Confirmation Preparation Year I Information Parent Handbook St. Mary of Vernon Parish 2018 2019 Please keep this packet in a place in your home where it can be referenced easily and often.
How to Turn in Completed Assignments All materials for Year I Confirmation Preparation (3 Saint Research Forms, 3 WWJD Forms, Catholic ID Packet, Mercy Expression Forms and the Confirmation Potluck Dinner Form); must only be turned in to the PREP Office. They can be turned in to the office when it is open or in the PREP mailbox outside the main entrance during the times when the PREP Office is closed. Please do not turn in materials to the catechists. Each teen has a file folder of their work in the PREP Office and is available for our parents to review during class sessions. Nuts and Bolts of Communication & Information: Parish: St. Mary of Vernon 236 US Hwy 45 Indian Creek IL 60061 Parish Phone: 847 362 1005 Pastor: Fr. Joseph Curtis jcurtis@maryofvernon.org PREP (Parish Religious Education Program) PREP Office St. Mary of Vernon Parish Rev. John Finnegan Parish Center 236 US Hwy 45 Indian Creek IL 60061 PREP Office Phone: 847 362 0653 Parish Office Fax: 847 362 6375 Director of Religious Education Mrs. Marion Hornung mhornung@maryofvernon.org Associate Director of Administration Mrs. Mary Winegard mwinegard@maryofvernon.org Religious Education Mrs. Jen Daniels jdaniels@maryofvernon.org Schedule for PREP Office August to May: 9 a.m. 3 p.m.; M, T, W, F and during all PREP sessions Schedule for PREP Office during two week Summer PREP in June: 8:30 a.m. 2:30 pm; M, T, W, TH, F Schedule for PREP Office July: Closed Due to the nature of ministry or unforeseen circumstances, we may not be available in the office during regular hours; please call before coming to the PREP Office at any other time outside of regular PREP programming.
Confirmed by the gift of the Spirit, that they may give witness to Christ by lives built on faith and love General Intercession from the Rite of Confirmation Dear Parent(s): Congratulations! You and your teen have chosen to begin the preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation at St. Mary of Vernon Parish. As a family, you have been journeying in this adventure of life and faith for quite a stretch. These next two years are an important part of this journey. It is a chance to stop and review where you have been, where you are, and where you are going in your faith lives. As a parish community, we strive to support you and your family as you share your life and your faith with us. This guide is a resource, a trail guide for your continuing journey. We offer faith formation sessions for the sacrament of Confirmation that are based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Confirmation celebrates neither the beginning nor the end of Christian initiation for your son or daughter, but rather a gradual and continuing growth into the Eucharistic community. We are not celebrating a graduation, but growth in the baptismal way of life, which is meant to lead us all into the Eucharistic way of life throughout all our days. Your teen s growth into the living body of Christ is not finished by Confirmation it is only getting started! We have provided in this packet for Year I of formal preparation, a list of general guidelines and other important information for you. In addition, you have been given copies of various forms and in addition, a copy of the Catholic Faith Homework Packet. These are all required as part of this first year of preparation. It will also cover information about the traditions and reasons that we, as Roman Catholics do what we do. We hope that this information is helpful, and please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns that you or your teen might have. Blessings for the journey! Marion Hornung Mrs. Marion Hornung Director of Religious Education
Confirmation Preparation at St. Mary of Vernon Parish Our tradition of two years of formation to prepare for sacraments at St. Mary of Vernon is meant to stress certain aspects of faith and faithful living: For our candidates to come to realize and understand that when making important commitments they should do so in a thoughtful and prayerful way. To grow to understand the importance of being able to say yes to our faith and way of living that will last a lifetime. To have the eyes and ears to know that confirmed Roman Catholics are the strength of the Church now and in the future. Our goal is for our teens to understand the importance of being mentored as they journey toward adulthood. It is also designed to help them to grow in their understanding to live out their baptismal priesthood. o New topics to discuss about lifelong morality and fidelity to commitments and community o Giving advice and mentoring your teen o Creating dialogue in a time when teens begin to individuate o Passing on the tradition and developing what has nurtured us as adults in our life Year I of Preparation, traditionally done in the 7 th Grade year of PREP, for the Sacrament of Confirmation has several processes and experiences that start the momentum toward the day of sacrament. These are: 1. Students must regularly attend and participate in a classroom community of faith. 2. Completion of 3 WWJD/WWJS forms. These reflections encourage our teens and their parents to talk about what is in the news, in music, in video games and decode the negative messages that our culture so often provides our youth. This process is meant to teach our teens to look to the words, actions and messages of Jesus to understand the role of morality in our time. 3. Completion of 3 Saint Research Forms. These investigations into the lives of saints help our teens to look to the Communion of Saints as a way of finding positive role models for their lives today. 4. They must complete 8 hours of Mercy Experience. These works of mercy encourage our youth to recognize and make note of the ongoing responsibility of all baptized persons to do apostolic acts of service as Christians. 5. Students are required to complete the Catholic Faith Homework Packet. This packet provides the students the opportunity to review the information and materials that have been covered in the different grade levels in the PREP program. Further information can be found on page 6 of this packet. 6. The PREP Office will schedule a few Study Halls to assist the students in completing all the assignments. Further information can be found on page 6 of this packet 7. Confirmation Rehearsal Dinner on the night of the Confirmation Rehearsal for the Year II candidates and their families. Participation in this event includes donating food, set up and cleaning up after the dinner. Year I candidates will earn Service Hours for participating in this event. The date for this dinner will be determined when the date for Confirmation 2019 becomes available from the Vicar General s Office for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Families will be notified by email with further information, as soon as we receive the date in late June 2018. However, we are anticipating the dinner being held towards the beginning of February 2019. ALL REQUIREMENTS MUST BE TURNED IN ON TIME!
Classroom community of faith As Roman Catholics, we believe that all sacraments are to be experienced in the context of a community. It is our hope that by the day of Confirmation, our candidates will have experienced many discussions and experiences with their peers. In this time of adolescence, our youth are learning to think for themselves. Our classroom community of faith is a place to speak up, question and encounter beliefs within the tradition of our Church. WWJD / WWJS Forms: 3 Total Due Date: December 3 4, 2018 It is becoming increasingly evident that our teens are being affected by the amount, type and genre of media that they encounter daily. This means that their moral code may be impacted by the news, video games, music and cultural icons that are counter cultural to your family values and the teachings of the Church. They are in conversation with electronic information for many hours a day. They are in conversation with you and the Church very infrequently. We caution and encourage parents to view what their teen views, listen to their music and watch the news WITH THEM. The goal of religious behavior and faith is to live a moral life. The Church seeks to make this the work of every day and age. Sometimes faith and tradition can seem like the work of the past. Our moral Christian code is built on ancient laws and truths. They may have begun thousands of years ago, but they are still real and applicable today. Exploring the events of the day and society, through the WWJD / WWJS forms, is meant to help young people see that morality, sin, grace, goodness, fidelity and honor are still just as important as they were in Jesus time. News events, video games, media and music are a classroom for families to recognize, sort out and understand how faith plays an everyday role in life. Confirmation Pot Luck Dinner Forms Due Date: January 7 8, 2019 It is a tradition each year at St. Mary of Vernon that our 7 th grade families provide the meal and host our annual Confirmation Pot Luck Dinner. This is required of all our families. A form and further information will be emailed home to our families once we receive official notification from the Archdiocese of Chicago as to our Confirmation date late June. Students will receive one hour of service hours for participating. Saint Research Forms: 3 Total Due Date: February 4 5, 2019 Young people have a strong desire to seek out heroes/cultural icons as they learn about themselves and what they will do with their lives and gifts. We have only to look around us to see how many negative models of living that our teens are exposed to daily. Currently in their lives, teens have a growing desire to individuate and to begin to develop a sense of their own identity. Researching the Communion of Saints can provide an example of a huge number of faithful everyday people who lived before us; and some who have lived in our own time. These people lived real lives with real obstacles and issues and found a way to be faithful. This can be very life giving to our teens who are journeying through very troubled waters today. The saints provide a beautiful example of life, love and faith in our shared tradition. It is for these reasons that our tradition invites confirmandi to select the name of a patron saint (can be their baptismal name) to serve as a guide and intercessor for them. A list of websites is provided in this packet.
Catholic Faith Homework Packet (Lime Green) Due Date: March 4 5, 2019 Candidates must complete and turn the packet into the PREP office before or by the above due. If a candidate scores less than 85% on their responses, the packet will be returned to the candidate. The parents will be notified by email and a new due date will be given at this time. Students are expected to make all of the necessary corrections within that time period and return the corrected packet to the PREP office. Parents are asked to review their teen s answers and check that the packet is done neatly before submitting the packet to the PREP office. A parent signature is required in the designated space on the cover of the packet. Please note that unsigned packets will not be accepted by the PREP office. The following resources will be of great assistance in completing the packet: Finding God series by Loyola Press The textbook being used in the PREP ministry. Both the 6 th & 7 th grade textbooks are helpful. The books contain the following: o Glossary o Liturgical Calendar information o Prayers and Practices of the Church Break Through Catholic Youth Bible o Please make sure that a Catholic Bible is used to answer all Scripture questions in the packet. St. Mary of Vernon Sunday Bulletin o This is a helpful tool to answer any questions that pertain to parish staff and ministries. List of Saint Websites provided on the back of the Saint Research Forms. Additional websites parents should be vigilant to the websites that their teens are opening for their personal safety. PREP Study Hall Study Halls are offered by the PREP office to assist both Year I and Year II candidates in completing all assignments and requirements. Please refer to the Year I Special Events Calendar 2018 2019 for the dates and times. STUDENTS MUST RSVP TO THE PREP OFFICE TO ATTEND A STUDY HALL SESSION WITHIN 48 HOURS PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED DATE. THIS WILL ASSURE WE HAVE ADEQUATE ADULT SUPERVISION. Students need to bring the following items to the Study Hall: Finding God Textbook(s) Break Through Catholic Youth Bible A laptop or tablet A healthy snack and drink
Parent Assistance during the Study Hall Parent assistance is needed to offer the Study Halls option to our candidates. Parish staff is required to adhere to the standards and guidelines set forth by the Archdiocese of Chicago through the Protecting God s Children program. o This means that a minimum of two adults need to be always present. o Parents are not required to assist the candidates in completing the assignments, but their assistance is appreciated if they are willing to be of assistance. o If we do not have adequate parental assistance scheduled for the Study Hall, it will be canceled. Parents should not drop their teen off to the Study Hall. Please come inside to make sure we are adequately staffed. If a volunteer fails to show up for the session, it too will be canceled. You will need to come back to the Parish Center to pick up your teen. Mercy Experience Forms: 8 Hours Total From: May 1, 2018 March 4 5, 2019 A part of our baptismal covenant, as baptized Catholic Christians, is to do apostolic acts. That means that Service is expected to be an ongoing part of every Christian life and not just a requirement for sacrament. These are favors, helps, ministerial actions that accomplish the work of Christ on earth today. Teens learn the path of service best when it is modeled by their parents. Mercy experiences are apostolic acts. We are all a part of the Baptismal Priesthood and as such we make Christ present on the earth and in our midst through this type of work. It is said that as we do this work of mercy, we conform ourselves more closely to Christ as priest, prophet and king. We ask Confirmation candidates to keep track of their experiences of mercy during this time of preparation. We also ask that they think about why they did what they did, how that is a part of their responsibility and how they are changed in this work. This is an important aspect of preparation and parents would do well to spend time with their teen in dialogue about their experiences. Mercy experiences are always done with no expectation of pay or reimbursement. It is a free act of caring and love. There are times when family life is faced with crisis or illness and this precludes doing service outside the family. Please email Miss Marion, mhornung@maryofvernon.org to schedule a meeting to discuss the if your family falls under this category With life being as busy as it is, it is fine to do these 8 hours of Mercy experience during the summer months when family schedules are less chaotic. Students are greatly encouraged to begin their hours service hours on May 1, 2018. All materials for Year I Confirmation Preparation (3 Saint Research Forms, 3 WWJD Forms, Catholic ID Packet, Mercy Experience Forms and the Confirmation Potluck Dinner Form); must only be turned in to the PREP Office. They can be turned in to the office when it is open or in the PREP mailbox outside the main entrance during the times when the PREP Office is closed. Please do not turn in materials to the catechists. Each teen has a file folder of their work in the PREP Office and is available for our parents to review during class sessions.
Cooperation is a two way street. Our expectations of the family that is preparing for Sacrament: 1. Families should regularly attend weekly Mass with our community of faith. 2. Parents are asked to contact the PREP Office staff regarding any issues that may arise during this process, so that we that we can work together towards finding a solution. 3. Read and understand the materials we are providing for this preparation. We have supplied this information in hard copy and on our PREP website as a reference. All forms are available for downloading through the website. 4. We now offer the ability to word process the homework assignments for those students who wish to do so. Download the E form for the particular assignment from the PREP page on the parish website. Once the assignment is completed it must be saved as a pdf or a Word document and then sent as an attachment to the PREP office. PLEASE DO NOT USE GOOGLE DOCUMENTS AT THIS TIME. Once we get the system into place, families will be notified. 5. All forms and paperwork should be written neatly and legibly. We do read all of the work submitted and it is important that we are able to do so. If an assignment is illegible, it will be returned to the student for it to be resubmitted. Parents will be notified via email if an assignment is returned. 6. Parents are asked to be proactive and regularly checking that all requirements are fulfilled and turned in to the PREP office, in a timely fashion. 7. Parents should review and discuss all assignments with their teen before signing. 8. One of the things that can be challenging for parents is that they do not know how to start and have meaningful discussions with their teens around issues of faith. Parents who take these processes seriously will enter dialogue that will connect them with their teen in a new and meaningful way. All requirements must be turned in on or before the given due dates without exception! Your expectation of us: 1. You should be able to see clearly that we are your partner and as such, we all have a vested interest in this formational process for your teen. 2. Please know that you are a vital part of our programming and as such, we are most interested in your thoughts and concerns. 3. You are a vital part of our ministry and as such we view our parents as partners. We will do our best to be of assistance to you and your family and we hope that you too, will aid the ministry, as needed. 4. You should know that everything we do is in hopes that you will grow in your own faith through this process, as well as your teen s faith.