Content Editor Sacramental Programmes 2024 Dear Parents, The sacraments of First Reconciliation, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion are important and wonderful steps on your children’s faith journey and their welcome into the Church community. The preparation for the sacraments involves enrolment and an initial parent meeting which must be attended by at least one parent for enrolment to be confirmed. This is followed by weekly meetings in which the children and yourselves meet here at our parish centre to explore the content of the preparation programme. The celebrations of the sacraments are important events in the life of your family and also of the wider Church community into which the children are being welcomed and so there are also a number of special celebrations at Sunday Masses in the weeks prior to the celebration of each sacrament – attendance at these celebrations is an essential part of your participation in the preparation programme. Please note that to celebrate First Holy Communion in 2024 the children will need to have celebrated Confirmation in 2023 and First Reconciliation in early 2024. Please contact Maia Schulze-Tsang, our Sacramental Programme Coordinator at maia@lindfieldkillara.org.au if you have any questions. We do hope that you will understand that the parish needs to make a charge for each sacramental programme to cover the costs of providing this time of preparation. It is not intended to be a fundraising source – merely to enable us as a parish to provide a Sacramental Programme Coordinator to give you the best support and experience for your children during their time of preparing for the sacraments. I look forward to joining you for the celebration of the sacraments with your children in 2024. The sacraments are beautiful moments of grace when, as a Church, we share the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord with these precious young members of the Church. Please read on for details of all the dates involved in our preparation and celebrations in 2024. Fr Colin _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ About our sacramental preparation programmes: These programmes involve collaboration between our two communities: the Parents’ Meeting at the beginning of each programme (essential for enrolment to be confirmed) is a joint meeting for parents from both Killara and Lindfield, and families then take part in the weekly preparation groups during the course of each programme. However the actual celebration of the sacraments takes place separately in each of our two churches according to the home community of each family (the exception being First Reconciliation which is a combined celebration for both communities). In our Diocese of Broken Bay, following the ancient practice of the Church, First Holy Communion is the final sacrament of initiation (celebrating as it does the welcome of the children to share at the Lord's table) and is therefore preceded by Confirmation. For some background and an explanation of this order of celebration of the Sacraments please download the small booklet 'The Sacraments of Initiation' via the link below: Download: The Sacraments of Initiation _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introducing our Sacramental Coordinator The role of the Sacramental Coordinator on our parish staff (Maia Schulze) is to be a loving pastoral guide to the parents and the children as they prepare for the beautiful experiences of their First Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Holy Communion. A programme of preparation precedes the celebration of each of these sacraments and Maia coordinates and supports the families in this time of preparation. Please click here to contact Maia: maia@lindfieldkillara.org.au _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Choosing the name of a Saint for Confirmation When a person is confirmed they are given a 'Confirmation name which may be either: * their baptismal name (IF that name is the name of a Saint). Indeed this is the ideal situation since Confirmation seals and completes baptism and so the choice of the same name (when it is a saint's name) is very appropriate. * a new name which MUST be the name of a canonised saint, the reason being is that that saint becomes a model, an exemplar for the one being Confirmed. The name chosen can only come from the list available on the web link given below - you are welcome to choose from one of the saints on the General Calendar of the Church or from one of the National Calendars which follow it. Please help your child find a saint which they identify with it, whose life inspires them in their own following of Jesus. The various saints listed on the website below have links to the lives of each saint. Please click HERE for the link and scroll down to the list of the saints on the General Calendar of the Church or on one of the national calendars which follow it.