By Lisa Dahm
Hawaii Catholic Herald
After a year of listening to parents’ struggles with faith formation at home, catechetical leaders from nine Hawaii parishes are now launching programs designed to strengthen families in their faith life — part of a new initiative that includes dozens of parishes across the U.S.
Some 200 parishes, from Hawaii to Texas to New York, are part of the innovative project called Parents and Families at the Center of Faith Formation, which is sponsored by the National Community of Catechetical Leaders and funded by the Lilly Foundation. The Diocese of Honolulu was one of only 23 dioceses chosen to participate in the initiative.
The goal for the project is to engage Catholic parents and their families by exploring how to strengthen faith transmission at home as kids grow up and enter early adulthood.
On Oct. 25, representatives from seven of the Diocese of Honolulu’s nine participating parishes met at Sacred Heart Church in Honolulu for a day of training with Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy, former director of the diocesan Office of Faith Formation and one of the NCCL consultants.
Meeting needs of faithful
Each parish began in 2024 by first examining the needs of their families and building creative, effective programs that support parents, caregivers and the whole family in understanding their faith and living out their Christian call throughout their lives.
Lisa Gomes, director of the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis and one of two local coordinators for the project, said that parishes will be more equipped to meet parishioners’ needs if they can tailor their faith formation efforts to the unique needs of their own communities. Their goals also align with diocesan priorities for evangelization, stewardship and family-based faith formation.
“This project affirms that parents are the primary catechists of their children and helps them reclaim that role with confidence and support,” Gomes said. “In a culture where faith is often challenged, especially by digital distractions and social pressures, the project equips families to live and share their faith at home.”
The nine Hawaii churches include: on Oahu, the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu and Immaculate Conception in Ewa; on Maui, St. Ann in Waihee, St. Anthony of Padua in Wailuku, St. Joseph in Makawao and St. Theresa in Kihei; on Hawaii island, St. Michael the Archangel in Kailua-Kona; and on Kauai, St. Catherine in Kapaa and Immaculate Conception in Lihue.
To develop their programs, parish leaders first surveyed parents and caregivers both online and through “Parent Cafe” listening sessions.
“It is so important for our parents to know that they are not alone — that we are in this together,” said Maggie Sabater, an educator at St. Joseph Parish School in Waipahu and a member of the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa’s group of staff members and volunteers. “It’s (about) having support and having the faith-based connection.”
Updates, discussions
At the Oct. 25 workshop, project leaders had an opportunity to discuss the projects they developed from their listening sessions and build implementation systems under the guidance of Ragasa-Mondoy.
According to Tanya Barbero, the family faith formation director for St. Anthony of Padua in Wailuku and the diocese’s other local program coordinator, the in-person workshops are important for information, formation and inspiration to flow.
“While this initiative allows us to be responsive to the needs in our own parishes, we get so much more out of it by being together in person,” Barbero said. “The best part about it is being with great people of faith journeying together.”
Most of the parishes are developing projects in family faith practices such as improving prayer, preparing for Mass, creating meaningful milestone rituals during important life transitions, celebrating church feasts and seasons, and improving parenting education.
Examples of the projects include a family rosary project developed by Immaculate Conception in Ewa, and a family catechesis plan at St. Michael the Archangel in Kailua-Kona.
In the next phase of the project, parishes will continue to develop their programs, tailoring them to four life stages — newborn to 5 years old, 6 to 10 years old, 11 to 14 years old, and 15 to 19 years old.
The programs will cover four areas of faith for the family aimed at promoting catechesis and intergenerational relationships: forming faith at home, forming faith in the parish, equipping parents with parenting practices and skills, and equipping parents to be faith formers.
The grant from the Lilly Foundation covers the cost of training and materials related to the project. Parishes pay no fee to participate, and the NCCL sponsors the interisland flights so teams from across the state can meet and collaborate.
For more information on the project, visit the project’s website at www.ncclcatholicfamilies.org.
Above top: Raina Bautista, left, Shanlee Gusman and Sister Rachel Marius of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians were part of the group from St. Catherine Church in Kapaa, Kauai, who attended the Oct. 25 training session at Sacred Heart Church in Honolulu. Above bottom: The team from the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu gathered their thoughts at the Oct. 25 workshop. “It is so important for our parents to know that they are not alone — that we are in this together,” said Maggie Sabater, right, who is also an educator at St. Joseph Parish School in Waipahu. (Photos by Lisa Dahm / Hawaii Catholic Herald)