Religious Education
The parish is the center of faith formation for Catholics. Every person in your pews, every Catholic in your parish community…child or adult…is on their own journey toward Christ and a life of discipleship.
Each of our four churches has its own faith formation program. The contact information for each program is listed below.
Religious Education Classes Grades 1-8
Our parish faith formation program is centered around worship. We believe that the most important formation starts with gathering with our parish community for Sunday Mass. In addition to worship, we offer a weekly faith formation classes for our children from October through May. If you are interested in registering your child, or have any questions, please feel free to reach out to one of our coordinators below:
St. Joseph's, Lafayette: Michelle Benjamin, coordinator - (315) 677-3439
St. Leo's, Tully & St. Patrick's Mission, Otisco: Fr. Dennis Walker, interim Director of Faith Formation- (315) 696-5092
Sacrament Preparation for 1st Communion & 1st Penance
One of the greatest joys in parish life is preparing our children to receive the sacraments. First Reconciliation and First Communion are two important Sacraments of Initiation that our children typically receive in the 2nd grade. Our formation in this year aims at teaching the children about God's mercy and that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.
Our Sacramental program also revolves around worship at the Sunday Mass. If you are interested in bringing the sacraments to your children, we invite you to join us at one of our weekend masses, and also encourage you to reach out to our 1st - 8th grade Faith Formation Coordinators listed in the above section.
Confirmation Preparation
In grades 9 and 10, our parishes begin to prepare our children for reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Although this is a culmination of our formal faith formation classes, our confirmation program stresses the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus and the lifelong practice of our Catholic faith. In addition to classes, our confirmandi also participate in service work and evangelization.
Please contact one of our coordinators below:
St. Joseph's, Lafayette: Anne Loughlin, coordinator - (315) 677-3439
St. Leo's, Tully & St. Patrick's Mission, Otisco:
Fr. Dennis Walker, interim Director of Faith Formation- (315) 696-5092
High School Youth Ministry
Church of the Nativity is currently preparing the groundwork for a multi-parish Middle and High School Youth Ministry program. This program serves to further deepen our children's relationship with Jesus and with the Catholic Church.
The new Youth Ministry program will also participate in several larger events at the Diocesan level, including the Steubenville Youth Conference, Middle School Trip to Niagara Falls, Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference, and more.
More information will be made available in the coming months.
