IGNITE Family Faith Formation

IGNITE is a new venture in family faith formation, undertaken together by St. Bartholomew and Holy Family. For some time now we have called ourselves "sister parishes"; this year we are making that kinship real. We have already merged our efforts to form our middle-school youth and to prepare our young people for Confirmation through our shared ministry, Duc In Altttm. Now we turn, hand in hand, to our youngest families -  and reimagine Sunday-morning formation from the ground up.

Beginning in the fall of 2026 and running through the spring of 2027, our elementary formation - what many of you have known as PSR - will take on an entirely new shape. It is designed for families whose children will be in first through fourth grade and who are not enrolled in the Academy of St. Bartholomew or Holy Family parish school.

Here is the first surprise: we will gather only once a month, not every Sunday. And here is the second: rather than dropping your child off, the whole family - mom and dad together with your children - will come and be formed together. (If only one parent can make it, we understand entirely; life is full.)

Let us name the concern you may already be feeling: if we meet less often, will our children really be formed well?

Allow us to reframe the question. What is it that most truly hands on the faith -  the kind of faith that becomes a lifelong love of the Lord and His Church? For decades, parishes have assumed the answer is instruction: teach them the faith, and the classroom is where it happens. But that is not quite true. The most important room in your child's formation is not the classroom; it is the family room. It is your home, and the warmth of the culture within it.

Every serious study of the matter tells the same story. Religious practice matters - Mass, the sacraments, formation, all of it. But the thing that makes those practices take root and stick is whether a child sees the faith making a real, tangible difference in the love between their parents and in the life of their home. The faith lived at the kitchen table, spilling over into how you forgive, how you pray, how you love one another - that is the single most powerful factor in forming your children. We are convinced that equipping you to live the faith at home will bear far richer fruit than simply scheduling more classes.

We will send you home with three gifts.

First, every family will receive a copy of The Story of All Stories, the beautiful children's Bible from Word on Fire. It is not a watered-down retelling but a stunning synthesis of the whole of Scripture, written so that even young children can grasp the story - and, in knowing it, come to love it. The illustrations are gorgeous and the narrative is compelling. We simply ask that you read a chapter or two at bedtime. Let it become your new nighttime story and prayer.

Second, Fr. Patrick has prepared a resource called Fami/y Mass Preparation to help you ready your hearts for Sunday. It gathers each week's readings, a short reflection, a word or phrase worth pondering, age-specific reflections and discussion questions for the children, and a piece of sacred art chosen to open up the Scriptures. This is not homework -  please hear that. It is simply a gentle help toward the good habit of arriving at Mass already awake to what the Lord wishes to say.

Third, every month you come to IGNITE you will leave with a simple activity or challenge drawn from the living liturgical life of the Church. In November, for instance - the month the Church devotes to praying for our beloved dead - you will receive a votive candle on which to write the names of those who have gone before you, a small light for the center of your table when you pray before dinner. This is how the domestic church is built: not with grand gestures, but with small, faithful ones.

If your child is in second grade and preparing for the two great sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, this is a landmark year, and we intend to treat it as one. 

In addition to our monthly gatherings, we will offer four mini sacramental retreat days -  two in the fall and two in the spring -  crafted to engage your whole family and to open your child's heart in powerful and beautiful ways. 

You will receive additional materials and details separately. We have no interest in merely checking boxes; we want to give you and your little ones encounters that are meaningful, memorable, and worth every minute.