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Religion

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.”
-Micah 6:8

6th Grade:
6th grade is exploring stories from the Old Testament that teach us how to live our faith in everyday lives.  We have read about Abraham’s covenant and his many sacrifices made for God, the story of Jacob & Esau and the ways the 12 tribes were formed, Noah and his covenant with God, as well as the fulfillment of Abraham’s promise through Mary in the Annunciation.  As we move into the second quarter, students will be exploring more of the values connected to Old Testament teachings and how they still hold value in our lives today.

7th Grade:
Since the first day of school, 7th graders have been focusing on the gift of the community that surrounds them.  They dove into conversations about individual gifts and the ways they can live the moral and theological virtues.  In addition to beginning our weekly Gospel reflections each Friday, students have begun to research and explore social justice topics our church teaches.  They have learned about Catholic Relief Services’ action towards providing clean water to those in need and read about the work of Dorothy Day in the Catholic Worker Movement.  We will continue to learn more about Jesus’ actions in society and the empowerment it provides for our students to put faith into action!

8th Grade:
In preparation for the Growing in Faith test for Confirmation, 8th grade looked deeply into the 4 Signs of the Church, the Trinity, the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit and the Sacraments.  In addition, 8th grade classes have done exercises to work on their listening and communication skills, activities based on teamwork and utilizing all gifts in a community, begun researched Saints for their chosen Confirmation names and explored the major themes in the Rosary.  We are moving towards learning about the early Church and implementing conversational debates about social justice issues in our world today.

Beyond the Classroom:

Beginning the month of October, students in the middle school were invited to pray a decade of the Rosary during Friday recess.  The first week, there were 35 students present to pray.  It was evident the Holy Spirit was present.  The students requested to continue this practice and also pray a decade during Monday recess.  This will continue to happen as long as the students desire it.  I am so proud of them for choosing this!

Edge Youth Ministry Program
Students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade are all invited to attend our new Edge program.  Students explore more of Every Day God Encounters through scripture, personal experience, prayer, relationship with others and sacramental graces.  This is a program that allows students to explore and live their faith in an environment outside the classroom.  We currently have 50 students enrolled (after only 2 meetings!) and hope to continue adding to that number.  Future meetings are scheduled on November 5th, November 19th, December 3rd, & December 17th. All meetings take place from 6:30-8:30pm.

  Please contact me with any questions.