This two-year program begins in the fall of the Grade 1 year and prepares children to receive the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion in the spring of the Grade 2 year.
Please see the program overview and details and requirements are below.
All Students – Grade 1 and Grade 2
Attendance
Grade 1 and Grade 2 students must participate in Religious Education classes.
All sacramental preparation Grade 1 and Grade 2 students must participate in Mass regularly. When attending Mass at the Collaborative students will bring their attendance card and take a sticker from the Religious Ed bulletin board to go on the card. When students attend Mass at an outside parish, or watch the Mass online, it must be reported via the Grade 1 & 2: Report Mass Attendance link.
Proof of Baptism
A baptismal certificate for all candidates must be on file prior to the reception of the sacraments. Students who were not baptized at St. John or St. Paul should submit a copy of their baptismal certificate by November 1st. A copy of the certificate can be uploaded at the time of registration, on the website using the Upload Baptismal Certificate link, or sent to the Religious Education Office at: SJSP Collaborative Religious Education Office, 39 Washington Street Wellesley, MA 02481.
Grade 1 Students
Christmas Pageant
Along with the first year preparation for the sacraments our Grade 1 students participate in the Christmas Pageant held at the Family Mass usually the Sunday before Christmas (the exact date will always be reflected on the Religious Ed calendar.) There are no speaking roles but there are primary roles that are chosen by lottery. Any student interested in a primary role must attend the Saturday rehearsal. An invitation to sign up for a role will go out in November and roles will be selected in early December. Costumes are provided for all participants.
Grade 2 Students
First Reconciliation
Our ceremony will be held on an evening in December and usually lasts about an hour. If your student is not available for our regularly scheduled ceremony we will follow up after the ceremony with make-up options. We practice with the students at the class immediately preceding the ceremony, there is no special rehearsal scheduled outside of regular class time. There is no assigned seating, families are free to sit where they want as they arrive. The students will make candles in class to use at the end of the ceremony. They will pick up candles at the back of the church as they arrive and can take them home after the ceremony.
First Communion
First Communions are celebrated on Saturday mornings in the Spring and usually lasts for 75 – 90 minutes. If your family is unable to attend the ceremony as scheduled please contact Christina Messore at Christina.Messore@sjspwellesley.org to coordinate another option for your child to receive the sacrament.
The celebration is designed to support the faith, comfort and confidence of the students while also promoting a valued sense of shared community. We ask that familial requests (cousins etc.) to be in the same ceremony be submitted by December 31st so they can be accommodated prior to ceremony assignments being completed.
Families will receive notification of their ceremony assignment in January. Once assignments are made requests to be considered for a different ceremony will be reviewed. Requests identifying the extraordinary circumstance necessitating reconsideration must be submitted by February 28 via email to Christina Messore at Christina.Messore@sjspwellesley.org or via postal mail to the Religious Education Office at: SJSP Religious Education Office, 39 Washington Street Wellesley, MA 02481. Ceremony reassignments will be confirmed by March 15th.
Students sit with their families in an assigned pew, marked by a banner made in class, which is determined by lottery after all assignments and re-assignments are complete. Banners can be taken home after the ceremony. Cousins and/or related families will be assigned pews adjacent to one another. Those families who request a ceremony change, other than familial requests, will not be eligible for the lottery but will be allotted the next subsequent pew after lottery seating is assigned.
There is one specific rehearsal date outside of class time scheduled for each of the ceremonies the week before the ceremonies. Students are required to attend the appropriate rehearsal to be adequately prepared for this very special sacrament.
Details and Requirements
FIRST RECONCILIATION & FIRST COMMUNION DETAILS AND REQUIREMENTS
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please contact Christina Messore at Christina.Messore@sjspwellesley.org.