Learning for children: Catechism and Activities

As a parish we run classes in preparation for Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. From time to time we also run other classes which are not specifically focused on a sacrament and details of these will be published here in the future.

A bit of History
We have a great number of families in our Parish and the lists below illustrate the passage of the children moving towards committed adult Catholic belonging within our community.

		Holy Communion	Confirmation
	2003	12	-
	2004	4	3
	2005	4	3
	2006	14	1
	2007	7	6
	2008	9	8
	2009	12	7
	2010	5	4

 

First Holy Communion
In the Catholic Church, children are generally considered ready to receive the two sacraments of Confession and First Holy Communion together when they are about 7 or 8 years old. Before they receive the sacraments for the first time, they need to be taught the meaning and significance of each sacrament and this is what we do in the classes. As you can see from the figures above, the classes are small. They are also friendly and fun and we pitch them carefully for the age group.

Typically, when we are about 13 or 14, we choose to affirm our faith personally in an active way. Far from being the end of learning about our faith, Confirmation is the completion of what began at Baptism and with the help of the Holy Spirit, is the beginning of our adult life’s journey of Faith. We try and publish pictures of First Holy Communion each year. To see 2008's please click here.

The Classes

Before First Holy Communion - The St John’s Children’s Liturgy Group

Starting with our youngest parishioners – any child aged 3-7 is welcome to join our half hour classes which are held during the first half of Mass. These take place in the Presbytery dining room which is adjacent to the Church.

At present (January 2010) we have 22 children on the register and we call them The St John’s Children’s Liturgy Group. We sing, pray and read the Gospel of the day and often make or draw something relevant to the story. The children then take up whatever they have made with the Offertory Procession.  One kind and attentive parishioner knocks on our door when the Offertory hymn begins, warning us that it is nearly time to join the body of the Church for the rest of Mass.

Confession & First Holy Communion
When a child starts preparing for First Holy Communion around the age of 7-8, they go to preparation classes. Also, they go to the whole Mass instead of going to the St John's Liturgy Group and after they have taken their First Holy Communion, they often begin to serve on the altar.

The classes start in January each year in order to be ready for June as close as possible to Corpus Christi, and we meet once a week in term time.

This year, 2010, we are preparing 5 children in the Parish.

Confirmation
Confirmation classes start in December so that the candidates are ready in time for Pentecost which is when Confirmation is traditionally undertaken. In this year, 2010, we have four confirmands and we meet once a week during term time.

Other Child-oriented Activities
Throughout the Liturgical Year, we try to organise appropriately topical activities for the children of the parish. Here is a selection of what we try to do each year:

• During Advent the children from St John’s Liturgy group carry in the Advent wreath with the Offertory Procession and we all sing a ’Light the Advent Candle’ song as the candles are lit.
• At Christmas these children gather to make flower decorations for the Crib on Christmas Eve.
• There is a Family Carol Service before Christmas.
• There is a Party organised for the children in the New Year, generally towards the end of the Christmas holidays. This year the party had to be cancelled becaise of snow and so we are hoping to hold it near Easter instead.
• On Holy Saturday the children make an Easter Garden containing all the important Easter symbols. It stands in front of Our Lady’s altar throughout the Easter season.
• At Corpus Christi, we have a special service in the afternoon with a procession in the garden.
• On the first Sunday of every month, the children read the lessons, say the bidding prayers and bring up the Offertory at the 11:00 Mass and the music and hymns are aimed at children as much as possible.
• We are planning to have a film day, quiz day or other activities day for the children, aimed at 10-16 year olds, once in each holiday.
• We have recently formed a Youth Group that meets fortnightly on Saturday evening for a mixture of socialising and catechesis.

 

Teachers
We would like to be able to do more with our children and although we do have a small and dedicated band of teachers and helpers, we would welcome more people to share the work.

If you would like to know more about it please contact:  Father Dylan, or Pepi Hughes (contact details are shown below). We are always open to new ideas and suggestions for ways to encourage the young people of the Parish to socialise together, so please, if you have any ideas, please do let us know.

Faith Summer Break
If you have read this far we strongly recommend the Faith Summer Break which is a combination of fun with a little religion thrown in, at Woldingham, in the Summer.  Several of our children have been on it and enjoyed themselves so much that they want to go again.   Some of them went back for the third time this year! Please click here for details.

Want to know more about Catholicism?
We run various informal courses for those who would like to explore the Catholic faith. If you are a Catholic already or if you are contemplating becoming a Catholic then please do get in touch with one of us.

Contact details:
To email one of the contacts, please just click on their name, otherwise, please telephone them on the number provided.

- 01747 852125
- 01747 830461

 

Child Protection & Safeguarding

Our two parish safeguarding representatives are Jillian La Valette-Robins (Tel. 01747-854803) and Marion Schouler (Tel. 01747-852532).

If you have any concerns about any safeguarding issues, please contact them.

St Edward's is part of the Diocese of Plymouth and as such adheres to CSAS safeguarding policies (CSAS: Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service)".