The Catholic Villages of Arlington offer faith formation for families with children from toddlers to grade 12 who attend our local public, private, or Catholic schools, or are home-schooled.

The Villages are a way of being church to each other, not just on Sunday, but every day. This is not a new concept - Early Christians met in small groups to share their faith and break bread. "Where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them." Matthew 18:20

Faith Formation for the Whole Family

We offer gatherings, resources, and faith formation programs throughout the entire year designed to include parent participation to help strengthen the faith life of the whole family. Through our faith formation process, we hope that families/households will come to a fuller and richer experience of the presence of God in their lives and grow in their mission of being Christ's disciples in our world.

Pathways

Every family is unique, as is their faith journey. Our hope is to help guide and support families along their pathway. We will be using many resources from Faith and Family Life Catholic Ministries - Pathways. 

"Pathways is an integrated and family centered formation suite designed to facilitate a personal encounter with the Trinity and sustain a lifelong development of faith within the family. We are all at different points on the journey and a one size faith formation program does not fit all. This is a shift to a greater focus on parents as the primary educators of the faith. Create a path forward that is best for your families with resources which include home and church experiences."

Pathways resources encourage at-church community even if the majority of the catechesis is happening in the home. Community is essential in the life of the Church and we desire for families to gather often to support one another. The premier weekly gathering is Sunday Mass. It is our prayer that as families fall in love with Jesus and their community, that they would hunger to live in a weekly communion available to them at the Mass! 

All CPARL families will typically begin their Faith Formation process using two resources from Pathways - Seek followed by Root.

Seek

• 4-session, at-church, kerygmatic experience for the entire family.
• The monthly Seek sessions will be the family's Village gathering for those months.

Root

• A catechetical experience for the entire family focusing on the Creed. 
• 6 self-led miniseries for parents, 6 at-home family meetings, and 6 at-church sessions. 

It will generally take an entire year for families to complete Seek and Root. After completing Seek and Root families will continue on their unique Faith Formation Pathway. While continuing to gather monthly with their Village, families will use ongoing Faith Formation resources or they may begin Sacramental Preparation for First Sacraments and/or Confirmation.  
 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Catholic Villages of Arlington? 
Each Village is a group of 4 - 6 households of varying sizes and make-ups (adults, youth, and children) that gather for Worship, Prayer, Study, and Community - also known as the Core Acts.  

What are the Core Acts? 
Acts 2:42 tells us that the early Christians "devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers." The Core Acts for the Villages are modeled on the devotions of the early Christians - Worship, Prayer, Study, Community. 

How often do Villages gather? 
Villages gather at least monthly but are encouraged to gather more frequently. 

What about Sacramental Preparation? 
Children and young people preparing to celebrate Reconciliation for the first time, Communion for the first time, and/or Confirmation will have a supplemental process for immediate preparation. (See the First Sacraments and/or Youth Confirmation Pages for more information)