Pastor's Reflection - September 27, 2026

Parents: The First Teachers of Faith

As we begin another year of our Faith Formation program, we are grateful for the opportunity to walk with families as they grow in knowledge and love of God. Our parish program plays an important role, but it is important to remember that parents are the primary educators of their children in the ways of faith.

Faith is not formed only in a classroom or during a weekly lesson. Children learn about God through the daily example of their parents and guardians: through prayer at home, participation in Sunday worship, acts of kindness and forgiveness, conversations about faith, and the way family life reflects the love of Christ. The lessons children receive at church are strengthened when they see those lessons lived at home.

This responsibility can sometimes be neglected, not because parents do not care, but because family life is busy and faith can easily be pushed aside. Yet no one has a greater influence on a child’s spiritual life than the people who love and guide them each day. Parents do not need to have all the answers. They simply need to make room for God, seek Him together with their children, and model a willingness to learn and grow.

As a parish family, we are here to support parents in this sacred calling. May this year’s Faith Formation program be more than a series of classes. May it be an invitation for every family to deepen its relationship with God and to make faith a living part of daily life.

Please also consider participating in our ChristLife program. It will provide an excellent opportunity for everyone to be strengthened in their inner being through the grace of the Holy Spirit (cf. Ephesians 3:14–19).

Let us begin this year with renewed commitment, trusting that the seeds of faith planted in the home, nurtured by the parish community, and strengthened by God’s grace can bear abundant fruit in the lives of our children.

In Christ,

Fr. James Northrop, Pastor