| BACK
First Communion—a family affair By Hilary Anderson First Communion preparation is a family affair in Kathy Drennan and Joyce Gillie’s parishes. They are part of a new era that believes part of the process of sacramental preparation should be done within the context of the family. Gone are the days when the parents’ participation only involved taking the child to school or church for religious instruction and paying for any special clothes or mementos of the day. “Everything we do is within the context of the family,” said Gillie, St. Dorothy Parish director of religious education, and pastoral associate at St. Peter Claver Mission, Robbins. “We have a parents’ component and believe faith formation is a partnership between parents and church.” St. Dorothy Parish does have a school but the sacramental preparation is done with the school children and those in religious education classes learning together as a unit. There are parent sessions, too. “Sacramental preparation is a parish thing,” said Gillie. “The children are part of the church. It’s a big thing for everyone here.” Gillie adds the key piece to the success of the program is the
parents. Gillie sets up situational experiences that enable the students to better understand the reconciliation and first Communion concepts. “We use simple activities and symbols,” she said. “We talk about forgiveness in our lives and why it’s good to come back together. We ask parents to listen to their children and let them talk. If children don’t have a basic understanding of forgiveness in their own lives, how can they understand God’s healing and love?” Drennan adds that first Communion preparation activities are designed to show children how God is present in their lives. “We empower parents to make God a part of their family life,” she said. “It is showing them a way to live and pray.” Drennan’s Church of the Holy Spirit, Schaumburg, does not have a school attached to it so all of its children attend religious education classes there. However, the formal first Communion preparation still does not occur within the religious education program. “The parents of children who are eligible to receive first Communion get a letter from us inviting them to attend an orientation session in October. Drennan’s first Communicant parents then attend three enrichment sessions starting in November. The first updates them on the sacrament with the vocabulary and meaning of the Eucharist. The second is about the spirituality of Jesus and the family, why preparation should take place within the family. The third is a practical session, which provides materials and ideas about how to integrate an understanding of first Communion into the family’s daily activities. These are followed by three prayer services beginning in January. The first is a welcoming or coming-together where parents have a chance to bless their children. The second is the reconciliation service. The third is a symbolic “sharing bread service,” which makes a connection between the table of the Lord and that at home. Gillie asks parents and children together to cook a meal from
scratch before the actual first Communion sacrament. That includes
baking bread, which later is blessed by them, broken and distributed
at the meal. “This is not to lay blame. Parents are busy. We are a running generation.” Drennan says she has never had any parents who refused to participate in the first Communion preparation. “The parents who thought they couldn’t do it usually are surprised at the outcome,” she said. “They find themselves just as enriched as their children.” Gillie says some of the parents at St. Dorothy have protested the process but changed their minds once they came and started their own faith-sharing with the other adults. “We just pray the Spirit will touch everyone in the right way.”
|