| Upcoming
Events in our FaithFirst Program
Parent Meeting
at 6:45 p.m in the Parish Hall.
Monday February 27 OR
Thursday March 1
Children's Classes 9:15 a.m.
- Enter via Hall Door (855 Bishop Power)
Group A - February 4
Group B - February 11
Group C - February 18
Group A - February 25 (March Class)
Sacraments
First Reconciliation Saturday February 25 at 2:00 p.m.
Reconciliation (Level 6) Monday April 16 at 7:00 pm
Confrimation Saturday April 28 at 2:00 pm.
First Communion (students) Monday April 30 at 7:00 p.m.
First Communion(family) Sunday May 6 at 11:00 am.
A Special Word for the Faith First Parents
Dear Parents,
What a joy it is to welcome you and especially the children
to our Faith First Religious Education Program.
When your children were baptized, we gave you, the parents,
godparents and the whole community, the responsibility
of bringing up your children according to the Faith of
our Church. You, as parents have done a wonderful job
so far and at this time, the community will be helping
you in a concrete way to continue this road in Faith!
We are truly blessed here at St. John Brebeuf Parish to
have a wonderful team of Catechists. They will accompany
your children and do their best so that your children
will come to know more fully a Jesus of Love and Tenderness.
We will also be inviting you to monthly parent meetings
where we will have the chance to discuss our Faith, and
most importantly, to try and understand how it may be
applied to our daily lives. After all, our Faith is not
just nice words like "Sons and daughters of God", "Love",
"Hope", etc….these words must be visible in our daily
lives! Therefore we will be sharing these elements together
and finding ways of becoming more and more the Light of
the world; Salt of the earth!
To be able to do all of this, we need your full cooperation.
The Faith First Team will be giving you the details of
the program and once again, it will be a true joy to meet
you all, parents and children, during this.
May God Bless you and His Joy fill our hearts as we become
closer to Him!
Father Gerry-M. Martineau
The
Faith First Religious Education Program
completes what the parents and the community of Saint
John Brebeuf are giving to your child in terms of faith
education. Children in levels 1 (one) to 6 (six) are obliged
to register for all levels and it is as part of the entire
Program that there is preparation for First Reconciliation,
First Communion and Confirmation. (Kindergarden is optional
and the fee is $20.00) The total cost of the Program is
subsidized by the Parish and by a number of fundraising
events. Parents are asked to contribute $85.00 (maximum
of $170.00 per family) to make up the difference.
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Our
Greatest Challenge
The greatest challenge of our Church is to bring people
to experience Jesus Christ and to live out the Christian
Catholic faith in an active participation in the life
of the Christian Community. The community is founded on
a mature faith, an adult faith, to which we are introducing
your children. Parents are to set the example and their
children will follow. Now is the time to make the difference
in the lives of your child or children.
Our
parish mission statement is:
We, the members of the Christian Community of St. John
Brébeuf, in the missionary spirit of St. Jean Brébeuf,
desire to follow the Gospel and in the spirit of the second
Vatican council pledge to build a community of Faith that
is community-minded and missionary-spirited.
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Welcome
Thank you for registering your children in a program that
offers you a great deal of help in their religious formation.
We provide the textbooks, and you will be informed about
the material you will need to review with your children
over the period of the month.
We meet with
the parents and the children once a month:
On a Monday or Thursday from 6:45 pm to 8:30 p.m. for
parents
On a Saturday from 9:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for children.
You will be given a schedule for the group to which you
and your child belong. The parents have been delighted
with their childrens' reactions since our program began
in 2001 and many have told us that they have learned a
great deal themselves.
What You Can Offer
You are expected to attend your monthly parent meeting
and to bring your children to their class monthly Saturday
meeting. You are also expected to have three at-home lessons
with your child every month to go over the material that
you will be given. It is also indispensible for us to
have you volunteer as a catechist or catechist helper,
or for jobs such as clean-up, snacks, etc.
The Sacraments
The schools no longer prepare children for the sacraments,
and a program of Sacramental Initiation is no longer available
at St. John Brebeuf Parish. It is primarily the responsibility
of parents, along with the Christian community, to support
the formation of youth in their faith. Today, the parents
and the parish prepare children for the sacraments through
the FAITH FIRST RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAM. The sacraments
are integrated into the whole program, and there are no
special programs just for the sacraments.
The Catechumenate
The Order of Chrisitian Initiation for Children (O.C.I.C.)
is a full program for children of school age who have
not been baptized. The R.C.I.A. is for adults. |
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Religious
Formation
Religious formation (initial catechesis) begins in the
family and in the home but it is completed within the
Christian community. You are required to participate
in the formation of your child and to call your child
to faith. Therefore, it is extremely important that
your family fully celebrates the life of the Christian
community and joins the community of St. John Brebeuf
for the weekly Eucharist on:
Saturdays
at 4:30 p.m. or
Sundays at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
The Good News is shared
in the family but growth requires the Chrisitian community.
It takes a community to educate a child.
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Life Here at St. John
Brebeuf
We are making every effort to make the Christian community
of St. John Brebeuf a vibrant Christian community. We
are beginning to transform our community into Small
Faith-Sharing Groups, of ten or twelve people, who meet
on a regular basis to speak about our Christian-Catholic
faith. We emphasize the importance of the Word of God
in our daily lives and we follow the reform of the Church
brought about by Vatican II. Every baptized person is
invited to share life here at St. John Brebeuf by becoming
a full participant in the life of the community. We
offer a great number of ministries and services and
we are always in need of expanding these ministries
and services.
Volunteer yourself to be
part of our living community of faith. See the parish
bulletin for details and watch the video screens as
you enter the Church. We interpret the Word of God to
give meaning to our everyday lives. The success of the
FAITH FIRST RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAM is in no small
part due to the active participation of the parents.
Thank you for registering your child. Thank you for
your active involvement. The religious formation of
your child is of prime importance to the Christian Community
of St. John Brébeuf. May we work together for
the benefit of the young people of our community so
that we will all grow towards an adult faith. The church
requires all of us to have and to practice an adult
faith.
The Cost of the Faith
First Program
The cost to the parents for the Faith First Program
is $85.00 per child to a maximum of $170 per family.
This amount covers approximately 50% of the total cost
of running the Program. 45% of the cost is absorbed
by the Parish. About 5% needs to be from a fundraising
event. Every parent is strongly urged to help by selling
tickets and attending the fundraiser. This year we will
have Jazz Diva Ranee Lee perform at Saint John Brébeuf
on Saturday November 13th, 2004. So mark your calendar
and tell your friends and family!
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Your
Faith First Team
Anna Matrundola, Director of Religious Education
(DRE)
Dawn Barrick, Co-ordinator of Pastoral Activities
and Events
Wendy de Souza, Administrative Assistant
Father Gerard Martineau, Pastor.
Please click on the
icon below for the RCL Faith First Website
and an overview of the program.
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Please send your comments to:
office@johnbrebeuf.ca
St. John Brébeuf Parish | 7777 George Street, LaSalle,
Québec H8P 1C8
Telephone: 514 366.0131 | Fax:
514 366.7469
Copyright © 2005 St. John
Brébeuf Parish. All rights reserved.
Website Design by Rachele
Fiore.
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