First Holy Communion 2024-25 Exciting Update

 

Dear Parents,

 

You are receiving this email because you have a child who is eligible to start preparing to receive their First Holy Communion (FHC) in the coming year.

 

We want to let you know that our approach to sacramental preparation in this parish is changing. We will no longer have a separate FHC programme, but a “Family of Faith” community meeting on Sunday mornings, which will offer ongoing support and catechesis for children and families.

 

 

What is “Family of Faith”?

From September 2024, we will be launching our “Family of Faith” community. This will be a space to meet together on Sundays, following the 9am Masses at St Gregory’s and St Osmund’s. After these Masses, we will gather together at the new Parish Centre on Exeter Street. Once everyone is gathered, there will be a time for prayer, followed by separate sessions for the children, and for their parents, finishing at 12 noon.

 

This will take place every two weeks during term time, and will be open for all children between Year 2 and Year 5. This means that if you have a child who has received their FHC in the past two years, they are more than welcome to join! The idea is to have a community of prayer and catechesis which includes, but is not limited to, FHC preparation.  

 

When will my child make their First Confession & First Holy Communion (FHC)?

Put simply, they will be able to make their FHC when they are ready. Rather than have one big weekend where everybody is expected to do it together, we will have several possible dates through the year. Then, as long as you have been coming along to Family of Faith for at least a year, it will be up to you as parents to decide, with the child, when they are ready to come forward.

 

What does “readiness” look like? For the Sacrament of Reconciliation (First Confession) it might be that your child has learned about God’s love and forgiveness, and desires to receive it when they recognise they have done something wrong. For First Communion, it might be that they show understanding of Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist, familiarity with the prayers and gestures of the Mass, and above all that they express a real desire to receive Jesus in this wonderful way.

 

Plenty of help and support in discerning this will be given to parents during those Family of Faith sessions. The advantage of doing it this way is that it allows each child the freedom to come to know Jesus in their own way and time, without being expected to conform to a fixed programme.

 

Why are we changing it?

For many years, the Church in this country has offered programmes to prepare children for the sacraments. Whilst they have offered a glimpse of Christian community and teaching, we are seeing a trend across the country, indeed world-wide, that shows families are looking for much more than an “extracurricular programme”. The journey of becoming a disciple of Jesus is more of a process than a programme, so we want to put families at the centre of our sacramental preparation, and hopefully offer a more holistic approach to our children’s faith journeys, appropriate to their age. 

 

I still want to know more…

We are really excited about this change and hope that, for many families, this will be a welcome addition to our parish community. For others, you may have some questions about how it is going to work. We will be inviting you to an information evening to find out more about this, with details of that to follow soon.

 

What do I have to do now?

For now, please click here to register your interest via a quick poll, and sign up to receive more information about Family of Faith.

 

Yours in prayer and the love of Christ, 

Fr Anthony, Fr Joseph, and all the team.