Tuesday, April 12, 2016

April GIFT Follow Up Email

April 2016 GIFT Follow Up Email
Kingdom of God: Parables of Jesus
                            
Thank you for attending our April GIFT Gatherings: Kingdom of God: Parables of Jesus. If you were not able to attend the GIFT Gatherings this week, please click the link here  to download the PowerPoint presentation from the event.

Please do Chapter’s 20 & 21 at home. You can find easy to follow home lessons at http://calltofaith.osv.com/parish/for_families/pf_home_lessons/grade_k navigate to your son/daughter’s grade level and choose Chapter’s 20 & 21.

During this session we focused on reading and analyzing some of the parables of Jesus. We looked at the following parables:
·        Parable of the Mustard Seed: Matt 13:31-32
·        Parable of the Yeast: Matt 13:33
·        Three Parables - Treasure, Pearls, Net: Matt 13:44-52
·        Parable of the Rich Fool: Luke 12:13-21
·        The Parable of the Lost Sheep: Luke 15:1-7
·        The Parable of the Lost Coin: Luke 15:8-10
Then focused our discussions on the following questions:
·        Who is Jesus in this parable?
·        What does it teach us about the qualities of God/Jesus?
·        What does this parable teach us about the meaning of the kingdom of God?
·        What does it mean to us today?
The discussion was rich and provided a deeper understanding of these stories which Jesus used to teach his disciples, and us, about the kingdom of God.

Each year, we host our annual Safety Faire for the Safe Environment requirement from the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Preschool through 3rd graders are required to complete the Talking About Touching curriculum. This was covered at the Safety Faire and packets were handed out with lessons for parents to do at home. When the lessons are completed, there is a completion form that you’ll need to send back to me.
For those with 4-12th grade children, they need to complete the online safety course appropriate for their grade level. Those courses can be found at www.shieldthevulnerable.org. Here are the course titles per grade level:


4th grade              Safety Smarts for Kids
5th grade              Block the Bully
6th grade              Be Safe, Stay Safe
7th grade              Bullying – Not Cool
8th grade              Digital Citizenship
9th grade              Teen Safety
10th grade            Dating Abuse
11th grade            Cyber Safety
12th grade            You’re Legal; Now What?




We kicked off a collection, CRS Rice Bowl for Lent. Find more information about the Rice Bowl project, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the work that they do by visiting http://www.crsricebowl.org/. We will collect your Rice Bowls at the May GIFT sessions.

Upcoming Events:
·        MSYM & HSYM – Had to be cancelled this month. My mother-in-law passed away unexpectedly in So. Cal. And my husband and I are travelling to Los Angeles for the funeral.
·        Our Catholicism DVD series continues on Monday nights from 7-8:30 pm until May 23rd. This series is a companion piece to GIFT and designed for adults and older teens. It features prayer, journaling, a spectacular documentary, reflection and discussion and is being led by Deacon Rich. All are welcome to join us.
·        Pancake & Bacon Fundraiser Breakfast for Mission Trip to Ecuador - April 16th - 9am-12 noon - $10 Adults, $8 Seniors, $6 Children
·        Caring for our Common Home: A Parish Response Workshop on April 23rd at St. Anne of the Sunset 9-12:30 pm see Liz for more information
·        First Communion - April 24th at 10:30 am with a reception to follow
·        Confirmation Information Meeting – for all 8th graders or those in high school who have not yet been confirmed - May 25th at 7:00 pm
·        Next GIFT Sessions: May 1 & 4th

Other Resources:
·       Please join st-matthias-gift-families@googlegroups.com if you haven’t already. This is how I will communicate about GIFT going forward.
·        Pinterest –  Family Faith Ideas http://www.pinterest.com/smff2013/
·        Sabrina’s Blog – Do you children ever ask you faith related questions that you are just not sure how to answer? Or do really cool things related to their faith that you want to share with the community? If so, follow the blog http://faqsfaithandquestions.blogspot.com