Elementary Religious Education

Religious Education Sessions 2008-2009
Pre-School through Grade 8

SJB Religious Education Update

Advent, 2008

 

Elementary Religious Education:
Pre-school (4 year olds) Sunday 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Kindergarten (5 year olds) Sunday 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Grade 1 ************* Sunday 10:30 - 11:30am

Wednesdays
Limit is 12 students per class; first come, first served.
Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Wed. 7:00-8:15 p.m.

To contact us during class time, please call 301-622-4645.
If Montgomery County Schools are closed or have early dismissal due to inclement weather, all Religion Classes and Activities will be cancelled for that evening.

  

Youth Ministry:
Tuesdays
Grade 7 -Tuesday 7:00-8:15 p.m.
Grade 8 - Tuesday 7:00 - 8:15 p.m.

*Grade 8 - (Jan - May) Confirmation -Tuesday 7:00-8:15 p.m.
*Separate Registration Form and additional $80 Fee for Confirmation*

Tuition:
Registered Parishioners at SJB:
1 child $80;
2 or more children $130

Non registered Parishioners at SJB:
$100 per child

No fee for children of catechists

Late Fees:
A late registration fee of $30/family will be charged after August 18, 2008

Please complete both pages of the Registration/Emergency Contact Form below and return it to the Parish Office with payment.

Rel Ed Registration Form 2008-09

Confirmation Registration Form 2008-09

 

Please send payment with completed registration.

Children’s Liturgies
Religious Education Calendar 2008-2009
Ministry of Shepherding
Notes

Children’s Liturgies 2008 - 2009
Saturday 5 p.m. Mass in the Church

December 6 - Advent/St. Nicholas Liturgy
January 24 - Winter Ordinary Time Liturgy
February 28 - Lenten Liturgy
May 2 - Eastertime Liturgy

We are Stewards of God’s Kingdom

Elementary Religious Education Pre K-6

“Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people, and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.” CT 18

The mission of St. John the Baptist Religious Education Program

The mission of St. John the Baptist Religious Education Program is to bring individuals to a genuine knowledge and love of Jesus Christ; to invite them to a full and active participation in the life of the Church and to help them understand the relationship between faith and life. The Catholic Church recognizes that parents are the primary and principal educators of their children, especially in the task of faith formation.

Parish catechetical programs are to assist parents by providing formal, systematic catechesis and sacramental preparation programs. The themes of God’s love, Jesus, Sacraments, Prayer and Scripture are present throughout St. John’s Religious Education curriculum. Certain grade levels focus on particular topics such as the Ten Commandments, the Church, The Sacraments and the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament.

First Reconciliation and First Eucharist Preparation for Children 2008-09

All sacramental preparation programs are parish-based, which means that:

1. Children prepare for and celebrate the sacrament within the parish in which they are registered, and
2. Children who are in the parochial school and the Religious Education Program attend these programs together.

These preparations are in addition to your child’s regular religious education, whether that is through the St. John the Baptist School, or through the Religious Education Program. We prepare children for the sacrament of Reconciliation prior to, and separate from, when we prepare children for First Eucharist.

Your child must attend religious education classes for at least one year prior to the sacramental preparation year, and must be at least age seven. Parents of children who have not been attending regular religious instruction, and who would like their children to prepare for these sacraments are asked to meet with the Director of Elementary Religious Education, Ginny Cohen.

One or both parents or guardians are required to attend the sessions for the reasons that

1. Sacraments are part of family/home life, and
2. it is necessary for the parent to be refreshed in the sacrament and involved in the program in order to support that child’s faith development.

To register, call or visit the parish office. To discuss the sacraments or questions of your child’s readiness, call Ginny Cohen.  Once you register, you will be sent information two weeks prior to the first session. You will be asked to pay for the book fees, but otherwise there is no tuition.

This year’s schedule is as follows:

First Reconciliation Program                             First Eucharist Preparation
Jan.      12 – Session 1, 7-8:15 pm                    April     20 - Session 1, 7-8:15 pm
            19 – Homework                                               27 - Homework
            26 – Homework                                   May       3 – Breaking Open the Celebration, 9-11 am
Feb.      2 – Session 2, 7-8:15 pm                     May       4 – Session 2, 7-8:15 pm
             9 – Session 3, 7-8:15 pm                                 11 - Homework
            16 – Homework                                               18 – Session 3, 7-8:15 pm
            23 - Reconciliation Service, 7-8:30 pm

Working at home with your child each week is part of the preparation. The calendar dates shown here include “homework” nights as reminders to set aside time on your family calendar for this. “Breaking Open the Celebration” includes attending the 9:00 am Mass and a session for entire families afterwards.   The celebration of a child’s First Eucharist may be scheduled by the family with the parish secretary after completion of the preparation program and book.

Ministry of Shepherding

Shepherding is a ministry of welcoming. Its purpose is to make the young person making First Communion and the family feel comfortable and confident with everything that is happening in the liturgy so the young person has a wonderful experience of meeting Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. Shepherds are contacted by the Parish Center to ask if they can shepherd a particular Mass and then the Shepherd gives the family an introductory call.

The family will arrange to meet the Shepherd in rear of the church or hall fifteen to twenty minutes before Mass begins. The Shepherd introduces the family to the Presider. Anyone (single or couples) interested in this ministry of welcoming should call the Parish Center at 301-622-1122.

Religious Education Calendar 2008-2009

*Notes: There are no classes for children on the weeks when Catechist Workshops are scheduled.
If Montgomery County Schools are closed or have early dismissal due to inclement weather, all Religious Education classes and activities will be cancelled for that evening.