The Initiative
Introduction
The National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) received a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in 2023 to establish a renewed national effort in partnering with families to strengthen faith at home.
Building on the Strong Catholic Families/Fortaleciendo Familias en la Fe initiative and applying the best available research, the new initiative will create processes and partnerships so that families know the full support of the Church in their effort to make Christ the center of their household and way of life. This is the aim of SacredTable.
Our Goal
To inspire, equip, and empower parents and pastors, grandparents and parish staff, godparents and organizational leaders to partner with each other to enhance the formation of children and young people, helping family households engage in faith practices.
Outcomes
NFCYM expects the lives of parents, caregivers, ministry professionals, volunteer leaders, and parishes will be enhanced in the following ways:
Stronger Communication
Parents will experience greater confidence and competence in sharing our Catholic faith with their children, equipped with best practices and resources. Parents will also enjoy the companionship of other parents in networks of mutual support.
Lifelong Formation
Their children will grow in faith in age-appropriate ways from birth onward. Children will also benefit from the predictable positive effects of faith on their health and well-being as they develop and mature.
Impactful Resources
Participating ministry professionals and congregational volunteer leaders will receive the best available current research on faith formation, along with best practices and resources to provide to parents, caregivers, and families to help shape their pastoral planning, projects, and programs.
Community Participation
Participating congregations will see increased involvement of parents, caregivers, and children, as parents and caregivers look to their churches for resources, encouragement, and support.
SacredTable Coalition
The implementation of SacredTable involves the development of a SacredTable Coalition, convened by NFCYM, comprised of ministry organizations that share in the project’s vision.
Gathering the SacredTable Coalition members alongside the members of NFCYM will provide a “summit” like experience around the issues important to the SacredTable initiative. We hope that our Coalition can become a venue of mutual benefit in which we are able to amplify each other’s work and resources as well as extend the reach of the SacredTable initiative.
Bishops Advisory Council
Bishop Brendan J. Cahill
Bishop of Victoria, Champion Bishop
Bishop Gary W. Janak
Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio
Bishop Oscar Cantú
Bishop of San Jose
Bishop Arturo Cepeda
Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit
Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat
Auxiliary Bishop of New York
Bishop Ronald A. Hicks
Bishop of Joliet
Bishop Roy E. Campbell
Auxiliary Bishop of Washington
Bishop James R. Golka
Bishop of Colorado Springs
Bishop John-Nhán Tran
Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta
Steering Committee
Mark Mann
Strategy Champion
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Debbie Gonzalez
St. Ann Parish
Plano, Texas
Christine Taylor
Diocese of Prince Albert
Canada
Colleen Trevisani
Associate Member
Rochester, New York
Diane Kledzik
Diocese of St. Petersburg
Florida
Marie Becker
Diocese of Baker
Oregon
Marthamaria Elliot
NFCYM Board Member
Baltimore, Maryland
Dcn. Salvador Carranza
Diocese of Boise
Idaho
NFCYM Staff
Brigitte Burke
Senior Project Manager
Natalie Ibarra
Communications Manager
