ST MARTHA CATHOLIC CHURCH

Finally - First Holy Communions for this year!

From Angela Valencia, Director of Religious Education

I have finally good news to tell you! We have now the guidelines to celebrate the sacraments that your children and youth have been waiting for as well as all of us. Please read the instructions until the end and carefully as it is a long message, so you don't miss anything important and are able to choose the best date for your family for these important events. We will start with this group, the families with children in Eucharist sessions, in other words families with children and youth in their second year of Sacramental Prep, the ones that are ready to receive their First Holy Communion (FHC) this year.

Confessions for First Communicants Schedule: all of these will take place at or near the parish office area, not at the confessionals inside the Church, please stop first at the Welcome Center and they will direct you to the correct place. The dates for the 2nd Reconciliations(*) are as follow:

Wednesday July 15th: 9:00 am to 10:30 am (First Communicants and general public)
Thursday July 16th: 9:00 am to 10:30 am (First Communicants only)
Thursday July 16th: 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm (First Communicants only)
Saturday July 18th: 8:00 am to 10:00 am (First Communicants and general public)
Tuesday July 21st: 9:00 am to 10:30 am (First Communicants only)
Wednesday July 22nd: 9:00 am to 10:30 am (First Communicants and general public)
Saturday July 25th: 8:00 am to 10:00 am (First Communicants and general public)
Saturday August 1st: 8:00 am to 10:00 am (First Communicants and general public)

You don't need to sign up for these dates for confessions, just please show for the date that is best for your child and you to attend, but please make sure to pick up a purple attendance card. You will need to take these purple cards to your FHC celebration so we can know that you have already gone to confession before you receive Communion. Please make sure to have them ready for the date you will choose for your celebration. Also, please remember that confessions are done on a first come, first serve basis and that they will be over by the ending time specified above for each day.

Note: If you cannot make it to any of the dates and times above, you can go to another regular confession time on Saturdays from 8am to 10am but before the last day for FHC, which is on Saturday, August 22nd. Please note that there will be NO Confessions on Saturday, August 15th due to the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. (*) If this is going to be the First Reconciliation for your child or youth because he or she was not able to attend his or her First Reconciliation last year, please write a note about it in the purple attendance card you will receive at the confessions on the dates stated above.

Regarding FHC Masses, we have 33 different ones for you to choose from. We had to plan so many because of the restriction we are under of having only 100 people or less per gathering. You will be able to sign up on Flocknote. Please also choose the Eucharist Preparation group within the Sacramental Prep Group to join so it will be much easier to send you messages and emails in the future as well as a weekly newsletter with updates and resources for your family. For the FHC Masses, we have some requirements, the same as we have to follow for any Mass, use a mask, wash our hands before coming to Mass, keep our 6 ft social distancing in the parking lot, inside the church, in the restrooms, and actually at any place. Also, there can only be 4 family members or friend accompanying each child due to the restriction of 100 people maximum per gathering. I thank you in advance for following these important guidelines. If you have more than one child or youth receiving their FHC this year, please make sure to sign up one under the family name, then call me to confirm all names from the family. The sign ups are only for the actual First Communicants, not for the family members, please make sure to type the complete name, both the first and last name of the First Communicant, not of any other family member. Thank you very much for your patience and understanding in these difficult times. Looking forward to seeing you again at these events.