Overview of the Religious Education Program
The St. Paul’s English Speaking Catholic Community of Warsaw provides catechetical Religious Education (RE) classes for student’s 1st-8th grade. Classes are once a week before mass from 10:45-11:50 a.m. We try our best to match our program schedule with various International schools and the Polish school dates making effort trying to be as compatible as possible with the school holidays.
First Holy Communion
Two years of religious education classes are required for first reception of the sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist, which is done at the end of third grade whereby the child is at least 9 years of age by May of the year of receiving First Holy Communion.
The Sacrament of Confirmation
Seventh grade students, who are consistent in attending weekly classes and completing the course of studies are eligible to be candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation which is celebrated at the end of 8th grade.
Parents are the first and most important catechists in a child’s faith formation. The single best thing you can do for your child is to attend Mass together each week and go through the lessons with them at home.
HOW CAN MY CHILD HAVE THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION?
The Confirmation program is two years in length covering 7th and 8th grade. A child should be at least 14 years old by the month of May which is usually the month of reception of the sacrament of Confirmation; this is required by the Archbishop of Warsaw.
To register for religious education, simply email CCDWarsaw@gmail.com and you will be emailed a registration form, one form per family. The cost is 200 PLN per child (3rd child in the family is 100 PLN); we also encourage subscription to the Magnifikid for children of grade 1 – 6, which is 100 PLN per child (this is the discounted rate, normally almost 150 PLN per child if ordered individually).
For religious education we mostly use the Loyola Press books titled Christ Our Life. Christ Our Life (2016 edition) ensures knowledge of our faith, a firm sense of Catholic identity lived out in daily life, an enthusiastic response by children and adults to the Church’s call for a New Evangelization.
Besides the Christ our Life series, teachers use other teaching material which carry the nihil obstat and/or imprimatur seal in the specific book/publication and some additional valuable online resources with due discretion about its contents.
The New Evangelization calls each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel. The focus of the New Evangelization calls all Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize.—from the web site of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
With the Christ Our Life: New Evangelization Edition, children are being catechized as knowledgeable, lifelong Catholics who are confident in proclaiming their faith, living their faith, and passing on their faith to future generations.
There are so many ways to explore, deepen, reflect, and celebrate the Catholic faith. One can search by any of the criteria in the below link to find a selection of activities that complement the Christ Our Life program or any religious education program and meet the needs and interests of your group. Search by any combination of criteria from the more than 450 activities available. http://www.loyolapress.com/christ-our-life-2016-activity-finder.htm
Great religious education links can be found on this website: http://www.catholicity.com/links/156/
Lesson Planning guide and printable PDF versions of the Blackline Masters (BLMs)
that accompany the 2016 Christ Our Life program can be found here for parents, teachers and catechist.
http://www.loyolapress.com/christ-our-life-2016-catechists-and-teachers.htm
Speak to the RE Coordinator regarding your situation and your matter will be handled accordingly.
WHO WILL TEACH MY CHILD?
Our religious teachers (RE) are all volunteers, usually parents of children in the program. A few of our RE Catechists are qualified teachers, but all have a desire to pass on the faith to the children in our congregation. We are always happy to hear from parents who would like to join RE and help in any way they can. If interested please contact the Religious Education Coordinator at CCDWarsaw@gmail.com
Religious Education terminology
We refer to our program as “Religious Education” and no longer CCD (here is a great article pertaining to this http://gbcatholiced.blogspot.com/2008/05/ccd-or-religious-education.html ).
My child has never been in a RE Program before / is not baptized / is converting to Catholicism / has not yet made her Communion / what should I do?
Speak to the RE Coordinator regarding your situation and your matter will be handled accordingly. If your child is much older than those who are making their First Communion, we will put them into an age-appropriate class, and at a later stage, they will join the Communion group for the final preparations.
If your child has not been baptized, please indicate this on the registration form, and then speak to the priest who can organize a baptism ceremony if this is your wish.
Don’t worry about your child’s previous Catholic education. We are an international community and children come to us from very different religious/home backgrounds. We will try to make your child feel welcome. He/she can always move classes later in the year if the teacher believes that this is appropriate.
If your child is in the process of converting to Catholicism, it would be good if you made this known to the Parish Priest. Private lessons may also be needed to be arranged, but we are open to having your child in an age-appropriate class if you would like this.
My child attends a Polish school, but we would like him/her to receive his religious instruction through English. Is this ok?
Unless there is a very good reason, it is more appropriate for your child to receive his/her religious instruction along with his/her class in Polish school. This is better for your child, and makes life easier for his teacher in the Polish school. However, if one or both of the parents is not Polish, or if the child has been baptized outside Poland, the circumstances are different, and we would be prepared to make an exception in such a case. However, if your child has been baptized in a Polish church, and attends a Polish school, we will not be able to accept them into our RE program.
If your child has a Polish baptismal certificate, but attends an international school, it may be possible, with the permission of your Polish Parish Priest, to accept your child into our RE program.