The Children's Liturgy of the Word is successfully carried on in its various forms in many American Catholic churches. Before implementing the program at St. Pius X one of the coordinators made a special trip to Coeur D'Alene in Idaho to observe how the Children's Liturgy is incorporated as a special part of the Mass. After considering the merits of such a program for our children, the Children's Liturgy of the Word begun in the fall of 1983 under the direction of Annette Leib and subsequently with the assistance of Darlene O'Keefe.
Each of the two coordinators assumes the responsibility of coordinating the program for one of the two groups, the four and five year olds and the first and second grade children. Since the program was given to a wide age range from a four year old to a Grade 2 level, it was most helpful to divide the children into two groups for more effective discussion purposes. Several ladies volunteer their time an service to help out as a group leaders. The program is presented at the 11:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday in an adjoining room during the readings and the homily.
The objective is to present the Liturgy of the Word to children at their particular level of understanding. The children would, hopefully, become familiar with scriptures and would develop a love for the natural ease with the Word of God. It would help them relate to Jesus in their special childlike way. The children were given a short presentation and a short activity period relevant to the readings. Leaflets were handed out to reinforce the Gospel Message.
The children's participation and response to the program was very encouraging.
Reference: Annette Leib, Our History, 1986
Today, Children's Liturgy is a program to help children understand the meaning of the Gospel. It is held September to June at Sunday morning masses (9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.) in the Fr. Martin Room. Lesson plans are all prepared and anyone wanting to volunteer to help out is welcome to do so. There is one hour training session which will guide you through the process and the Coordinator is always available to lend a hand or answer a question.
For those interested for this ministry, please call the office.
Children's
Christmas Pageant
