Young Catholics
need to appreciate
that we belong to a
sacramental Church.
Pam Ashmankas
















Jesus said,
"Let the children come
to me and do not
prevent them;
for the kingdom
of heaven belongs
to such as these."
Matthew 19:14

Joan Sundstrom, Coordinator of Religious Education
Parish Hall Office 508-798-0612

The parish Religious Education program requires the support of the family to be successful. Parents are the first and primary teachers of their children.

The way a family learns and lives out the Gospel teachings, establishes and

encourages Christian values, instills prayer and worship practices, and involves itself in the faith community are irreplaceable modeling practices for children.

The Religious Education Board members serve as advisors to the coordinator as well as advocates for our parish program. Their major tasks are to assist pastoral leadership in setting goals and objectives and planning and evaluating programs. The board members meet on the third Tuesday of each month.

We hope to expand the board membership and invite any parishioner to join. There are no special qualifications required except a love of God and a desire to help shape the spiritual growth of our entire faith community.

The current members are: Fr. Gee, Pastor 508-798-8779 Joan Sundstrom, Coordinator 508- 798-0612

Pam Ashmankas Susan Barry T Jablanski Mary Ellen Kayer

Vicki Koski Nancy Sarkisian Tina Bilesano Mary Ellen Elkinson

The parish Religious Education program provides systematic learning, sacramental preparation classes, and yearly opportunities for adult education.

This enables all members of our faith community to broaden their knowledge of Catholic Christian beliefs, receive life-giving grace through sacramental participation, and enrich their lifelong spiritual growth.

Systematic Learning is that part of the parish program that focuses on intentional learning – the “academic” part of religious education.

The systematic learning for grades 1-6 follows a model drawn up in our diocese and first tested at Our Lady of Loreto Parish in Worcester. This Loreto Model is designed to begin in the parish school of religion during the summer over a one-week full day span (approximately 35 hours) and continues throughout the remainder of the year with Gathering Day sessions. The pastoral staff decides the number and content of the sessions during the remainder of the year.

The core curriculum for the systematic learning for grades 1-6 of the Loreto Model consists of a three-year cycle of repeated themes:

YEAR 1 - CREED

YEAR 2 - CHURCH

YEAR 3 - SCRIPTURE

The systematic learning for Grades 7-9 includes weekly sessions on Sunday nights. These sessions will cover such topics as church history, Scripture, creed, prayer, morality and discipleship.