Religious Education
Dear Parents of Blessed Sacrament Religious Education Program:
Hello! I hope your family is having a great summer! It is registration time for Blessed Sacrament Religious Education classes and I wanted to break down a little bit what this year will look like and also beg your prayers and patience as we continue to move forward in this ever-changing world. I am looking forward to another year of Religious Education and Sacramental Preparation with you and your families!
Some of you may be aware that there are big changes happening to Religious Education around the diocese, including here at Blessed Sacrament. We will do our best to communicate along the way what those changes are going to look like specifically for our parish. For an overview of everything going on, I encourage you to check out all of the information at https://www.eriercd.org/faithformation/ffprocess.html. If you look under the “Roll Out Plan” button on that website, you will see specifically what the timeline is going to look like. Blessed Sacrament has opted to utilize the 6 year plan model, giving us the time needed to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. I will be holding an informational meeting on Sunday, September 18th after the 11am Mass to go over our plans and answer any questions you may have.
As we are using the 6 year model, we are in our “transitional” year which means, for the most part, this upcoming year will continue as in the past. The biggest exception is that this year students entering both 10th and 11th grade will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation and, therefore, preparing for that sacrament during the year as opposed to only the 11th grade class.
With all of that being said, our Religious Education classes will begin to meet on Sundays during the normal time of 9:30am - 10:50am in Blessed Sacrament School on September 18, 2022 for grades Kindergarten through 9h. Classes will begin for Confirmation students (this year’s grades 10 and 11) on Sunday, September 25th. (If you have a student in 10th or 11th grade this year, you will be receiving more specific information and a separate registration form for them in the coming weeks.)
We are going to continue to transition into new waters with every grade meeting weekly for the entire year. This will help us maintain the needed classroom hours for all of our grades and also build-up to where we will need to be in the future. A calendar of dates is attached to this email. We will do our best to communicate any changes via email as soon as we know them.
Also, in an effort to make the registration process more efficient, we are introducing electronic registration this year. To register your child(ren), please click this link to be taken to the online form: https://forms.gle/fZVG4z16Uq4P1Hec7. The form is only for grades K-9 and includes information on pricing and payment options. If you have any trouble with the form or questions along the way, please feel free to email me. This is brand new to us all, so I’m sure we will find some bumps along the way and I am grateful for your assistance and patience through the process. If you would prefer a paper form, those will be made available in the parish office and in the back of the church beginning August 8th.
As in years past, we have many wonderful catechists returning this year, who so lovingly give their time and talents to share God’s message with each of your children. However, we are always need a few more teachers, classroom aides and substitute teachers. Any confirmed Catholic who is at least in 12th grade is invited to join this ministry (and it is a great way to get service hours, if needed!). As an added incentive, there is no class fee for children of volunteer catechists. E-mail [email protected] if you are interested in helping. Please consider using the gifts God has given you to have a positive impact on our parish’s children.
I know that was a lot of information and I thank you for reading it all! Again, a lot of the upcoming changes will be addressed at the September 18th meeting mentioned above so I encourage you to attend if you are able. Please never hesitate to contact me with questions, suggestions, or concerns; after all, this is your program and I welcome and depend on your participation.
In Him through Her,
Jennifer Durney
Director of Religious Education
2022-2023 Registration link: https://forms.gle/oEUkFyRgeMqqo3Ro7
Online payment link: https://account.venmo.com/u/Blessed_Sacrament-Erie
2022/2023 Calendar
September 18 Classes Begin - Grades K-9
September 25 Class Grades K-9
October 2 Class Grades K-9
October 9 Class Grades K- 9
October 16 Class Grades K-9
October 23* Class Grades K-9
October 30 Class Grades K-9
November 6 Class Grades K-9
November 13 Class Grades K-9
November 20 Class Grades K-9
November 27 NO CLASS- Happy Thanksgiving!
December 4 Class Grades K- 9
December 11 Class Grades K-9
December 18 Class Grades K-9
December 25 NO CLASS Merry Christmas!
January 1 NO CLASS Happy New Year!
January 8 Class Grades K-9
January 15 Class Grades K-9
January 22 Class Grades K-9
January 29 Class Grades K-9
February 5 Class Grades K-9
February 12 Class Grades K-9
February 19 Class Grades K-9
February 26 Class Grades K-9
March 5 Class Grades K-9
March 11 Mercy Day Retreat for First Reconciliation Class
March 12 Class Grades K-9
March 18 First Reconciliation
March 19 Class Grades K-9
March 21 Confirmation
March 26 Class Grades K-9
April 2 Class Grades K-9
April 9 NO CLASS Happy Easter!
April 16 Class Grades K-9
April 23 Class Grades K-9
April 30 Last Class for Grades K-9
May 6 Jesus Day Retreat for First Communion Class
May 7 First Holy Communion
*October 23rd is our Family Communion Breakfast. If students choose to attend the breakfast with their families, they are free to do so and it will not be marked as absent on their records. This will also allow the opportunity for families to attend while their children are in religious education classes, if they so choose. Confirmation students will be required to attend the breakfast as their class for the day.
**ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR THOSE PREPARING FOR SACRAMENTS (FIRST RECONCILIATION, FIRST HOLY COMMUNION, AND CONFIRMATION) WILL BE DISTRUBUTED WHEN FINALIZED**