By Gary DiLallo, Contributing writer
A typical Sunday morning at St. Anthony’s Church in Endicott finds Sally Herceg rushing around with a group of young people following her as she prepares for Children’s Liturgy.
The director of Child and Family Catechesis for St. Ambrose, St Anthony’s, and St. Joseph’s combined Faith Formation programs, Herceg has been a catechist since 2004. She first began serving while living in Wiesbaden, Germany, at a U.S. Army base, where she was stationed with her husband, Jim. Upon moving back to her home parish, St. Joseph’s, Endicott (where she was baptized and married), she took up the role of youth minister and then shortly after, became the catechetical leader for the parish. She has served in catechetical leadership for 20 years.
In May of this year, Herceg planned to step down from her position as director of Child and Catechesis, but still wanted to stay in ministry in some capacity.
While the parishes were looking for her replacement, catechist Cara Conti expressed interest in the position but could not commit to it entirely. Conti wondered what a leadership role would be like, and Herceg was excited about the possibility of sharing the responsibility with her.
Conti has been a catechist for approximately 15 years at St. Anthony’s of Padua, Endicott. She taught a Baptism class for parents and godparents, was a pre-Cana presenter, and a classroom catechist for various levels for multiple years. She is currently a full-time academic intervention specialist for the Union Endicott School District.
“My goal for the year is to help bring fun and engaging activities to our parishes to help families become more involved in the church community and build relationships within our families,” she said.
Both Conti and Herceg are excited to share the responsibilities as a new team for Child and Family Catechesis.
On Sept. 7, a Faith Formation Open House was held for grades pre-K through eighth for students and parents to stop by and meet the teachers. The next Sunday, approximately 85 families attended Mass with their children. This was the Faith Formation kick-off. Total school enrollment is approximately 120.
The goal for the new team includes bringing children into a relationship with Jesus to know His love and to engage families to the point they are excited to be part of their Catholic Community. Herzog and Conti said attending Mass regularly as a family is a component of strengthening family faith life and is a great way to pray with other families, form new relationships, and nurture existing relationships to build our faith community. Proverbs 22:6: Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it.
