Kelly Henderschedt, archdiocesan director of Faith Formation and Parish Life, holds up a map showing Hartford among 20 dioceses selected to participate in a national family faith project. PHOTO BY SHELLEY WOLF
There is a map of the United States with 20 Catholic dioceses that are part of a cutting-edge, family faith project – and the Archdiocese of Hartford is literally on the map.
Hartford appears proudly among the dioceses of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Honolulu on a map created by the National Community of Catechetical Leaders, or NCCL, a national association of Catholic religious educators.
“It’s kind of amazing to have Hartford be part of this huge national project that literally goes from coast to coast,” says Kelly Henderschedt, director of Faith Formation and Parish Life for the Archdiocese of Hartford.
The project, “Parents and Families at the Center of Faith Formation,” is being conducted by NCCL thanks to a five-year grant from the Lilly Endowment, a private foundation. The Archdiocese of Hartford is among 20 dioceses invited to participate in the national project, which is helping 200 Catholic parishes across the country engage 30,000 parents and their families.
The project is already underway in the archdiocese in 10 participating parishes.
The 10 parishes include: Most Holy Trinity, Wallingford; St. Peter Claver, West Hartford; St. Margaret, Madison; St. Thomas the Apostle, Oxford; St. Luke, Southington; St. Anthony, Prospect; St. Mary, Simsbury; St. Damien of Molokai, Windsor; St. John Bosco, Branford; and St. Paul VI, Hamden.
Together, the parishes are exploring how to strengthen faith formation at home during the first two decades of life, and create parish communities that support parents and the whole family. All initiatives are incorporating the most current thinking about faith transmission in today’s families.
According to Henderschedt, this is year two of the five-year project, which began in the fall of 2024. The first year involved information gathering. Year two includes idea generation, program development and the launch of pilot programs in the parishes. More activities will be phased in over the following years, ending with evaluation in 2028.
In each of the 10 archdiocesan parishes, parish teams have already completed parent surveys.
“We’re saying, ‘Tell us. What is your biggest struggle with your family? How can we help you grow your child in his or her faith? How can we support you?’” Henderschedt asks. Parents, she says, were thrilled to be asked.
Some parents, she reports, want help talking to their teenagers about faith, some want advice on teaching the Bible at home, and others need help with difficult conversations.
Currently, the parish teams are using the parent data to develop new pilot programs, or tweak existing ones, to better support families in instilling Catholic faith and values. These customized family faith programs are also taking into account various cultures, family structures, caregivers, and the needs expressed by today’s parents.
“In my 25 years of doing faith formation, including my eight years at the archdiocese, I have not seen anything this forward thinking,” Henderschedt says.
“It’s super exciting. It’s so innovative. We’re really thinking outside of the box about how we are forming families. Really creative work is coming out of this,” she insists. Stay tuned for new and engaging family faith programs in the 10 parishes, beginning this fall.
By Shelley Wolf
Catholic Transcript