2023-2024 FAITH FORMATION REGISTRATION

2023-2024 Faith Formation Registration

Dear Faith Formation Families,

Having just celebrated First Holy Communions and Confirmations with nearly 300 parish families and as we end the past Faith Formation year, we are very happy with how our program was received, taught, and enjoyed by your children in our Faith Formation program of nearly 1000 students.  Already, we are planning for the new year that will begin in the fall.

We continue to review, make changes, and improve the experience for our children and families.  We begin the new year with a new registration process.  Registration will take place through the online service of WeShare.  We will accomodate class days and considerations in the order we receive your registration. 

We will no longer have separate fees for Faith Formation.  As parishioners who participate in the parish through Faith Formation, Sunday Mass, sacramental celebrations and parish ministries, we request each Faith Formation family as they register through WE SHARE to make a minimum $10 weekly or $50 monthly offering through WeShare.  Your weekly offering begins with our acceptance of your Faith Formation registration and extends throughout the year.  This offering supports the parish in all sorts of ways.  Faith Formation expenses and all parish ministry expenses, will be supported by your commitment.  This WeShare offering will be recorded as your Sunday offering.  For those already using WeShare, you simply have to add your information to your Faith Formation registration.  For those wishing to support St. Anne’s with an increased offering of more than $10 weekly or $50 monthly, you simply indicate the amount of your desired weekly offering on your registration.

So, there are no Faith Formation fees.  Your family’s commitment to support St. Anne’s through WeShare is your only financial commitment.  It is a family based commitment.  Your financial commitment to the parish is yours to determine.as long as the minimum donation is met.  The number of children being registered for Faith Formation is not a factor in determining the amount of your financial commitment to the parish. 

Why are we making this change?  Electronic means are used by many families for financial transactions. It is more efficient and “green”.  The hundreds of checks, papers and ink used by hundreds of families will no longer be necessary.

More than 400 parish families are now using WeShare.  It has been safe, dependable and secure.  We now incur the cost of printing and postage for the sending of 1500 traditional Sunday offering envelopes to 1500 parish families.  On a typical Sunday we receive back about 225 family envelopes.  That is not fiscally responsible.  At Sunday mass we have offering boxes at the doors of the church and no longer “pass the basket.”   About 65% of our Sunday offering comes via electronic giving through WeShare.  It has been proven to be a benefit to the parish and a convenience to our parishioners.

We are also instituting this registration process to encourage fuller participation of our families in the support of our parish.  Yes, fewer families now attend on a regular basis weekly Sunday mass.  This is for many reasons.  Yet, most of our 3000 parish families depend on the parish to be there for them in important moments of Baptism, weddings, other sacraments, times of illness, and funerals.  The parish offers a wide range of ministries to support and assist families in need.

We offer initiatives to encourage growth in faith and service.  We are a very active parish.  We believe that this elimination of Faith Formation Fees and asking for your financial support of all that we do here at St. Anne’s will strengthen the parish experience.  We look forward to receiving your family registration for the 2023-2024 Faith Formation year in the fall.

Please follow the directions enumerated below:

• Click on/type in link to access the secure WeShare site:  https://www.wesharegiving.org/app/giving/WeShare-2854?tab=home
• Scroll down page – under EVENTS click on Faith Formation Registration
• If you are already using WeShare, click on the “Sign In” tab
• Complete the online registration form
• Enter Family Information
• Select “Recurring Donation” – the required minimum donation is $10/week or $50/month
• The donation is to start on the date you are registering and is a 12 month commitment
• Enter Student Information
• If you have more than one student enrolling, click “Add Another Student Information”
• Enter payment and billing information
• Click SUBMIT

Sincerely Yours,

Msgr. Thomas J. Harold                                                                      Vivian Flood

Pastor                                                                                                     Faith Formation Administrator

Vivian Flood