4 Ways to Grow in Faith this Summer

Summer and faith go hand in hand

Tomorrow we turn the calendar to June.  Children all across Fairfax County will wave goodbye to their school buildings for the summer and engulf themselves into summer activities: camps, sleep overs, and (hopefully) reading a book or ten.

The summer is also a great opportunity to continue their faith formation in the home.  Here are three ways your child (and your family) can grow in your faith this summer.

Weekday Mass
Try attending a weekday Mass once or twice a week with the family.  At St. Mark, the weekday Mass is in the chapel, providing an intimate worship setting you and your family might not be familiar with.  Make sure to place an unconsecrated host from the glass bowl to the gold ciborium for every person receiving communion.  Before going to Mass, check out the readings with your family beforehand using the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's website dedicated to Mass readings.  Use the calendar on the right hand side to find the day.

Mass is celebrated at 9:15AM Monday through Friday, at 7:30PM on Monday and 6:15AM on Friday.

Vacation Bible School

This year, give VBS a try.  It's a week full of faith, fun, and community.  Each day focuses in on a different Bible story about Jesus, with each activity reinforcing the story.  Whether it's children interacting with the story during the story time or singing songs with similar themes beforehand, they will learn about God while having fun.

This year's VBS is from July 9-13 and features Sky VBS, which focuses on trusting God in all situations.  Watch a trailer about this year's VBS to learn more information.  Or visit Our Sunday Visitor's website dedicated to the Catholic version of Sky, which we'll be using.

We also need teenage and adult volunteers to help run VBS, so the whole family can attend or help!

Read the Bible
Public schools often have "summer reading lists," with dozens of books teachers recommend (or require) their students to read during the summer.  Why not add the Bible to the list?  Read a Bible story out of a children's Bible before going to bed at night with little kids.  Or if you have older kids, pick and read a Gospel together (maybe Mark's Gospel, since he is our patron saint!).  Any Gospel is a good place to start, as are the Old Testament stories of Abraham (Genesis 11-25), Joseph (Genesis 37-50), and Moses (Exodus 1-15).  Some of the Old Testament stories can be complicated!  Talk to Isaac if you have any questions.

Watch a Movie
A few times this past year, the blog has highlighted teachable faith moments within two popular Disney movies, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast.  This summer will also feature Friday Family Movie Nights at St. Mark with kid-friendly movies focused on positive values.  Check the bulletin and information desk for more details.

What do you recommend?  How does your family grow in faith during the summer?

Image Credit: Bonnie Woodson on Flickr