Our Lady of Peace Parish Catechetical Office

111 South Street, New Providence, New Jersey 07974 Phone (908) 464-8156 E-mail: catoff@olpnp.com

June 17, 2011

Dear Parents and Incoming 9th-Grade Confirmation Candidates: Congratulations on completing the Rite of Names, Sponsors, and Service during your first year of preparation for Confirmation. We hope they have drawn you more deeply into an understanding of what lies ahead in the Sacrament of Confirmation. At this time, we would like to share some information to help you with your planning for next year. We know that the Confirmation candidates will have many new and exciting activities to deal with as high school students. It is our hope that preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation will be a source of great strength and support for these young people. There is a great deal of information in this letter, so please read it carefully and retain it for future reference. A good idea might be to save it in your red Confirmation folder. Please contact the Parish Catechetical Office if you have any questions.

PRIEST INTERVIEWS BEGIN JUNE 27, 2011 (Please read below for details.)
Confirmation Letters and Interviews with the Priests Interviews were scheduled by the Catechetical Office based on the priests availability. Attachment 1 details the priest, the date, and the time of the interview. Please see page 6 in your Family Information Booklet found in your red Confirmation folder for more details. To this interview, candidates should bring the following two items: The Confirmation Request Letter and Interview Verification Form (white sheet) found in your folder. It should be completely filled out before your interview (except for the priests signature). A typed letter of intent expressing why the candidate wants to be confirmed and how this will affect their faith.

As for any important interview, please remember to dress neatly and appropriately.

This appointment should be kept. Should you need to reschedule due to a conflict that cannot be resolved, notify the Catechetical Office at 908-464-8156 immediately upon receipt of this letter to reschedule your appointment. In case of an extreme emergency within 24 hours of your appointment and you must cancel, first notify the priest by calling the rectory office at 908-464-7600. Then contact the Catechetical Office at 908-464-8156 to reschedule your appointment. Confirmation Preparation for 2011-2012 The schedule for preparation for Confirmation candidates is shown on Attachment 2. Please note that although we do not expect these dates to change, they are still tentative until our parish calendar is finalized on September 1. These preparation gatherings, including the full-day retreat, are all required elements for receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. Carol Skrocki, as Pastoral Associate for Catechetics, and Father Bill, as pastor, must attest to the fact that all of the candidates have been properly prepared to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation as required by our parish guidelines. It is essential for you to remember and keep the promises you made at the Rite of Promise last year. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that all candidates attend and participate fully in all of the gatherings, including the Confirmation Retreat in March (date TBD). None of the gatherings is optional. In the event a serious conflict arises (i.e., serious illness of the candidate or a serious family emergency), a parent/guardian must make every effort to contact our office to discuss the situation prior to the scheduled date. In the event of a serious, unavoidable conflict for the Confirmation retreat, the family would need to identify another parish willing to allow the candidate to participate in its Confirmation retreat prior to our Confirmation date. That parish must also be willing to provide verification to our office that the candidate attended its retreat. All of our gatherings will begin and conclude in the Parish Hall, and families are required to help with preparing and serving the meals. We are very grateful to Diana Kelly for being the Family Service Coordinator. Please see Attachment 3 for more information about the family service schedule. Confirmation Mass Easter Season 2012 The process for determining a Confirmation date is this: The parish submits a request to the Archdiocese for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice of a date for a bishop to come confer the Sacrament of Confirmation. The choices we will be submitting for Confirmation 2012 are: 1st Choice Saturday, May 12, 2012 2nd Choice Saturday, June 2, 2012 3rd Choice Saturday, June 9, 2012 At some point next winter, the Archdiocese will inform us of the date that has been honored and which bishop will be coming. Since it is even possible that we might not receive any of our choices, we cannot be sure of the date until we hear from the Archdiocese. You will be notified by mid-January.

In the event that your family finds itself in an unavoidable conflict with the final verified date for Confirmation, you will have the choice of locating a neighboring parish that is willing to include the candidate in its group of candidates, or waiting to receive Confirmation during Easter season 2013. We hope and pray that no one will find himself or herself in this situation--it would sadden us, and our entire parish, if any one of our candidates could not be confirmed with the group. Whichever date we receive, Confirmation Practice will be held on the Friday preceding the Confirmation. Please see Attachment 2. Confirmation Data Form (Orange Sheet) Enclosed is an orange personalized data form that contains all of the information that will be recorded in official Church records following Confirmation. Please review the information, make any corrections or additions necessary, and sign off on it. The signed form, along with a Confirmation fee of $125.00, should be returned to the Parish Catechetical Office by September 3, 2011. Missing Items (Red Sheet) Also enclosed is a red missing items sheet. All 8th-grade missing items must be submitted immediately. We hope this information will help you with your plans. May God bless all of you during this grace-filled time of preparation. In Christs Love,

Carol Skrocki
Carol Skrocki Pastoral Associate for Catechetics 3 Attachments 2 Enclosures

Anne Marie Mendez

Anne Mendez Sacrament Coordinator

Attachment 2

Confirmation Preparation for 2011-2012 Will be made final on September 1, 2011

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Covenant Ceremony at 5:00 p.m. Mass (4:00-7:30 p.m.) Reconciliation, Dinner & Program following Mass Advent Gathering (4:00-7:30 p.m.) Reconciliation, Mass, Dinner & Program Christmas Gathering (4:00-7:30 p.m.) Reconciliation, Mass, Dinner & Program Confirmation Retreat (9:30 a.m. conclusion of 5:00 p.m. Mass) Hard As Nails Retreat Program, including Light Breakfast, Reconciliation, Lunch & Mass. Easter Gathering (4:00-7:30 p.m.) Reconciliation, Mass, Dinner & Program

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Saturday in March 2012* (*Date to be determined)

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Dates Requested for Confirmation 1st Choice Saturday, May 12, 2012 (time TBD in January) Practice Friday, May 11, 2012 (time TBD in January) 2nd Choice Saturday, June 2, 2012 (time TBD in January) Practice Friday, June 1, 2012 (time TBD in January) 3rd Choice Saturday, June 9, 2012 (time TBD in January) Practice Friday, June 8, 2012 (time TBD in January)

Attachment 3

Family Service Schedule for Confirmation Program 2011-2012

Saturday September 24, 2011 Barnwell Boccellari Brett Browe Cabral Camacho Caprara Carney Carter Chan Chin Clewell Saturday December 10, 2011 Conti Coppola Cosgrove Culleton Curto Donahue Fennell Friedrich Grande Grimm Heffernan Higgins Saturday January 7, 2012 Ho Hodges Illis Jankow Kelly Knorr Kosiecki Koziol Lamhing Machalek Mahler Marzo Saturday March 3, 2012 McCann Mead Meell Mendez Mercanti Mondelli Moragas O'Connor O'Meara Pappas Petrosino Quinn Randazzo Romeo Scheader Saturday April 21, 2012 Schwerdt Serillo Stummer Styple Tokarzewski Valerio Vinaixa Vislocky Weber Yocco Zabel