Religious and Confirmation Program Information 2025-2026

Greetings and welcome to St. Edna’s Faith Formation Program. I am very excited to have your family join us for your family’s spiritual needs. In this letter, I will go over what to expect next year for both the Religious Education and Confirmation programs this year. Let’s get started!

Religious Education Information:

The Fall Session: 

• This will be for grades 1-7. 
• The Fall Program will also follow the Hybrid 2.0 model.
• Learning will be online with curriculum outlined on a website specifically designed for St. Edna’s Faith Formation program. Due dates and events to participate in calendar form will also be posted to this website that families can access as often as necessary. 
• We will continue to have 2 onsite sessions; one called a REVIEW SESSION, and the other is the FAMILY EVENT. At the REVIEW SESSIONS, the children will be working alongside an adult facilitator to do various activities to review the content that was previously covered at home that month. These sessions will be 1 hour each; going from September until about April.
• The Family Events will still take place every month on Sundays or Tuesdays to participate in as well. Whole families, including siblings not yet eligible for the RE program, are invited to join us! 

Summer Make Up Session:

• If you have a child that is a bit behind on their formation, there is a summer at home catch-up course that can be done to get them back on track. This program is to be completed as a family, NOT the student on their own.
• An outline will be provided for you so that your family knows when chapters/assignments are due. At the conclusion of the chapters, your student may be asked to write a short reflection of what was learned.
• A list of expectations will be tailored to your child’s needs so that the missing content is covered. This will help your child get back on track and possible ready to prepare for any missing sacraments. Failure to complete the summer program by the due date will cause further delay in getting into the grade they are in school. 
• Please contact Heather Daudelin at 847-398-3362 x. 307 if you have a child fitting this need.

First Reconciliation Preparation:  

• So that you are aware, just before COVID we made the change to prepare for First Reconciliation to 3rd grade instead of 2nd grade for two reasons. 1) So that the students have the whole year to prepare for it rather than rushing through it. 2) AND so that the kids have a better understanding of what it means and have more thoughtful confessions.
• Students in this program will prepare for this sacrament with additional sacramental work at home as well as a family retreat to participate in. The sacrament will be celebrated during the Lenten season. 
• If you have it in your heart that your child receives this sacrament PRIOR to First Communion, it is your prerogative and right to have that for your child. If this is what you wish to do, on the registration form there is an option to mark to let me know of your decision. Please make sure you fill this option in if you desire Reconciliation before Communion. But please make sure to make that notation either way you go so that we can better prepare. 

First Eucharist Preparation: 

• Preparation for this sacrament tends to take place in 2nd grade however it should be celebrated when a child is ready and can understand the concept of the Body and Blood of Jesus. Preparation includes completion of additional work outside the 2nd grade curriculum, centered on the sacrament at home and online. Like First Reconciliation, participation in the Communion retreat is an expectation in order to receive the sacrament. The celebration of this sacrament will take place in the spring during the Easter season. 

Confirmation Preparation:

• Confirmation preparation begins in 8^th grade as the first year, continuing through the year of 9^th grade (freshmen year) as their second year, and celebrating the sacrament in the fall of 10^th grade as sophomores.
• Formation for this sacrament we will be FULLY IN HOUSE. NO online work will be done.
• Students will meet twice a month in small groups for prayer, instruction, and discussion; all involving preparation for Confirmation, with an adult table facilitator for each group.
• The class session begins at 4:00pm and then continues with mass. The teens are expected to attend this mass and participate in our Teen Liturgy of the Word.
• The teens will go for their formation in the Teen Center/Community Room/Doherty Center.
• Participation in the Family Events are also a requirement for Confirmation

RE and Confirmation Fees for 2025-2026:

• Fees have increased this year to $145 per student in grades 1-7; there will be NO BOOK FEES in addition to this fee
• There will be NO ADDITIONAL SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION FEES for First Reconciliation or Communion
• Confirmation Program: Fees for this year have also increased. The new tuition fee is now $285 No additional BOOK FEES or SACRAMENTAL fees will be asked of you for this sacrament as well. (The fee will be paid the first year of their preparation. This fee will cover both the 1^st and the 2^nd year of preparation as well as retreat and various other activity fees. NO fees will be asked of you when your child(ren) enter their 2^nd year of prep.) 

Volunteer Positions Needed

Because Religious Education is using a Hybrid program, the need for “catechists” looks a little bit different than what we’ve known in the past. The role of catechist will now be called a FACILITATOR. The reason for this is that the FACILITATOR will not be teaching a class but rather running a review of what was previously learned in the home during that month with the parents. The facilitator will be given materials and outlines of various activities and guidelines to follow for this 1-hour review. If you are familiar with Vacation Bible School, there are a lot of elements from that program that I plan to use so that kids are not in a classroom setting. My hope in doing this is so that their faith is experiential and transcendent rather than academic. 

So, in saying all that, volunteer time on your part is a lot less of a commitment. Here are the job requirements of a Facilitator:

• Sending out chapter reminders periodically 
• Looking over and familiarizing yourself with the outlines for the review sessions to do with the students
• Preparing any additional materials that might be needed
• Implementing the review session as outlined once a month
• Assisting the monthly Family Events 

If you are interested in this opportunity, you will see an area on the Google Form that you can sign up.

Registration Links for both Religious Education and Confirmation

There will be separate registration forms for the two different programs: 1 for the Religious Education program, 1 for the Confirmation program. Like last year, registration will be online through a Google Form. The option to pay online will also be available. The link for Give Central is in the registration form to pay directly. All you need to do is click on the Give Central link, find Religious Education and/or Confirmation link in the Give Central site, and pay with a card directly that way. If you wish to pay with cash or check, you may send or drop it off at the parish office during office hours.



Registration for Religious Education 2025-2026

Registration for Confirmation 2025-2026

So, there you have the outline of the Faith Formation/Sacramental Preparation process for St. Edna as well as information of how the program will look for next year. If you need further clarification or have questions, please feel free to contact me for either the Religious Education program or Confirmation program. I look forward to ministering to you and your family in 2025-2026!

Lastly, a new policy that we are implementing this year is the expectation that your family join the parish officially. What that means is that your family fills out an application to join the parish and entered into the database. Just attending Sunday mass at St. Edna doesn’t make you an official parishioner. Without this application, we have no means in contacting you with information of all the awesome things going on here at St Edna!

If you still need to register your family, please click on the link below to become an official member of St. Edna! 

https://irp.cdn-website.com/0cb510b4/files/uploaded/Welcoming_Registration%20Form_Master%20Copy.pdf

And there you have it. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me here at St. Edna at the information written in the salutations below. We are so happy that you have chosen St. Edna to be the parish to assist you with your family’s faith formation. And whether you are brand new to the program or been with us for years we welcome you home! 

Peace,

Heather Daudelin 

Heather Daudelin~ DRE 

St. Edna Parish

2525 N. Arlington Heights Rd

Arlington Heights, IL

847-398-3362 x. 307

hdaudelin@stedna.org