I’M ON THE PARISH OR SCHOOL STAFF

GETTING STARTED:

I'm on the parish or school staff

"Most of the parents in ECFL sent their children to our school. This was a door for them to get into our environment. In some situations, one spouse was Catholic and the other was not, so it made the decision difficult."

Catholic School Principal and ECFL Parent Discussion Leader

Easy steps to bring ECFL to your parish:

1. Call 612-925-1203, or email info@earlycatholicfamilylife.org

We would absolutely love to share more about our program!
We can tell you about training and give you a sense of what implementation looks like.

2. Let us send you a Starter Packet and a sample of the curriculum from both the Early Childhood Leader's Guide and the Parent Discussion Leader's Guide.

The Starter Packet will give a lot of additional information about the program, about the materials that are needed, about training, and lots of other information about what it takes to get ECFL going in a parish.
The curriculum sample from the Early Childhood Leaders Guide gives weekly themes, the schedule of a session and the activities from Lesson 1 - God Made Everything. The sample of the Parent Discussion Guide gives an outline of all the Parent sessions, and includes all of Lesson 1 - Growing in Faith. The sample demonstrates that the purpose of the Parent Discussion time is to facilitate faith-based discussion---it's not a lecture and it does not take a religious professional to lead the class.

3. Talk with the Pastor about the ECFL program. Show him the video from the ECFL website (earlycatholicfamilylife.org). Help him to discover how beautiful the program is and how much it will help him and the parish to reach young families - a key demographic. Remember - ECFL fits in the gap between Baptism and First Communion - and it engages both parents and children.

4. Begin to talk about ECFL with the parents who have young children. Direct them to the ECFL website: earlycatholicfamilylife.org. Generate enthusiasm for faith-based learning. Remember: These are the parents with children who can fill the seats in your school - this is a great way to connect with them!

5. Consider contacting parishioners who have recently celebrated a Baptism in your parish. These parents are often seeking faith sharing opportunities, especially with other parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

6. Share the ECFL program with other parish ministry staff and parishioners. Help parish leadership to recognize the real and potential benefits of engaging parents of young children in the life of the parish. Other parishes have found that young parents become more connected to the parish and take a more active role than they had previously.

Additionally, here are a few links to great coverage of ECFL:
- Salt + Light TV interview with Patrick Douglas, Archdiocese of Toronto
- Starting Small, Starting Strong (by CSCOE)
- ECFL Seeks to Support Parents, Build on Faith (by CSCOE)

7. After you have looked over the Starter Packet, call us with your questions at 612-925-1203.

For additional promotional and informative materials, go to our Resources page.