Dear Parents:

We miss you and your children!  Since the parish closed in late March due to Covid-19, the Religious Education staff has been working at home and wracking our brains to develop a way to continue to support our families and the faith formation of your children.  

Given the uncertainty of the times, Father Mario has asked us to move ALL our classes online so the students and volunteers who participate in our program can be confident that they are safe while learning and sharing their faith together.

Here is what we are working on and hope to have ready in the next few months:

• Parents of children in grades 1-8 will have three registration options: 
  • Our traditional homeschool program
  • Attend a weekly “virtual class” with a volunteer Catechist using Google Meet
  • Complete enhanced homeschool lessons (the same lessons as the virtual class, but parents teach their own child at their own pace).
• For Confirmation I & II (Grades 9 & 10) ALL candidates will be required to complete the lessons that are posted online, but we will add small group discussions in the spring if we can get volunteers to help. These will be either virtual or live groups, depending on the state of the pandemic.

Registration for the 2020 Fall term will open on June 1st and we strongly encourage you to register as soon as possible, even if you still need to complete the lessons from last term or have financial concerns. Just reach out to us and we will work something out.

We are looking for Catechists to teach online virtual classes!

Our ability to offer “virtual classes” depends on dedicated volunteers. These awesome individuals will host a weekly class of 10 students online using a video conferencing platform like Zoom or Google Meet. Do not worry. We will train you! You will need a computer to access the lessons and a camera (on a laptop, tablet, or cell phone) to lead the class.

• Since we are not meeting at the church, Catechists will be able to set their own schedule as to the day and time their class will meet. 
• We expect this will give parents more options for scheduling as well.
• For example, 6^th grade classes might be offered for Mon. at 6 pm, Thurs at 4 pm, or Sat at 9 am depending on the Catechist. 
• We will assign students to the Catechist of their choice on a first come first serve basis according to the time stamp on their registration. Class size limit is 10 students per Catechist.

If you have any additional ideas of how we can remain together as a community, or would like to volunteer as an online catechist, please email us at staff@stpatreled.org. We also welcome any questions or advice you would like to offer.

Remember! This pandemic will not last forever. Next year, we fully expect to offer our Summer Program at the church once again. In the meantime, stay strong in your faith!  Faith can move mountains and provide comfort when all is lost.  We are here to help you educate your children in our beautiful faith, so that they may know God’s grace and comfort during these stressful times. We are trying out a new way to learn and there will be hick-ups along the way.  We ask for your patience and prayers and look forward to a time when we can safely be together once more! 

We are praying for you all!

The Religious Education Staff

Jesus teaches us how to both love him and to love one another when he says, “…whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Mt 25:40). For this reason, we ask the parents in our Religious Education program to help their children learn the value of helping others by giving them a minimum number of Christian Service hours to complete each year.

Now that we are coping with the unprecedented stay at home orders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it may seem like finding a safe Christian Service opportunity for our children is a big challenge. The good news is that you don’t need to go looking for any! What we are all doing by staying at home, social distancing, and wearing face masks in public is aimed at keeping vulnerable people safe by limiting the spread of the coronavirus. This also helps to protect essential workers and reduce the strain on nurses and doctors. Although we may not be on the front lines of fighting the pandemic, what we are doing together as a community is saving lives. So please take the time to explain this to your child, pray the pandemic prayer with us, and count the hours you spend at home and social distancing as satisfying your child’s Christian Service for the year.

For those of you who have done more – God bless you! You can never do too much good for the world. For those of you who have ideas for Christian Service you can do at home, post them on Facebook, or let us know so we can post them. It is always a joy to see the wonderful things our families are doing!

God bless & stay safe!
Marina

Help support the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at Saint Patrick Parish!

Join us for a one-mile walk up and down Main Street in Stoneham to support the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The cost to register as a walker is $10 and all proceeds will go directly to the St. Vincent de Paul Society at Saint Patrick Parish.  

The “Walk” route is from the big parking lot behind Saint Patrick Church to the South School parking lot and back!

The St. Vincent de Paul Society provides food and other emergency assistance to local residents. The people they help are your neighbors & friends. Just think – when the winter storms begin to blow, there will be children right here in Stoneham who will have a good meal or heat in their homes as a direct result of your efforts. 

Each year our Walk raises thousands of dollars for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. We hope this year will be another great success!

Religious Education students who sign up for the walk will earn 1 hour of service time for registering and an additional hour for every supporting sponsor ($10) they recruit. 

All students are welcome to join us! Children in grades 1-4 must be accompanied by an adult. Older children may walk with the group, but must turn in a signed permission form before the walk in order to participate.

The walk will begin with a gathering in Our Lady of Providence Hall.  Bring your registration form and donation sealed together in an envelope and drop it in one of the baskets by the door.

Downloads:

Walker & Sponsor Form: Please download this form and return it with your donations before the walk.

Walk Signs (pdf, 11 x 17):

James Martin, S.J. author of “My Life with the Saints,” introduces you to his favorite saints in a new DVD “Who Cares about the Saints?” released by Loyola Productions.  Fr. Martin’s lively commentary along with dramatic photos and artwork brings to life the lives of  Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Ignatius Loyola, Bernadette Soubirous, Pope John XXIII, Therese of Liseux, Joseph, Peter, and Mary, Mother of Jesus.

Enjoy an extended preview of the DVD below:

A very ancient art, practiced at one time by all Christians, is the technique known as lectio divina – a slow, contemplative praying of the Scriptures which enables the Bible, the Word of God, to become a means of union with God.  Learn more about it as part of our Advanced Catholic Prayers 

Advanced Catholic Prayers

• Lectio Divina
• Praying the Rosary
• What is Prayer?

Saint Patrick Religious Education is pleased to be able to offer all our families a free copy of Catholic Prayers for Catholic Families. This booklet includes short chapters on Understanding Prayer, Learning How to Pray, and Catholic Prayers & Devotions. Also inside are the Mysteries of the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and changes from the new Roman Missal.

Supplies are limited, so please let us know if you would like a copy of this valuable resource for your family. Paperback, 6 x 9, 48 pages.  Click here to reserve your copy.

The month of October is dedicated to the Blessed Mother.  Catholics are encouraged to pray the Rosary together as a family.  The Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (National Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith from 1950 to 1966) developed the World Mission Rosary.  Each of the five decades is a different color to represent areas of the world where the church continues her evangelizing mission. The MCA World Mission Rosary comes with a booklet that explains the colors of this Rosary, and offers age-appropriate mission reflections for the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous Mysteries.

Saint Patrick Religious Education participates in the Missionary Childhood Association of the Archdiocese of Boston.  This year all Grade 3 students will receive a World Mission Rosary from MCA at our Rosary Workshop on January 14, 2014.

The Missionary Childhood Association has a wonderful website for children to explore and learn more about the missions.  Visit them at: http://www.hcakids.org/

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new textbook series for grades 1-8!  The program, Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts, brings catechesis to life through a multimedia experience that includes beautiful artwork, music, guided meditation and many opportunities for prayer and celebration.

Learn More