are. If a parent is unable or unwilling to participate then a grandparent would be a good substitute. In fact sometimes grandparents can talk to their grandchildren about religion in ways that their parents can’t.  So the bottom line is that children who are registered for this program need to be accompanied by at least one adult family member. 
 

Question: Can high school students be a part of this program?

Answer:  Our teens attending public high school have the opportunity to enroll in the Racine Area Religious Education program offered on Sunday nights. Teens at St. Catherine’s high school receive formation during the week.. At this time we are not planning a separate program for Sunday mornings. Teens are invited
to join with their parents or become teaching assistants with the smaller children.

Question: Who can participate in this program?

The program is open to every member of our Family of St. Richard from kindergarten through
adults. Even if a family has children enrolled in a parochial school we encourage you to attend.
We will be mailing registration forms to our families this coming week. Forms can be returned to
the church or parish office. There will be a registration table set up in the back of the church beginning
August 25-26 after all masses for all adults and those families wishing to return their
forms.

Schedule for Sunday Morning

Life Long Learning is for everyone!