From Grant Wilson:
Hello again, St. Francis Parish!
It’s been a busy few months since I started in September as your new Director of Religious Education (especially since Jess and I welcomed our daughter Rose into the world in January!), and I wanted to share some of the exciting things I’ve been working on with the people of our parish:
We are strengthening our PSR program. I meet regularly with our catechists to review how classes for students in first through sixth grades are going. We added an opening game to give students a fun way to start each evening. We now conclude each week with prayer and/or a song in the church with students and parents.
We recently enjoyed a fantastic family night with over 45 participants who, on average, rated the evening 4.5 out of 5! We’ve implemented the Real + True curriculum for our 4th-6th graders and have recently welcomed four new students.
We are building small groups. I submitted a grant for small group ministry to the Tracy Family Foundation and they awarded our parish $12,000 to help parishioners, especially busy families with children, start and join small groups and bible studies to learn about their faith and form community. We are working with families in the school and in PSR to connect and grow with each other.
If you’re interested in joining or leading a small group with friends and family, let me know! I’m here to make the process easy by walking through each step with you, finding solid content, and providing funds for snacks and childcare.
We are helping form the faith of our school students. I’ve set up a rotation for our parish clergy and staff to visit all 14 religion classes at the school each week where we complement the existing curricula. This year we covered topics including sacraments, sacred art, the importance of church community, the Big Bang Theory, faith and reason, the saints, and Scripture through videos, games, and in-depth discussion.
My office has moved from the parish to the top floor of the school, and I’m excited to provide more frequent campus ministry opportunities to our students.
In conclusion… We’re doing a lot! Sadly, there isn’t time for every good idea to be realized… but that’s where you come in. If you feel called to serve in one of the areas listed above, or in another area, please let me or the parish office know, and we’ll happily find where your gifts coincide with needs. My email is gwilson@stfrancissolanus.com, and the office number is 217-222-2898.
God bless! Feel free to come say hi to Rose when you see us.
