My child has already received their First Holy Communion and First Reconciliation, do I have to attend all the sessions?
Parishioners who are new to our parish will need to attend all the sessions with their candidate/s. Parishioners who have participated in a portion of our previous programmes will need to discuss their situation with The Sacramental Team. Please expect to attend at least 6 of the sessions.
My child has made their First Reconciliation and does not want to do another Reconciliation, can we skip it?
Being reconciled with God is something that all Catholics need to do at the very least once a year (The Catechism of the Catholic Church) to help us live a ‘Life of Grace.’ If your candidate has a strong objection to making a reconciliation as part of the preparation for their sacramental journey please make an appointment with our Parish Priest, to see where you and your candidate can be further supported in your Sacramental Life. Those candidates who miss the Reconciliation Event will have to make a separate appointment with our Parish Priest to be reconciled before continuing on to being Confirmed.
I don’t want to be separated from my child/candidate for 15 minutes during the sessions, can I attend the session with my child?
Children learn in different ways, and no one knows better than their parent or sponsor. Our Sacramental Programme respects your right to educate your own child in their faith, a tradition well established by the church. Our program is structured to help you do this in each session:
- An introduction section where we introduce the topic at hand.
- 15 minutes where we go over the materials in depth that you will need to cover with your candidate, while the children explore the topic at their own level in a classroom like setting. This gives them the opportunity for more interaction with the leader and the group.
- 20 minutes where you and your candidate engage in an activity together that offers you a chance to find out what they got from their session with you building on the topic with what you have covered in your session. This is developed further with the apostolic project to do at home and the candidates journalling.
Educating parents and sponsors on The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the recommended methodology of our diocese. All materials covered in the Children’s sessions is available to you on request.
I am not practicing my faith and the teaching sessions are making me feel uncomfortable and challenged and I resent how ‘in my face’ the talks are. Can you teach so that I feel less intimidated?
We all find ourselves at different levels of involvement in our faith at different times and sometimes our experiences have ‘put us off’ our faith, but not so much that we want to turn away from it. This is personal to you and the catechists need to do their job for everyone. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is our source of information and we have an obligation to teach the fullness of faith. We don’t want to make you feel criticised and it might help to remember that the reason for attending the sessions is not recrimination, but a support so that you can offer your child as much as you can so that they develop a beautiful relationship with Jesus and the Sacraments where we meet Him personally.
I don’t really want to be Catholic, but all of my child’s classmates are receiving the Sacraments and they want to join in. Can we do this programme when I have no intention of being Catholic?
Our faith in Jesus Christ and our love for our Holy Catholic Church makes this programme an essential part of the way we live. When we promise to live our lives according to the path laid out for us by God the Father, Christ His Son and The Holy Spirit we are making solemn life changing promises. If you have no intention of practicing the Catholic Faith we will not be offended or judgmental, but we do ask that your follow up your decision to bring your child to the programme by understanding and fulfilling your responsibility to bring them to church and involve them in parish life as much as you are able. Attending the Alpha Programme in our parish will help you to understand some of the foundations of having a relationship with Christ.
I don’t like the sound of this programme – do I have other options?
The Orewa Parish, Glenfield Parish and Takapuna Parish all offer Sacramental Programmes at different times and anyone is welcome to the programmes they offer. Carmel College and Rosmini College also offer Sacramental Programmes to their students if your child attends the school. Candidates who have been catechised reliably (and approved by our parish priest) outside of our parish, may with permission receive the Sacraments in the ceremonies organised for our candidates. Please inform the Sacramental programme leader well in advance so that approvals can be obtained.
Do I have to attend all the sessions?
In the 10 sessions we organise, we cover all of the materials essential to begin your candidates education in faith. In truth the sessions only scratch the surface of the teachings of the Catholic Church. If you miss even a single session you miss the insight to a vast resource of our faith. It is for this reason that one of the parents or the sponsor attends all of the sessions and collects the materials to go over with the candidate if the candidate is unable to attend. Parents are not allowed to leave their child at the session unattended.
Sponsors?
Your candidate’s sponsor must be a practicing Catholic who has been confirmed and is 16 or older. They should be available for regular conversations with the candidate and be present at the Confirmation Ceremony. If the parents and candidate are sick or unable to attend the session, the sponsor should attend the session and pass the teachings and materials on. Parents cannot be the sponsor for their child, but may stand in as proxy if their sponsor cannot attend the Celebration.
My child is not mature enough to understand the Confirmation materials, can we just do First Holy Communion?
If your child is not mature enough to understand the Confirmation materials they should not be participating in Holy Communion our most precious Sacrament. Do not feel pressured by a classroom situation for your child to participate in the sacraments if you do not feel they are ready. The Bishop in Auckland has instructed that the order of the sacraments will be Confirmation, followed by First Holy Communion.
East Coast Bays Catholic Parish is not my home parish, why do I have to be on the Parish Roll?
All Catholic parishes are required to keep records accurately and to report statistics to the Vatican. Today, all records in our parish are electronic. We need you to accurately fill in your information to keep on record, even if ECB is not your home parish. This also ensures that we print the certificates correctly. The Infoodle system we use takes 5 days for your registration to become visible in the groups. If you add your details within a week of the cutoff date for the programme please notify us on sacraments@ecbparish.org.nz
The dates and times for the sessions and ceremonies are not ideal can we change them?
After years of running the programme these are the days and times that best suit most of the families.
Sessions are held on Sunday afternoons from 3:00PM to 4:30PM
The Reconciliation Ceremony will be held on a weeknight starting at 6:00PM @ St John’s Church
The Confirmation Ceremony and First Holy Communion Mass will be held on a weeknight (Friday) starting at 6:00PM @ St John’s Church with a celebration supper afterwards in the School Hall. (Bring and Share)
Does my candidate need a fancy outfit for the ceremonies?
It is traditional to wear something red to your Confirmation Ceremony and something white to your First Holy Communion, but not a rule. We always try and wear our best clothes to celebrate the feast of our Heavenly Father, but please remember that the importance of the event lies in the experience of the sacraments and not in clothes or the celebrations.
What happens if we miss a session?
Attendance is recorded for all of the sessions and if the child is unable to be present, the parents and or the sponsor can fulfill the obligation by being present and passing the materials on. To ‘make-up’ a missed session, the parent will be sent the talk along with a written homework assignment that will need to be emailed back and saved in our registrations to fulfil the attendance obligation. If a second session is missed you will be asked to enroll in the following years programme.