Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are having (or are about to have) a wonderful Spring Break! Whether travelling or staying at home, I hope that your children enjoy a break from school and that you have some time to spend with them and celebrate the gift of time that God gives us to be family.
There are a couple of things to go over at this time which I'd like like sum up with bullet points before describing in full.
1) Attendance at the Parish Mission (March 30/31)
2) Plan for the Faith In Action projects (service projects) and
3) Fall Confirmation Retreat - Saturday, October 4, 2025
4) Make Up for Missed Confirmation Retreat
Thanks for taking the time to read about these items more fully below!
Many blessings,
David Heimann
- Attendance at the Parish Mission
As I had described in earlier emails, the date for March's class changed because we established the date with Saint Benedict Parish to hold our joint Parish Mission on Sunday, March 30, 2025 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. That is when your child is now requested for our Confirmation class this month.
A Parish Mission is a Catholic Parish's premiere faith formation opportunity for the entire community that is held every year. It invites a guest speaker who speaks on a particular matter of faith and is meant for young and old(er) alike.
One of the learning objectives that I have is for students to know that religious education is not just for their lives before Confirmation. It is normative and important that we continue to learn about our faith throughout out lives. The witness of seeing other adults from the community participating in the Parish Mission is part of lesson that we are trying to teach.
This year, we have Angela Scaperlanda Bujan speaking to us at the Parish Mission about spiritual and emotional resilience. Since the program is for all ages, I would like to recommend that this be a session you attend as well with your child. It is not a requirement, but something I would strongly encourage.
*** Note to those who will be coming back from Spring Break on March 30. I am aware that some CPS students will not be in attendance due to previously scheduled travel. The first opportunity that I have to offer as a make-up is for your child to attend the second night of the Parish Mission, which is held on Monday, March 31 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Thanks for attending this substitution to the previously scheduled class.
- Faith In Action Projects
The expectation is for each Confirmation candidate to do one Faith In Action project in each of 3 categories -
- A - Care for the earth
- B - Service to those on the margins and
- C - Service to the church.
In each of the first two categories (A&B), I will provide an organized experience allowing students to do the project together. The first of these will be in May and in June, I will also organize similar opportunities in the Fall. A student does not need to go on all of the organized activities, just one from each category, or they can do an independent project in those areas so long as they coordinate it with me.
The third category, serving the church, can be done in a myriad of ways and is done independently. Altar serving, helping with Family Mass, volunteering at Wearin the Green, parish activities, etc. All of these qualify. I will make some specific opportunities available to you in subsequent emails. Below are opportunities to si gn up and participate in the organized projects for category A and category B.
Service Project from Category A
Cleaning a local Forest Preserve
Saturday May, 17, 2025 from 9:00 to 11:15am
Labagh Woods, West Foster Avenue, N. Cicero Ave, Chicago
During the time allotted, participants will help to clean up the Labagh Woods Forest Preserve for Cook County. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. Please dress for the weather and wear shoes that might get muddy as we collect trash near the banks of the waterways. Please arrange your own transportation. Parents are asked to volunteer with us if available. Only 25 volunteer slots are available.
Service Project from Category B
Feed My Starving Children - Schaumburg Location
Saturday, June 7, 2025 from 2:30pm to 4:00pm
Join with other volunteers to create food packs of protein and grains that will be shipped to parts of the world with urgent need for food relief. A single session of volunteering will create thousands of meals for those in need. Parent volunteers are also needed for this event to take place. Only 30 volunteer slots are available for this service project
- Fall Confirmation Retreat
In the requirements for Confirmation, we discussed earlier that there was a first year confirmation retreat and a second year retreat. We have just been able to book the NET Ministry team to be with us at Saint Andrew for the second Confirmation Retreat. It will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2025. We still haven't finalized the time, but it will likely start mid-morning and end at around 5:00pm. Thank you for saving the date in your child's calendar to avoid any conflicts.
- Missed Confirmation Retreat
Some individuals missed the Confirmation retreat last fall when we attended Holy Fire. There are two potential make-ups to that absence that are coming up. Parents would be responsible for contacting the parishes and making arrangements to attend.
The make up opportunities currently available are at:
SS. Viator and Wenceslaus on April 5, 2025
Contact Sr. Carmen Loredo 773 286 4041
&
St. Alphonsus on April 12, 2025
Contact Emily Ember - 773-525-0709