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First Holy Communion & Reconcilliation A New CaFE Resource for Parents & Schools
A child’s First Holy Communion is a wonderful time of celebration for the family and the whole parish community. It is also a great opportunity to invite the parents to deepen their faith and their understanding of the sacraments
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FIRST HOLY COMMUNION and RECONCILIATION is a brand new CaFE video resource to help parents of children preparing for the sacraments. Launched in October it is designed to inform, inspire and stir discussion among parents and should prove a valuable addition to any parish’s resource library. The children’s catechesis for First Holy Communion preparation is usually shared between the home, the parish and the school and parents have a vital role to play. To do this effectively, they need to understand the nature of the sacraments and be good role models for their children. This lively course challenges parents to reconsider the importance of their faith and how the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion help them in their daily lives. The course is a simple look at the sacraments delivered in an engaging style using contemporary footage of children, parents and parish communities preparing for the celebration of First Holy Communion and First Reconciliation. It follows a number of families in the build up to the “big” day. Narrated by Jenny Baker from the CaFE team, it includes teaching from Mgr John Armitage, Parish priest of St Antony’s Church, Forest Gate, Vicar General of the Brentwood Diocese. It is produced in a similar style to the very popular CaFE “Baptism” course and is aimed at a target audience with little background knowledge. It recognizes that many parents are not Catholic and even the Catholics may not have had any catechesis since their own First Holy Communion or Confirmation and so makes no assumptions about the level of knowledge or faith of the parents. The teaching is supplemented with light-hearted footage of children speaking about their expectations and experiences of celebrating these life-giving sacraments for the first time, with lots of input from parents. Each of the four sections, which ideally would be run over four sessions of about an hour each (but could be squeezed into two) contain break points for reflection and discussion. The comprehensive Leader’s Guide contains everything that a new parish team needs to know to run it effectively and the talks could also be used to supplement an existing programme for parents given by trained catechists. Although designed for parents, it could equally help teaching staff and learning support assistants who work with children in Catholic Primary schools and would be very suitable for Inset days, especially to help non-Catholic teachers. The Course Pack contains the four talks on video or DVD, a Leader’s Guide and sample Reconciliation and Holy Communion booklets for parents. It costs £89.95 and there is a £10 reduction for ordering before 1st December. For more information please contact Catholic Evangelisation Services 01727 823803 or visit www.faithcafe.org to order or to see a short sample.
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