St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church
Confirmation Policies
2007-2008
***ATTENTION PARENTS: PLEASE READ
OVER THESE POLICIES CAREFULLY BEFORE FILLING-OUT ANY PAPERWORK!!
THANK YOU!!***
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION REQUIREMENT
(Required by Diocese of Harrisburg)
Public School Students in 8th
Grade
All students will receive Religious
Education during the weekly Religious Education classes at St.
Joseph Parish on Sundays. Confirmation catechesis will be
included as part of this mandatory program. To register your
child, please contact DRE Sr. Jean Holtz, SSJ or RE Secretary Rhonda
Rhodes at the parish office at 755-7503.
Catholic School Students in 8th
Grade
All students will receive Religious
Education at York Catholic as part of their existing
curriculum. Confirmation catechesis is a regular component
of the Religious Education each year at York Catholic for 8th
graders.
Home
Schooled Students in 8th Grade
All
students being schooled at home are supported by St. Joseph Parish
and are exempted from attending the religious education program for
their religious education requirement as long as there is a
religious education component in their at-home curriculum. Please
inform the CRE if you are in this situation so that materials on
Confirmation maybe supplied to you to add to your existing
curriculum.
High School Students
All high school students attending public
schools will receive Religious Education during the regular
meetings of the IGNITE Catholic Youth Group (Grades 9-12) at St.
Joseph Parish. IGNITE meetings are held almost every Sunday (except
holidays) from 6:00-9:00pm and candidates are expected to attend
at least twice per month. All York Catholic H.S. students and
high school age home schooled students will receive Religious
Education as part of their existing curriculum, but are welcomed and
encouraged to attend any IGNITE Youth Group event.
***ALL high school students (no
matter what school they attend) will be required to attend
the IGNITE Youth Group Lenten Retreat in February as part of their
Confirmation preparation (see calendar for details).***
FORMATION REQUIREMENTS
(Required partly by diocese and
partly by our parish)
Orientation Meeting
All
parents and teens will attend an Orientation Meeting in September.
The purpose of the meeting is to introduce the Confirmation
preparation program, to answer questions, to address concerns and to
teach family communication skills by giving the parents and teens
the chance to engage in a time of personal sharing. (September 23,
2007)
Student Retreat Days
All students in 8th grade (public, Catholic and
home school), must attend the “Fire of Love” Diocesan
Confirmation Retreat at Lancaster Catholic High School. The purpose
of the retreat is to provide an opportunity for prayer, workshops
and reflection with hundreds of other middle school students from
our diocese. It is led by Mr. Martin Doman and the Diocesan Office
of Worship. (October 28, 2007)
All high school students (public, Catholic and home schooled)
must attend the IGNITE Lenten Retreat in late winter. The purpose of
the retreat is to provide an opportunity for prayer, workshops,
activities and reflection with teens their own age. (February 22 -
24, 2008)
Newsletter
All
families will receive a copy of the Confirmation newsletter,
Home Improvement each month (October through April). The
newsletter will contain sections on parent-teen relationships, teen
culture, teen moral issues, sponsors, saints, prayer ideas and
articles with discussion questions on various topics. The purpose is
to give parents the “tools” to build their child’s faith and be
intimately involved with their child’s formation for Confirmation.
Parents and candidates are expected to read each issue and then
discuss it together as a family. Sponsors will also each receive
the newsletter every month.
Parent-Teen Encounter Day(s)
All parents and teens (both 8th
grade & high school) will attend one of two P/T
Encounter Days held in late winter and early spring. Families may
choose the day and date most convenient for them, but attendance for
each day will be limited to one half of the Confirmation class.
This year one day will be offered on a Saturday and one will be
offered on a Sunday. The purpose is to provide an opportunity
for families to spend time alone discussing various issues, meet
with the other families for fellowship, hear presentations on
sacraments and family life and hear witness talks from various
members of our parish community. Sign-ups are required—we try to
limit each day to only half of the Confirmation class.
Letters to Pastor
All students will write a letter asking to
be Confirmed to Fr. Louis with the help of their parents.
An outline will be given in the January newsletter in order to help
students in this task. The purpose is to allow the students an
opportunity to express to Fr. Louis, in their own words, their
desire to become full members of the Church. It also recognizes the
authority of the pastor as the Bishop’s representative to us in this
parish. Letters are due at the P/T Day your attend.
Confirmation Name
All students
must choose a Confirmation Name. Baptismal names are preferred,
but any name of a recognized Saint is acceptable. The
purpose is for the students to have the opportunity to examine the
lives of the Saints, to help them understand that they are new
creations in Christ, to recognize their membership in the Mystical
Body of Christ and to realize that they are called to be Saints as
well.
Saint Reports
All students will write a report about
the Saint whose name they chose for Confirmation (please do
not write a report on a Saint different from your
Confirmation name). The report must be at least one
typewritten page. The purpose is for the students to have the
opportunity to examine the life of their Saint in order to make the
selection of their name spiritually meaningful. Reference
information will be made available in their RE classes and at YCHS
to assist the candidates in this project. Saint info can also be
found online at:
www.saints.catholic.org/stsindexb.html1#B.
This report is due at the retreat.
Service
All students
will perform at least 20 hours of service within the parish
and/or community. All service should be recorded on the Service
Record Sheet provided or printed neatly on an organized computer
generated page. Service opportunities will be highlighted in the
monthly newsletter as they become available. The purpose is for the
students to have the opportunity to learn about the gifts and
talents God has given them and to discern areas of service in which
they can continue with after being confirmed.
ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS
Registration Paperwork
All students
must hand in the completed registration paperwork in order to be on
the official Confirmation List of Candidates for the year.
Anyone not registered by the8th graders retreat day (Oct. 28, 2007)
will not be confirmed this year without special permission from the
pastor.
Sponsors
All students
must choose a sponsor for Confirmation. Sponsors must be a
practicing Catholic at least 16 years of age who have received the
three Sacraments of Initiation. They can be of either sex, but
according to Canon Law (874.5), parents cannot sponsor their
own child. Sponsors can be local or from out-of-town, but
must be willing to strengthen their relationship with their
candidate throughout the year. They must also be able to attend both
the rehearsal and Confirmation Liturgy in May 2008. Sponsors will
receive the monthly newsletter to keep them up-to-date with our
progress throughout the year. Candidates are required to have their
sponsor chosen by the Orientation Meeting on September 23, 2007.
Sponsor Certificates
All sponsors
not registered as parishioners at St. Joseph Parish in York,
PA, must obtain a Sponsor Certificate of Eligibility from
their parish and have it mailed directly to the St. Joseph Office of
Youth & Young Adult Ministries at 2935 Kingston Road, York, PA,
17402. This is due no later than January 20, 2008. We do not
provide this form. Each parish has a different system and the
sponsor will need to contact their parish office to inquire about
their system.
Confirmation Supply Fee
All families
are asked to submit a supply fee of $20.00. This fee helps to cover
the cost of the retreat (including transportation), paper supplies,
postage, newsletter costs and any costs associated with the
Confirmation Liturgy. The fee can be waived if too burdensome for
any particular family in need. No one will be denied reception of
the sacrament based on an inability to pay the fee. Please call
the Youth Office if this fee is a problem. Confidentiality
will be strictly adhered to in this matter.
Baptismal Certificate
All students
not baptized at St. Joseph Parish in York, PA will submit a copy of
their baptismal certificate (NOT birth certificate) to
the Youth Office no later than October 28, 2007. A copy of the
baptismal certificate proves that the child was indeed baptized (a
requirement for Confirmation) and also aids St. Joseph’s in our task
of informing the parish of baptism that the child was confirmed next
Spring. Copies previously turned-in to the school or RE
Office have not been saved and must be turned-in again.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
OPTIONAL
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES
OXYGEN
Jr. High Youth Group
Beginning in
October, each 3rd Sunday of the month the Youth
Leadership Team with adult supervision and support will be hosting a
youth night in the gym for students in grades 7 and 8 in the gym.
These nights will consist of: snacks and drinks, icebreakers, games
and contests, sports, catechesis and prayer. This event
will count for class attendance that week for any RE student who
registers to attend each month.
This is a new ministry formed out of
the very successful 8th Grade Youth night offered last
year. We hope you will take advantage of it.
Fan the Fire Youth Rally
All candidates
are invited to attend the 9th annual Fan the Fire Youth
Rally sponsored by the Office of Youth & Young Adult Ministries at
St. Joseph Parish and the Catholic Youth Foundation (www.catholicyouth.org).
About 650 teens in grades 8-12 from all over Pennsylvania, Maryland,
New Jersey and Delaware routinely attend this one-day evangelization
rally here in York at our parish. The day includes: lots of praise
and worship music led by Chris McDonnell and the Face Down
worship team, great talks by both nationally-known and local youth
workers, amazing and funny skits performed by the teens on the St.
Joseph Young Apostles team, a pizza dinner, workshops to help teens
grow in their faith, an awesome Eucharistic Holy Hour with Divine
Mercy Chaplet and a joy-filled closing Teen Mass. All this happens
right here at St. Joe’s and it only costs $17.00 per student. Also,
if your child might be interested in attending the 2008 Steubenville
East Youth Conference with us in Attleboro, Massachusetts next
summer, then this is the place they should come first.
IGNITE Youth Group Events
Throughout the
year, the 8th grade Confirmation candidates will also be
invited to various IGNITE Youth Group events before being able to
fully participate in May 2008. Keep watch for these special events
in the Confirmation Newsletter and the weekly bulletin.
Parent Nights
The Youth
Ministry Core Team has decided to offer four “Parent Nights” this
school year on various issues pertaining to raising teen-agers. They
will be advertised in the weekly bulletin, the monthly newsletter,
St. Joe’s school and the RE program. Topics will include: computer
and internet safety, youth culture, chastity and modesty and
choosing the right college. Stay tuned for more information.
