Hello all,
Happy Leap Day! Well, this is my first leap day as Director of Religious Education (I started in March 2013). It is a curious day that happens once every 4 years. Make sure you do something fun this extra day…an extra opportunity to be a blessing to others and to be blessed!
Myself and several volunteers from the parish returned yesterday from the 60th annual Religious Education Congress for the Archdiocese. I am excited about the new resources I brought back to share with the teachers and they in turn will share in the classes your children attend. The weekend was a fantastic blessing for all who attended.
THIS WEEK, classes resume on Wednesday 3/2 & Thursday 3/3. We have classes for 3 weeks before having a break for Easter. Classes: March 2/3, 9/10 & 16/17. Easter Break: March 23/24, 30, 31 and April 6/7. Classes resume April 13/14.
Year of Mercy Prayer Vigil Friday, March 4th to Saturday, March 5th Pope Francis has asked parishes to set aside a time for a Vigil of Adoration and Reconciliation (a period of time when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the altar and is not left alone without human presence). SLdM Parish is having a 32-hour vigil beginning at 2:00 PM on Friday (March 4) and ending at 10:00 PM on Saturday (March 5). Parish groups are taking an hour, each doing whatever they choose (praying the Rosary, singing, silent time, readings, etc.). There will be 6 opportunities to receive the Sacrament of Penance during this 32-hour time period. Fr. Aidan Peter has asked Religious Education children, parents and volunteers to lead and participate in the vigil the hour of 1:00-2:00pm on Saturday 3/5. We are honored to take part in this event. The hour will have periods of silent prayer, group songs and readings. For more information and times of other parish group hours, please see the SLdM Parish Website. Try to take some time to join other Religious education children, families & volunteers during our hour as well as the Holy Father and Catholics around the globe in this special time to pray for our world, our country, and our families. (attending any one of the hours counts as a Faith Growth opportunity for RE parents of year 1 & year 2 Communion students.) ALL are welcome to attend!
Josephite Associates’ Annual Soup Night Friday, March 11, 2016 @ 5:00pm @ SLDM Parish Hall Enjoy Free Homemade Soup. Meet our Josephite Associates. Menu: Perfect for Lent – Non Meat Soups, Salads, & Breads. Also Coffee and Water. Good Will Basket will be available.
Reminder, during Lent we are participating in the Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl program. Each child received a rice bowl and Lent calendar that goes with it during classes last week. We are asking each child/family to consider saving change during Lent and turn in the filled bowl at class the week of March 16th & 17th. There is an app available for download to follow along as a family for daily reflections. The app is called: CRS Rice Bowl.
The next activities for Communion Year 2 parents is a Parent Meeting. Topic: First Communion Retreat & Mass:
option #1 Monday 3/14/16 @7:00-8:00pm-parish hall
OR option #2 Wednesday 3/16/16 @7:00-8:00pm- parish hall
(one or both parents attend ONE or the other of these meetings. 2 options offered for convenience)
FIRST COMMUNION PRAYER PARTNERS On posters that will be hung in the church, we will invite the parish to sign up to pray for our First Communicants as they prepare to receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. The children need the support and prayers of the parish community. We are requesting ONE 2×3 PICTURE OF YOUR CHILD. Please write their name on the back and turn in to your child’s teacher or bring to the Religious Education Office. These pictures will then be glued to a form, posted in the church, and the parish can then sign up to pray for them. All pictures DUE by March 14th or 16th (at parent meeting or before)
1st Communion Retreat: Saturday 4/16/16 @ 8:30am-noon in the parish hall. All year 2 Communion students attend the retreat.
1st Communion Rehearsal for Thursday classes: Thursday 5/5/16 @ 6:15-7:15pm in the church (during class time)
1st Communion Rehearsal for SLDM school: during school day the week of 5/2/-5/6/16 with Mrs. Fuller & Mrs. McLoughlin
1st Communion Mass for Thursday classes & school: Saturday 5/7/16 @ 10:00am in the church (children arrive at 9:00am)
1st Communion Rehearsal for Wednesday classes: Wednesday 5/4/16@4:00-5:00pm in the church
1st Communion Mass for Wednesday classes: Saturday 5/7/16 @ 1:00pm in the church (children arrive at noon)
Bald for Lexi 2016 March 19th: St. Louis de Montfort Parish & School has an effort underway to CONQUER CHILDHOOD CANCER! One of our parishioners, Jr High group member & SLDM School student, Lexi Brown, was diagnosed with cancer over 18 months ago & is about to undergo chemo treatment #3. Worldwide a child is diagnosed with cancer every 3 minutes. Only 4% of US Federal funding is solely dedicated to childhood cancer research. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation exists to fill the funding gap. The organization does ONE thing, fund childhood cancer research!
A person can help in 1 of 3 ways….1. shave in solidarity 2. donate $$$ to a person shaving their head or a volunteer or 3. sign up to volunteer at the event. Feel free to contact me anytime with questions or assistance with signing up or navigating the event webpage.
The direct link to the event on March 19th is: https://www.stbaldricks.org/events/baldforlexi2016 This link will make it easier for you to join our event.
There is a Facebook page as well: https://www.facebook.com/baldforLexi/?fref=ts Please like the page and share it with other people to help spread the word.
Vacation Bible Camp 2016: SAVE THE DATE. We will be having Vacation Bible Camp July 18-22 from 9:00am to noon each day. Registration forms will be available soon.
Early Registration for classes 2016-2017: We will begin the early registration process in the next few weeks for classes that will begin in September. When you register early, you receive a $5 discount for each child registered. The other benefit is you have one less thing to have on your summer to do list.
Thought for the week: “A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.” –Pope Francis
Tip of the week: As you read earlier in the email, this weekend is a special Year of Mercy prayer vigil. The link here gives some wonderful family focused ideas to put into practice the action and witness of mercy to others. http://rclbenziger.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/WithMyFamily_TheCorporalWorksOfMercy.pdf
Blessings to all,
Kelly
Kelly McLoughlin
Director of Religious Education
Junior High Ministry
St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church
Proud member of NACYML www.nacyml.org
And NCCL www.nccl.org