Mrs Janine Garnett
Assistant Administrator
Hinsley Hall
62 Headingley Lane
Leeds
LS6 2BX
Tel: 0113 261 8040
Fax: 0113 261 8044
Email: janine.garnett@dioceseofleeds.org.uk
"The Father chose us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ" RCIA 306
The experience of increasing numbers of children of catechetical age (7 - 17 approx) seeking initiation in the church causes parish clergy and catechists to look for structures that are faithful to general principles of the catechumenate and at the same time are sensitive to the circumstances of children.
The catechumenate for children of catechetical age is the order by which children become members of the church. It is a part of a larger repertory of rituals contained in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), which guides the church in receiving new members.
It is for children not baptized as infants; children who have attained the use of reason and are of catechetical age; children presented by their parents or guardians or who present themselves with parental permission; children capable of receiving a personal faith and recognizing an obligation of conscience; children dependent on their parents or guardians and influenced by their companions. (RCIA 252)
A working party of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales has been established in co-operation with the RCIA Network in order to review the situation of the initiation of older children in England & Wales and to develop guidelines and resources.
Further information about this will be released in due course
There are some existing resources available to support this ministry and these can be downloaded here
Download: CICCA Resources 2009
A NEW RESOURCE
I Call You Friends is a new resource from Living and Sharing our Faith - a National Project for Catechesis and Religious Education and has been written by adult advisors from the Dioceses of England & Wales. I Call You Friends is a parish resource especially designed for children who do not attend Catholic schools.
I Call You Friends is written in three parts and each one includes a leader's book and an activity book for the children.
- Book 1 is for pre-communion children who have been baptised
- Book 2 is for post-communion children
- Book 3 is for children in the process of preparing for initiation into the Catholic Church and is based on the RCIA.
The sessions in Book 3 follow the four periods of the RCIA and include the liturgical rites which are part of each period. The leader's book offers a clear and detailed structure for each session while the children's book is attractive and suggests a suitable activity for each session. The resource is designed to be all inclusive with ideas for provision for children with special needs. The leader's book includes a CD rom which contains additional material and a set of music CDs is also available. As with many resources the material is adaptable to the needs of the children and can be used in a variety of ways.
Further information and a sample session can be viewed online on the McCrimmons website http://www.mccrimmons.com/ The leader's book and children's activity book can be ordered directly from the website or phone 01702 218956
