Welcome Back to Faith Formation!

It was great to welcome back familiar faces and meet new friends this past Sunday! Our first session was about building community, getting to know the spaces where we'll pray and learn together, and settling into the rhythms that will shape the year.

The youngest group started with an introduction to practical life activities. These are simple, everyday tasks like pouring water, polishing silver, grating soap, and arranging flowers, presented slowly and carefully so children can then do them on their own. Through this work, children build coordination, concentration, independence, and a sense of order, and they learn to care for the room as their own. While Practical Life is an early focus of the year, its importance doesn't end there. It remains foundational all year long, helping to settle a child or a group, nurturing independence, and developing the capacity for concentration and meditation.

 Level IIA welcomed new and returning children into the classroom community. As they arrived, children had the option to arrange flowers then talked about the prayer table, the candle, and the Bible, and worked as a class to create guidelines for a respectful, joyful space. They also enjoyed learning a new song together, "Thank You Lord, for This Fine Day," which they'll keep singing throughout the year. 

The older Level IIB class focused on establishing the rhythm of prayer that will open each session this year: gathering around the altar, settling into silence, and praying together, with students taking turns leading. The class then made "Welcome Back Waffles" with students measuring, pouring, and cleaning up. This activity was a big hit (as you might imagine)--children in this plane of development are naturally drawn to belong to a group and work toward a shared goal. Besides filling the Refectory with the delicious aroma of fresh waffles, the students reconnected with each other and built a sense of community that will support them all year. To close, students made a special goodbye card for Jonathon, filled with their own drawings and messages.

The focus of the Level III lesson was helping students see Calvary as their church. They began the year by exploring the building and learning to appreciate it, because the better students know these spaces, the more worship there will mean to them.  They were introduced to Ralph Adams Cram, who designed Calvary on the belief that beautiful spaces change the people who worship in them. Inspired by the ruined abbeys he visited in Britain, Cram gave Calvary its bare stone arches set against plain walls. Students explored his three guiding principles:

• Verticality: tall arches, high ceilings, and the 220-foot spire draw our eyes and attention upward.
• Permanence: limestone, carved oak, and leaded glass were chosen to last for centuries, built for people the builders would never meet.
• Iconography: every detail in wood, stone, and glass is a symbol, a language that tells the story of faith. Read more here.

On the Feast of Saint Michael, Calvary's patron, students went on an angel hunt through the church, looking for the signs artists have always used to show Michael: armor, a sword or spear, and scales. The morning ended in the All Saints Chapel, where each student lit a candle and offered a silent prayer.

Thank you to the clergy, catechists, volunteers and staff who worked hard over the summer to prepare--we look forward to another year of joyful learning together!