October 2009 Leader’s Guide: Fall Family Fun

One easy way to use Take Out in your family faith formation ministry is to offer a monthly series for parents and kids to gather in small faith communities and discuss one article from each month’s issue. October is the perfect month to gather families for a fall evening of reflection.

How to do it:

Reserve a room in your parish that is large enough to accommodate 25-50 people. Set up tables with 5-7 chairs at each. Having people sit at tables is an easy way to divide them into small groups. (You can keep parents with their kids or divide the kids off into a separate group for their own discussion. Ask your parish’s youth minister if he or she would facilitate that event.) Several sets of the discussion questions should be in the middle of each table along with a few copies of that month’s Take Out magazine.

Refreshments are always welcome and need not be fancy or time-consuming to display. Decaf coffee and cookies are usually a welcome after-dinner treat.

Family Faith Night schedule:

7:00 p.m.  Opening Prayer and Greeting

7:05 p.m. Brief overview of the article to be discussed

7:15 p.m. Refer participants to discussion questions on each table and begin small group discussion (Make sure participants understand that the questions are a beginning for their discussion – they can discuss one of them or all of them. Remember to make room for the movement of the Spirit in these discussions that may take a group in a new or unexpected direction.)

8:00 p.m. Break for refreshments

8:10 p.m. Come together as a large group and discuss article (write important thoughts and contributions on a white board or flip chart). If you’ve separated into two groups, bring the two back together and share responses.

8:30 p.m. Close with prayer or scripture reading (see optional closing prayer at the end of this article)

Discussion Article:

"The Money-Go-round" by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker (Take Out magazine, Our Sunday Visitor, October, 2009)

Notes for the leader: It might be helpful for this discussion to talk briefly about what
Jesus says about money in scripture and what the Church teaches about material goods. (See Matt 19:21, 19:24, and 21:12.)

Small Group Questions:

1. How do we talk about money in our house?  What value do we place on money?
2. Is going to the mall and buying things the only way we have fun on weekends?
3. What is the real value of material things?
4. How is money a responsibility?
5. Are we supposed to share our money? With whom?  (Ask families to make Birthday Bags as suggested on page 5 of this issue of Take Out. What a perfect way for kids to learn the lesson of giving.)

Closing Prayer

Loving God, 
I am impressed by big things,
 by vast wealth,
 by extensive power,
 by consistent success.
Smaller things seem expendable.
Those who have no voice,
 no money,
 no attraction to me,
 are easy to overlook and ignore.
Help me to see that you are not so selective.
Help me to understand
 that you love without distinction.
Teach me to be thankful for your love
 which searches out
 and saves all.  Amen.