St. Thomas Aquinas Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade Elementary Faith Formation

• St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary Faith Formation helps form young disciples to know and live their faith. Each class teaches children about: salvation history, christian anthropology, heroic virtue, discipleship & character formation. Sessions meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-7:15 PM.  At the end of each session, Fr. Kyle and/or Fr. Casey will meet with parents, children, and Catechists to share a short teaching related to liturgical living. All Family Faith Sundays participation fees are included in the EFF registration.

St. Cecilia Pre-Kindergarten-6th grade Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

• Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a hands-on approach to religious education based on the Montessori Method. Recognizing that children have a unique and beautiful relationship with God, the aim of this method is to foster this relationship while helping children to grow in an understanding of Scripture and Liturgy, thus allowing the child to participate more fully in the center of the Church’s life – the Mass.

St. Cecilia Kindergarten through 5th Grade Elementary Faith Formation

• St. Cecilia Elementary Faith Formation is a classroom approach to religious education for the elementary aged child. This is accomplished between the parent/catechist partnership. Parents are the primary educators of their children and are able to nurture the faith in a more intimate way than the catechist. The catechist is able to provide formal instruction in Catholic doctrine. The two educators of the child, working together, raise children who are equipped to actively live their faith. St. Cecilia catechists seek to embody and share the parish mission statement: FORMED by the Word of God. UNITED by the Holy Eucharist. ENLIVENED by the Holy Spirit. 

Anchor Youth Ministry 6-8th Grade Middle School Programs

• 2025-2026 Calendar

• Middle School Small Groups meet at both parishes on Wednesday evenings and are broken into three parts. Over a small group session, the group will: Build a community to anchor your child in our Catholic Faith. Explore the teaching of the church by discussing select passages from Scripture, The Catechism and Catholic Social Teaching. And dive into offering a practical experience of prayer that youth take an active role in. St. Thomas groups meet from 6-7:15 pm. St. Cecilia groups meet from 7:30-8:45 PM. Students registering for Middle School Small Groups are automatically registered for EDGE and Middle School Fun Nights.

• EDGE is a large youth ministry gathering similar to your stereotypical youth group. We gather a large group of middle school kids to dive deeper into our faith with: zany games, insightful teaching, small group discussions, and moving prayer experiences. EDGE is focused on helping students encounter God through experiences of community, prayer and the sacraments. EDGE typically meets on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month.

• Middle School Fun Nights are a new program for the 2024-2025 academic year. While we previously had social Edge nights, we are moving these events to the first Wednesday of each month, where we’ll pull out all the stops to create an atmosphere of fellowship and fun!  

Anchor Youth Ministry 9-12th grade High School Programs

• 2025-2026 Calendar

• Life Teen is from 7-8:30pm on Sunday nights at St. Cecilia. A Life Night is an evening of socialization, prayer, witness talks and small group discussion open to all high school students.  Each Life Night gathers a group of teens as one, proclaims the Gospel, breaks it down for how God is speaking into a teenager's life and sends us out into the world as missionary disciples.  Life Nights are fun, active and aimed to form a support group of teens of any age!  Teens who love meeting new people and growing in community will love Life Teen. Life Teen or Small Group attendance is required for Confirmation Candidates.

• High School Small Group Ministry is for every high school student. Small groups meet on Wednesday evenings from 7:15-8:45 PM at St. Thomas Aquinas. Small groups are teens who are the same gender, grade and mostly from the same school. They may start out as strangers or already friends and end up as friends or in deeper friendship as they journey through relevant studies of the Catholic faith.  Each small group is led by an adult leader with a big heart and open mind.  Each small group is like a family; they share their weekly highs, lows, questions and prayer requests.  Most small groups stay together year after year, forming an uncommon bond in Christ through their high school graduation.  They help each other become the disciple that God is calling them to be.  Small Group or Life Teen attendance is required for Confirmation Candidates.

• Confirmation Preparation is included with High School programs. Confirmation Preparation is a two year process for high schoolers who are typically in 9th & 10th grades. Candidates focus on knowing, loving & following the Lord, and finding their call to serve with their whole heart. Confirmation preparation nurtures a personal and communal relationship with Christ and the Church to lead and change the world.

Catechist Discount
Free Tuition for Catechists who Register & Volunteer by June 30, 2025.  Find out more.

Early bird prices are $15 off for each program.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Levels One, Two & Three:  3-12 year olds
Atrium sessions on Wednesdays & Thursdays 
$105

Elementary Faith Formation for both St. Cecilia and St. Thomas Aquinas
$90

Middle and High School Youth Ministry
$120

Family Max: $300 -- email Kendra at faithformation@stceciliaparish.org to get your discount code!

St. Cecilia

Administrative Assistants
Anna Kaminski and Kendra Kruse
Phone: 515-337-2886
Email: faithformation@stceciliaparish.org

Director of Youth Ministry
Kayla Stinga
Phone: 515-232-3514 ext. 358
Email:  kstinga@stceciliaparish.org

Coordinator of Elementary Faith Formation
Clare Heinrich
Phone: 515-232-3514 ext. 356
Email: cheinrich@stceciliaparish.org

Coordinator of Middle School Youth Ministry
Zeke Mientkiewicz
Phone: 515-232-3514 ext. 357
Email: zmientkiewicz@stceciliaparish.org

St. Thomas Aquinas

Administrative Assistant
Katie Brinkman
Email: katie@staparish.net

Director of Evangelization and Faith Formation
Lisa Schmidt
Email: Lisa@staparish.net
Phone: 515-292-3810 Ext. 116 

St. Cecilia Parish

St. Thomas Aquinas

Anchor Youth Ministry

Elementary Faith Formation Handbook

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Handbook

Anchor Youth Ministry Handbook