Religion
- Last Updated on Thursday, 30 December 2021 18:26
By Matthew Peaslee
What started as a home-based formation program recently emerged into in-person meetings at a Catholic parish in the South Hills.
At recently merged Triumph of the Holy Cross Parish, promoting the faith to young people has been a key tenant over the past year and a half. The parish, made up of St. Clare of Assisi Church in Clairton, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Pleasant Hills, Holy Spirit Church in West Mifflin and St. Thomas A Becket Church in Jefferson Hills, started a program to encourage family fellowship back in March 2020. It was a way to strengthen families at home while churches were closed and visiting friends and neighbors was discouraged.
Aptly titled the Family H.O.M.E. project, it gave parents guidance from the parents on how their children could develop a stronger faith life through prayer and fun research. H.O.M.E. stands for Households On Mission Eternal.
Representatives from the parish have hosted online group sessions for interactive lessons on Church history, Catholic catechism and important lessons on living a fruitful life.
In recent months, Triumph of the Holy Cross Parish has welcomed back parishioners to its churches and more events have been able to be carried out as loyal volunteers are ready to get back into helping the community.
The H.O.M.E. project members have met for special monthly liturgies and came together for group projects such as making a large cross out of many individual wooden tiles, called the Patchwork Parish Cross. The H.O.M.E. project also partnered with the parish’s Social Concerns Outreach ministry to complete a service project.
This Advent season, children met to discuss the meaning behind the Advent wreath and learned about how Christmas carols can tell the story of Jesus’ birth in the Nativity.