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Volume 2, Number 16 January 20, 2021
At this time...(32)
Confirmation
Most spring youth Confirmation celebrations have been scheduled. Pastors should be getting letters in the next few days. Given the COVID-19 restrictions and requirements of social distancing, we have had to add ceremonies, rearrange groupings, and move many to different sites. We also took note of inconvenient dates submitted on the recent survey and tried to schedule day, dates, and times close to what parishes have experienced. Notes for pastors and catechetical leaders will be forthcoming.
Rite of Election
The Rite of Election will be held at the Cathedral on the 1st Sunday of Lent, February 21st at 3 pm. This year, because of the requirements of social distancing, we are only celebrating the Rite of Election – for the unbaptized. We are NOT celebrating the companion Rite of Recognition and Call to Conversion for the previously baptized – Protestants who are coming into the full communion of the Catholic Church and previously baptized Catholics who are completing their initiation. Please complete the registration form that can be found at on our website as soon as possible. We need to verify the numbers you submitted on the survey and we will be issuing tickets for this celebration. Further notes for a parish ceremony with baptized candidates will be forthcoming.
Attached you will find the entire Prayer for Our Government by Archbishop John Carroll, First Bishop of the United States, Baltimore, 1791, part of which was quoted in the Invocation at today’s inaugural ceremony.
Year of St. Joseph
Attached you will find some activity sheets to use with younger children during this year dedicated to St. Joseph. Thanks go to our friends at Pflaum.
A Creative Christmas During COVID
During this pandemic, we have been greatly challenged in implementing our Religious Education programs. However it also has been a time that has opened up creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. In the past year, many parishes would have had Nativity Pageants as part of their Christmas RE offerings. Below are examples of how two parishes have adapted these in new and creative ways:
Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Webster
We gave costumes out to families who then took pictures and sent them to me along with any voice clips. We edited pictures into different backgrounds put it into a narrated and story type video. See link below: https://youtu.be/Wg4KUpyASyo
St. Mark Parish, Sutton
We used siblings (to maintain social distancing guidelines) and used an outdoor setting for Nativity pageant. The link below takes you to St. Mark Parish website live stream page. Click on link and scroll down to “Live Streaming Mass”. Click on the arrow in the box. Select “Previous Broadcasts”. Then click on “Nativity”https://saintmarksparish.org/live
Darleen Farland
