Course of Instruction

Blessed Robert Grissold Church offers a course of instruction to prepare children to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation (Confession) and Holy Communion.

The Programme

The programme is aimed at children in year 3 or above, who are not receiving instruction at school – usually this means they are not attending a Catholic primary school. The course typically takes place once a year, in the spring, during term times. It consists of approximately a dozen weekly sessions of 45 minutes – the first meeting will be for parents as well as their children, the remaining sessions are for children only.

Of the Seven Sacraments of the Church, only these two – Reconciliation and Holy Communion – are ones that we are encouraged to take on a regular basis. These, therefore, are a fundamental part of our life as a Catholic, and it is therefore important that before children receive these gifts for the first time, they understand the significance of what they are doing. It is also an opportunity to allow the children to explore their own faith, and to understand some of the who, what, where, when, why and how of our liturgy.

Resources

Instruction is based around two workbooks – one focusing on the themes of repentance and forgiveness, and the other focusing on the Eucharist and the celebration of mass. Within these themes, a variety of methods such as discussion groups, art and story-telling are used to ensure each session is interesting and fun as well as instruction.

At the end of the first half of the course, the children are invited to make their first confession. Typically this is a relatively “low-key” event, just for children and their families. By contrast, First Holy Communion is a time of celebration not only for the children and their parents but also for the whole parish. First Communions take place during our regular Sunday morning mass, with a special breakfast served afterwards.

The Children

Our parish has had three First Holy Communion masses. You can find out more below:

18th February 2007: Adam, Christopher and Simon Doll.

1st July 2007: Ellie Biggs, Sophie Ritchie Yates, Liam Russell and David Doll.

8th June 2008: Liam McSorley, Hannah Clarke, Kathryn Green, Natalie Roe and Rebecca McLelland .

The next programme will begin in January 2009.  At that time, if you will have a child in year 3 or above at a non-Catholic school, who wishes to make their first confession and first communion this year, please give their name and your contact details to Ellie Clarke. Preparation classes will be held on Monday evenings, 6.00pm - 6.45pm, during term-times. . Please contact Ellie Clarke here for more information.