Children’s Religious Education: Building a Strong Faith Foundation for Our Youngest Parishioners

from St. John Before the Latin Gate Catholic Parish Newsletter — April 2021

Teaching By Example: The Importance of Prayer in a Child’s Life

Last Christmas, our parish Children’s Religious Education (CRE) students and their families made memories to last a lifetime.

“We had a Christmas ice skating party for the kids, and they were so excited about it!” says CRE Coordinator Carey Auschwitz. “Over 50 students and their families came, and we had hot chocolate and cookies together. They were able to ice skate for two hours, and Santa came. I even had some of the children ask if we could do it again next year. It was a huge success! It was a perfect night and so much fun for the kids.”

Importantly, the event was a beautiful reflection of one of the most important aspects of the CRE program, which is fostering fellowship among its students.

“It is important that we are starting to do more activities outside the classroom,” Carey says. “This shows the children we can have fun with our religion. Both parish and public school children are encouraged to come to our CRE program and events, which gives them a great way to get to know each other and form good Catholic friendships.”

Despite the pandemic, the CRE program also found other ways to persevere in its mission to bring our parish children the joy, truth, and beauty of the Catholic faith. By taking precautions, they were able to work around the COVID-19 situation during most of their activities.

“I am grateful we were still able to have our monthly Middle School Youth Group meetings, and even had a ‘pizza with the priest’ evening during which Father answered some questions for us,” Carey says. “We also enjoyed an amazing race night, during which the kids got to race around the parish buildings to find clues and solve puzzles.”

Furthermore, there have been other wonderful things in the works at CRE this year.

“I am really excited about the new curriculum we have,” Carey says. “We worked hard to obtain it, but it is worth it because CRE is at the core of the Catholic faith. We want to give our children a really good foundation so that they continue to live out their faith into adulthood.”

During Lent, CRE students of all ages gathered to pray the Stations of the Cross together, and members of the Youth Group have been able to go to Confession about twice per year.

Earlier this year, the CRE program put on a First Reconciliation retreat for its students, and towards the end of April, they will be offering a First Holy Communion retreat. Both of these events prepare the hearts and souls of the students in a profound way for the sacraments they are to receive.

Looking at next year, Carey has some high hopes for what God has planned.

“Enrollment has been down, so we are really looking forward to more children signing up to come back,” she says. “The CRE program provides critical opportunities for children to learn about their faith, and interact with other like-minded Catholic kids in a supportive environment. We are also hoping that parents will continue to support what we are doing in CRE as we educate their children because we only see them one or two hours a week. It helps when our efforts are reinforced at home, as well.”