Welcome to St. Mary’s Parish and thank you for your interest in our Children’s Programs. I am Jude Thompson, the Director of Religious Education, and I am here to help you and your family grow stronger in the Catholic Faith. My contact information and background can be found on the Religious Education main page.

The parish is blessed with nearby St. Mary’s School  and provides weekly Mass for students who attend there as well as a location for on-campus retreats, sacraments, and general religious education purposes. The parish is full of young families trying to meet the needs of raising their children to love Jesus and follow Him. We offer many programs which serve multiple local Catholic parishes as well as students attending nearby public schools.

St. Mary parish has three program areas for children: Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Religious Education classes for receiving the Sacraments and Vacation Bible School. Please read below for additional details on available programs and the corresponding contact information.

Children’s Liturgy of the Word

 

The program parishioners are most familiar with is the Children’s Liturgy of the Word which takes place during the 9:15 Mass on most Sundays during the school year.
A catechist gathers the children to lead them downstairs for a prayer, reflection and activities related to the readings for the day. The leader directs them in an age appropriate lesson and activities concerning the meaning of the day’s Scriptures and how to apply these teachings to their own lives.  Children from 5 years to 10 years of age (or younger if accompanied by an older sibling and capable of being away from mom and dad) spend time learning during the readings and homily. They return at offertory to their parents. If you would like to see the CLW schedule, click here.

No sign-up form is require if you are interested in having your child participate in the Children’s Liturgy. Parents can simply send their child with the other children who gather at the front of the church when Father Bryan announces it from the altar and provides a blessing.

Joining this ministry….

We are always delighted to welcome people who are interested in serving in the important ministry to children. Normally, teachers are scheduled once a month or less, although adjustments are easily made. It takes a few minutes to set up before Mass and the lesson lasts about 20 minutes. Excellent materials are provided and you will be invited to shadow a more experienced teacher until you feel comfortable “flying solo”.
If you are interested in becoming a Catechist for the Children’s Liturgy please contact Jude Thompson We would love to have you.

Please note that you will need to complete and provide the following forms to her as part of the process. You can review and print for copies of the required forms. Forms requiring a signature need to be in hard copy, but there is some leeway in these requirements. VIRTUS is a link to an online course. It takes about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Catechist Application

1. Application form- Please see DRE Jude Thompson for more information.
2. 3-in-1 Liability Waiver– must be signed
3. Electronic Background_Check
4. Echoes of faith (Online Certification Information) The online certification course is temporarily unavailable.
5. VIRTUS Instructions
6. VIRTUS (Required Online Child safety Course)

Religion Classes after school

St. Mary Church offers two Religious Education classes for children, Catholic Foundations and Sacramental Preparation.

Catholic Foundations is designed for St Mary parish children that do not attend St. Mary School. This class is a basic introduction to Catholicism to provide them the necessary background to make their sacraments. It is offered weekly during the same time period as the Sacramental Preparation class. Normally, students in the Catholic Foundations class expect to receive First Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Eucharist at St. Mary’s the following year (i.e., usually when they are in third grade.) Children enrolled at St. Mary School are considered to have met the basic education requirements.

To register for this program, click here, print, sign and return the form to the office with the registration fee.

Sacramental Preparation is for students who have met the basic education requirement and plan to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Eucharist at St. Mary’s during the current academic year (normally 3rd graders.) Children in the third grade are considered to have reached the age of reason by St. Mary Church. (See  explanation above). The Sacramental Preparation class is a yearlong program which includes a mandatory parent meeting in September and three family workshops (required) which take place during the course of the year. (See the Key Dates Schedule).

The required forms for this program include enrollment, the guidelines for selecting a sponsor, the sponsor form, the Parent Agreement. They will be available in hard copy a the mandatory Parents’ Meeting held in the early fall. Folowing the meeting I will post the forms for your convenience in case they are lost or misplaced.

If the child was NOT baptized at St. Mary of the Assumption, you will need to provide us with an original copy (that is directly provided by the church) and if the sponsor is not a St. Mary parishioner, that person needs a letter of good standing from their pastor (See sponsor form). The key dates for the program for the school year is available here.

To join this ministry….

St. Mary of the Assumption does not have CCD classes for all grade levels. We would very much like to and if you are interested in this ministry, please get in touch with us. Information and forms can be located here.

1. Application – Please see Jude in the  parish office.
2. 3 in 1 Liability Waiver
3. Electronic Background Check
4. Echoes of faith (Online Certification Information)
5. VIRTUS Instructions
6. VIRTUS (Required online child safety course)

Vacation Bible School

If time and volunteer help allow, we have in the past offered a Vacation Bible School. While VBS is specifically Catholic, it is open to children of all religious backgrounds! The program lasts four days and is geared for children ages 5-12. For more information, please contact the office during the month of May. Registration and medical release forms are available here.

Requirements for those wishing to volunteer to help with this program are listed below:

1. Application
2. 3 in 1 Liability Waiver
3. Electronic Background_Check
4. VIRTUS Instructions
5. VIRTUS (Required Online Child safety Course)
6. Medical Release