Religious Education
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Our Religious Education program at St. Ambrose Parish in Bristol, VT serves youth in Pre-School through 9th grade. Families who are registered in the parish are welcome to sign their children up for classes.
Our Classes meet from September to May on Sunday mornings starting with the 9:00am Mass, class starts at 9:45am and dismisses at 1045 am from classrooms.
All families need to register their children, a link is provided to the side, or a paper copy can be found below. Please mail it to or drop it off at the parish office. -
Sacraments
Students in grade two prepare to receive two important sacraments – Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. Students must be baptized or show proof of baptism prior to receiving these sacraments. Students who have not received these sacraments and who enter this program after grade two prepare for them, in addition to attending regular classes with their peers. Generally this involves a parent-guided home study; materials are provided.
Students in Grades 8 and 9 prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, which in the past has taken place during the tenth grade year. The Diocese of Burlington is in the process of lowering the Confirmation grade to 6th grade. Therefore Students in 8th & 9th grade will receive this Sacrament in 2020. Students must receive Baptism, Reconciliation, and First Holy Eucharist prior to being confirmed.
Parent meetings are held for all First Communion and Confirmation parents. -
Volunteer as a Catechist or Classroom Aide
As with any parish, St. Ambrose relies on volunteers to teach religious education classes. We are always interested in strengthening our volunteer pool. No prior experience is necessary – just the willingness and desire to walk with the youth of our parish on this part of their faith journey. God invites us all to share our gifts and talents with our community – is God asking you to bear witness to the gospel as a catechist?
Our Catechists meet regularly to help ensure that the sharing of our faith for all age levels is as effective as it can be. Can you give your time as a Catechist, Classroom Aide, or Substitute for the 2018-2019 year?
Fill out this form: goo.gl/forms/KDS63tmELYh5wIVt1
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Contact Us
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Lisa Grover-Directorsaspministrygmail.comFamily Faith Formation & Youth Ministry
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Tanya Bradtmullertanya7403gmail.comPreK/Kindergarten
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Emily Baconebaconewsd.orgPreK/Kindergarten
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Joan Siminitusjoansiminitusyahoo.com1st/2nd Grade Teacher
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Laura Doylelaurajoandoylegmail.com1st/2nd Grade Teacher
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Erin Lathroperin_lathrop2004yahoo.com3rd/4th Teacher
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Kielee Pellandkpellandrnoutlook.com3rd/4th Teacher
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Allison Sturtevantasalisbuvt55gmail.com5th/6th grade Teacher
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Andrew Rainvillea.rainville11gmail.com5th/6th grade Teacher
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Cathleen Forandcat_erichotmail.comConfirmation Teacher
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Office Hours
Monday 8:30-4:30 @ St. Ambrose Tuesday 8:30-4:30 @ St. Ambrose
Thursday 8:30-4:30 @ St. Peter's
Friday 8:30-4:30 @ St. Peter's -
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Religious Education Communications
- 9/18/20-Update
- 9/8/2020, Religious Education Update
- Session 3, Family and Faith Summer Kit
- Session 2, Family and Faith Summer Kit
- Session 1, Family and Faith Summer Kit
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Good morning St. Ambrose Families!
It is so nice to be able to send a normal weekly reminder about Religious Education again! I've missed all of you so much, so I'm very excited to see you all this Sunday.
Please remember to log onto Zoom by 10:30. In case you missed the link here it is again: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82556822669?pwd= UFcwTUVhbDZNNmt1RmhUeW5INzFyUT 09
Meeting ID: 825 5682 2669 Passcode: 387414
This is the log in information for the first 4 virtual classes of the year. Don't worry I'll resend it each week so you have it. If possible each student should log into the meeting on their own device: computer, tablet, phone, etc. They will be divided into breakout rooms according to their grade level last year. Please forward this email to your students so they have the login information at hand. Parents are welcome to join as well.
The first 4 classes will be review and getting reacquainted. It will also give us time to get used to this new format, your students are probably much better at Zoom then we are! These 4 classes will last NO MORE than 1 hour, it's up to each teacher to decided when their class is finished.
If you haven't already, please register your student using this link: https://forms.gle/gTDDYb6V1d3dVNYNA. This will help us purchase the correct number of books and online subscriptions of our new Religious Education Program "Spirit of Truth" (Grades 1-6). Even if you plan to have your student learn remotely the entire year, it is important to register. We're also asking for a $20 donation per student (family cap of $40), to offset the cost. Instructions for submitting payment are found on the registration form. Please let me know if you have any questions.
One last thing I want to mention, slightly off topic, is that St. Ambrose (and other 5 town churches) have partnered with United Way of Addison County to bring services to the 5 town area. In order to know what services are needed/wanted the United Way has developed a quick survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3WML633. Please take a minute to fill it out, you'll be entered to win a gift certificate to a local restaurant!
There is no doubt about it, this will be a difficult year in Religious Education. So we've adopted a theme to help us: R.I.S.E. Which stands for Relate, Inspire, Support, Educate. These are our objectives for the year. Along with the Holy Spirit, R.I.S.E will remind us of our priorities.
Blessings,
Lisa
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Happy Birthday Mary!
Today, September 8th 2020, is the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or in more modern terms: Mary's Birthday Celebration!
Mary, the Mother of God, was Jesus' first teacher, and He was our greatest teacher. So it seems only fitting that I'm emailing all our Religious Education Families on Mary's feast day to tell you about our upcoming religious education year.
This year will be different, as I'm sure you expected. We are going to adopt a hybrid model, similar to what most of the schools in Vermont are doing, some in person, some virtual. Since last year was cut short, and our sacramental students missed out on their sacraments (First Holy Communion, and Confirmation), our first few classes of this year will be a review to get students up to speed.
Students will begin this year with the same teacher/class they had last year. After First Holy Communion and Confirmation take place, students will step up into their current grade. These initial classes will be virtual for most students, students receiving a sacrament in October will have some in person classes. Look for information directly from teachers about this.
Here are some important dates to remember:
September 20th-First virtual class!
September 27th - Virtual Class
October 4th-Virtual Class
October 11th-Virtual Class
October 17th-Confirmation (at St. Joseph's Cathedral, by invitation only)
October 18th-First Holy Communion! (No Class)
October 25th-Step Up day & First in person class!
A full calendar will be published soon, please be patient with us. Students will join us virtually via Zoom, everyone will have the same link. As students join they will be divided into rooms with their teachers and classmates. These virtual classes will start at 9am for St. Peter's Students, and 10:30 am for St. Ambrose Students. They shouldn't last more than an hour. Our youngest students (preK and Kindergarten) will have shortened classes.
Very soon parents will be asked to pick up either their student's workbook, or a packet of at home work put together by their student's teacher. This material will cover the first 4 weeks of virtual classes.
When we begin in-person classes on October 25th students will be introduced to our new program "Spirit of Truth", by Sophia Institute for Teachers. We are purchasing the program for our 1st-6th grade students. Older students will continue to use Decision Point for Confirmation prep. **A 100% virtual option is available for families not wanting to return to in person classes.** Please mark on your registration form that your student will not be attending in person and I will reach out to you directly with options.
Depending on how many students register and plan to attend in person, we may have to divide classes into smaller A and B groups that will meet in person on alternating Sundays. Following Vermont State guidelines most of our classroom spaces will only be able to accommodate 6-10 people at a time. Below you find a link to state guidelines, along with guidelines from the Diocese of Burlington. There is also a link to our online registration form. If you would like a paper copy please email me directly.
Please register your student as soon as possible so we can have a better sense of how our program will work. I'm also asking all parents to please bear with us this year, plans WILL change, schedules WILL change, but if we can all be flexible and understanding I know our program can be successful.
Blessings,
Lisa