Sunday School Catechism Classes

Sunday school offers catechism classes to children from the age of 5 – when they start in Reception class- up to 14, the post-confirmation group. We are one of the few parishes in the diocese that offer classes like this to all our parish children at church on a Sunday. Sessions are held every Sunday during term time after the 10.30am mass and usually last for 45mins. Lessons take place in the hall, the sacristy annexe, the bar room and the upper room where the confirmation classes are taking place at the moment.

Classes

Reception (Age 5–6)

Pre-Communion (Age 6-7)
The First Holy Communion Class at St Edward’s prepares children for the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

The children all have copies of ‘I Belong’ which is based on the framework of the celebration of the Eucharist. All the material is firmly grounded in the Bible and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. There are 11 sessions, each one exploring a theme connected with the Eucharist. The children also participate in Children’s Masses over the course of the year, so that they can be involved in the celebration of the Sacraments at first hand.

“We say an opening prayer at the beginning of the lesson and a concluding prayer at the end” (Alexander, First Holy Communion Candidate).

Post Communion (Age 8 – 9)

Juniors 1 and 2 (Age 10-11)
The courses start to prepare children for the next Sacrament which is Confirmation, emphasis is placed on their place in the Parish as the future generation, and they are encouraged to get to know one another to help create a sense of community.  This is done through various activities that include reading, listening and discussion of stories from the Bible both New and Old Testament.  We explore the life of Jesus and his preaching, as well as finding out about the saints.  Other activities include drawing and collage, and role play.  Sharing prayer and praying together are an important part of the sessions.
“We do themed puzzles, crosswords and anagrams. We read the Gospel and talk about it” (Lara, Junior 1 student)

Pre-Confirmation (Age 11-12)
The pre-confirmation class is led by Paul Ward. The teacher and the pupils share their Catholic faith.  Activities include prayer, discussion, reflection, bible reading and meditation.   The activities tend to follow the liturgy of a particular week.  Catechism pupils are expected to offer their own insights to discussion in a thoughtful way.  Pupils think about what their faith means for them and this is a preparation for their independent commitment to their faith which will follow in the sacrament of Confirmation in next year’s class.

Confirmation (Age 12-13)
The focus of the programme is to build on the first Holy Communion sacrament and to give the young adults a solid foundation upon which to build their faith, to promote a relationship and deeper knowledge of our Faith that the young adult will want to develop.

Easter Project