Who are we?

We are a group of parishioners who may or may not have children in our school system. We are interested in what we term the school age Sacraments:

• 1st Reconciliation
• 1st Eucharist
• Confirmation

Our principal mandate is to implement a set of guidelines set by the Archdiocese of Ottawa on how the Sacraments should be celebrated and who should be involved. The immediate catechists or the educational preparation for the Sacraments is still done in the schools (grade 2 and 6).

The celebration of the Sacraments takes place in the church. The team is a liaison between the schools, the families and the parish.

We hold meetings to:

• educate parents/guardians on the Sacraments
• answer questions or concerns
• involve them in the process
• provide additional material for them to work with
• reinforce that it is their responsibility to continue to nurture their child’s spiritual journey

We try to reconfirm the fact that the celebration of Sacraments are a family responsibility and not the school’s.

Our responsibilities run the course of the school year. The team meets before each parent meeting to establish:

• how the evening will run
• who will speak
• how to involve parents

We also meet in June to set dates for the celebrations and parent meetings for the following year.

Our goal is to have enough volunteers that we may have a core team for each of the 3 Sacraments and a coordinator for the children from the public school system.