St. Patrick Church of Merna
Religious Education Grades 1-5
Faith formation is a life-long journey. The Religious Education program provides parents with support to help their children build a strong Catholic foundation by getting to know Jesus, seeing Him as a source of comfort in the challenges of daily life, learning how to live their faith, and connecting with other children in our faith community. Our goal is to encourage all families and student to grow in their relationship with Jesus as a parish family ROOTED in Christ.
Religious Education for grades 1-5 meets once a week during the school year in a classroom setting at both St. Patrick Church of Merna and St. Mary Church in Downs. Both programs provide students with a positive environment to learn & grow in their Catholic faith.
Sacraments:
Preparation to receive both the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion takes place during 2nd grade. Attendance in our 1st grade classes is a pre-requisite for reception of the Sacraments.
For more information, please contact our Religious Education Grades 1-5 Coordinator, Bobbi Hassel:
Updates:
There are no updates as of right now.
Religious Education Grades 6-8
Our junior high Religious Education program combines classroom learning with small group discussion led by adult volunteers. Junior high is the time for students to explore how Catholicism is part of their everyday life, to grow into their faith and to take ownership of it. Students continue the life-long journey of faith formation where parents and the parish partner together to build a strong faith foundation.
Our 6th graders focus on Scripture stories from both the Old & New Testaments. They explore God’s love and promises to his people from Adam and Eve all the way through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
Our CONFIRM1 (7th) & CONFIRM2 (8th) students start a 2-year journey of preparation to receive the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. The DECISION POINT program from Dynamic Catholic speaks to teens through film-based media and “teaches them why choosing Jesus and the Church matters. It engages young Catholics in a meaningful conversation about the genius of Catholicism.”**
**DECISION POINT from Dynamic Catholic
We welcome high school students who may have missed this 2-year preparation to receive Confirmation.
For more information, please contact our Religious Education Grades 6-8 Coordinator, Bobbi Hassel:
Updates:
There are no updates as of right now.
St. Mary Church in Downs
Religious Education Grades 1-8
St. Mary Church in Downs offers Religious Education classes for children entering 1st grade through 8th grade. Classes take place on Sunday mornings following the 9am Mass.
First Holy Communion is received in 2nd grade, but it is a two-year program. Attendance in 1st grade is required to receive the sacrament as a 2nd grader.
Confirmation is received in 8th grade, but it is also a two-year program. Attendance in 7th grade is required to receive the sacrament as an 8th grader.
For more information, please contact the St. Mary Church in Downs Religious Ed Coordinator, Jennifer O’Brien:
Sign up for Religious Education:
Caritas Homeschool Parish Ministry
We are a community of homeschooling families in the Bloomington-Normal area coming together to thrive as a joyful, vibrant, authentically Catholic group for the purposes of meaningful enrichment for our school-aged children and the fostering of their social development, but most essentially for common worship and growth in the Catholic faith that binds us together.
We offer an online communication platform through which our members can network, support each other, and plan independent events such as regular park dates and outings. We also offer an educational enrichment cooperative that typically meets eight times/semester at St. Mary’s of Downs Church. In the past, we have offered a variety of classes, including art, science, chant, among many others, that provide a structured environment for our children to learn together and socialize with each other while supplementing the education they receive at home.
Above all, we believe it is our communal responsibility and holy privilege to nurture each member’s sense of belonging and his growth in faith and virtue by rooting all that we do in the charity of the heart of Christ. Thus, we will encourage and warmly accompany each other in our shared vocation of responding to the Universal Call to Holiness as homeschooling families.
We are open to all families who are currently homeschooling a child who is at least 5-years old.
For more information, please send an email or register:
