1026 N. 8th Avenue, Winterset, IA 50273
Office: 515-462-1083 Fax: 515-462-2378
Rev. Dan Kirby dkirby@saintjosephchurch.net Deacon Sam Sullivan stmnsully@gmail.com
Welcome to Sacramental Preparation for our parishioners and their families! Click on the link below for the sacrament you wish to explore.
First Reconciliation & First Communion
Sacrament of First Reconciliation & First Communion
The Sacraments of Reconciliation and Communion (Eucharist) are first celebrated in 2nd grade of older in the Des Moines Diocese. Preparation in St. Joseph Church is during one school year. It begins in the late fall concluding in late Aril or early May.
2016 - 2017 First Reconciliation & First Communion Calendar
Registration
If you have a child ready and eligible to prepare for these sacraments, please contact Sarah Hansen, Director of Religious Education at shansen@saintjosephchurch.net or 515-462-1083.
2016 - 2017 First Reconciliation & First Communion Registration Form
Sacramental Fee
A $20 fee will be collected beginning the 2014-2015 year per sacramental student, not to exceed $40 per family. (Considering all sacramentals during the given year.) Scholarships are available to any student in need!
Attendance
Attendance is required by students and parents at applicable activities. Please see the calendar at the link above.
Curriculum
Our parish utilizes a program approved by the Diocese of Des Moines, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. parents are welcome and encouraged to join children during meditations.
Prayer Partners
Each candidate may choose a prayer partner. The prayer partner's role in the candidate's journey is to support the candidate in his or her faith and help him or her to live as a disciple of Christ. The prayer partner prays for the candidate as well as prays with the candidate.
Retreat
Prior to the celebration of First Communion, the children will have an after-school retreat for two days. It is an opportunity for the children to be together, to review what they have learned, to have fun, and to prepare for the beautiful celebration.
Day 1 Day 2
Snacks Snacks
Review Five Meditations Crafts
Review Reconciliation Materials Practice Receiving Communion w/ Father
Practice Receiving Communion
Sacrament of Confirmation
The sacrament of Confirmation is in tenth grade or older in the Des Moines Diocese. St. Joseph Parish preparation is for one year. It begins in the fall concluding with the sacrament in the spring, typically in May.
2015 - 2016 Confirmation Calendar
Registration
Confirmation is 10th grade and older. Sessions begin in the fall.
If you have a student ready and eligible for Confirmation, please contact Heather Honkomp, Director of Religious Education at shansen@saintjosephchurch.net or 515-462-1083 to register.
2015 - 2016 Confirmation Registration Form
Sacramental Fee
A $20 fee will be collected beginning the 2014-2015 year per sacramental student, not to exceed $40 per family. (Considering all sacramentals during the given year.) Scholarships are available to any student in need!
Attendance
Attendance is required by students, parents, and sponsors at applicable activities. Please see the calendar at the link above.
Confirmation Team
The students are lead by a dynamic team of volunteers:
Father Dan Kirby
Mandy Couture
Sarah Hansen
Curriculum
Our parish utilizes a curriculum approved by the Diocese of De Moines, Anointed in the Spirit, published by Saint Mary's Press.
Sponsors
Each candidate chooses a sponsor. The sponsor's role in the candidate's journey is to support the candidate in his or her faith and help him or her to live as a disciple of Christ. It is an ancient custom of the Church for a sponsor to bring the candidate to receive the Sacrament and present the candidate to the bishop. Presenting the candidate to the bishop implies that the sponsor testifies to the candidate's worthiness and readiness for the Sacrament.
The revised Rite of Confirmation ad Code of Canon Law recommends (not required) that the godparent be the confirmation sponsor. This practice expresses more clearly the link between baptism and confirmation and makes the role of supporting the candidate in the Catholic way of life more effective. The sponsor must be a practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church.
In addition a sponsor...
Must be at least 16 years old.
Must be a fully initiated Catholic.
Must not be bound by any Church penalty.
Must not be the parent of the candidate.
Service Work
Serving others is central to the Gospel message and therefore at the heart of the Christian way of life. For adolescents, participation in service is a vital part of Christian formation.
A becoming full members of the Catholic Church, they will be learning more about what it means to be a member of the community. As they are formed amid the larger community, they "learn how to work actively with others to spread the Gospel and build up the Church" (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, 75.4). In other words, they will get to learn by working along with others.
There will be service works determined each year between the team and the students. Parent and sponsor volunteers are encouraged.
Saint Name
As they go through the sacramental preparation for Confirmation, Confirmation saints are chosen to be a person they want to be like, as well as someone who can pray for them from heaven.
Retreat
Each candidate has the opportunity to attend the confirmation retreat at Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri as part of his and her sacramental preparation, in February or March. The retreat is packed-full of activities and times of prayer for our young person as provided by the Conception Abbey retreat team of monks and seminarians. It is an overnight retreat form Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon.