Faith Formation Update

The new year is starting out with great energy for the Religious Education students! The 7th-12th graders participated in a poverty simulation this past Sunday conducted by Michelle Hatfield. She had everyone’s attention as she spoke about the causes and realities surrounding the issues of poverty in our community. Students participated in a modified role-playing exercise and then finished the morning with a tour of the Food and Clothing Pantry. The tour gave them an even better understanding of what we do here at St. Alphonsus to bring the Kingdom of God with every bag of food and warm clothing that gets sent out the door. Thank you, Michelle, for taking your Sunday morning to work with our students!

The Children’s Mass on January 23 will be hosted by grades 7-12. Students in those grades are welcome to contact the Religious Education office at 616-459-5472 or faithformation@stalphonsusgr.org to sign up. We’re always looking for musicians, greeters, ushers, readers, and students to carry the cross and candles to begin and end Mass.

We are anxious to reinstate altar servers for our Masses. Any student who has received their First Communion is encouraged to contact Carol Fedewa at cfedewa@stalphonsusgr.org with more questions or to sign up for training. Carol is also actively seeking students in grades k-12 to form a Children’s Choir! The pandemic caused our previous choir to disband. We are looking forward to starting again. Please contact Carol with questions.

Please pray for our young Sacrament students who will be making their First Reconciliation on Sunday, January 16. This is a big step. We pray for them and their families who will support them throughout their ongoing journey.