We wrapped up the year of family catechesis at St. Barnabas with a wonderful Pentecost celebration that included a delicious catered hot breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns.
After breakfast, we invited the children to join in a Pentecost procession led by Deacon Andy. To the sounds of Marty Haugen’s “Lord, Send Out Your Spirit/Psalm 104,” the children carried the sacred objects for the prayer table as they waved red ribbon wands to symbolize the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Following a short liturgical prayer, I led the families in a guided reflection based on one that I wrote several years ago for catechists. I simply changed the focus to have each individual talk to Jesus in imagination about this past year in family faith formation.
After the guided reflection, I said my thanks and farewells and was surprised to receive some thank-you gifts from the pastor, Fr. Donovan, and the catechetical leader, Patrick McGowan.
Patrick then took over and led the families in some Pentecost activities, courtesy of a download from my blog, Catechist’s Journey.
It was a wonderful way to wrap up the year and to bring closure to my experience of leading family catechesis with the parents and families of St. Barnabas Parish!
P.S. At Mass, I noticed a few children waving their red ribbon wands joyfully during the hymns and sung Mass parts! Hmm, could this be the start of a tradition?
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