The course is held in two sessions. The first session covers:

• helping parents prepare for this important sacrament
• helping them to explore their faith
• encouraging them to share with others their faith, hopes and fears
• helping them to understand the church’s commitment to them and their child
• helping them to understand the role of the Godparents

The second session covers:

• going through the Rite of Baptism
• explaining all of the signs and symbols of baptism
• answering any outstanding questions

Dates of future courses are advertised in the Newsletter.

The Confirmation Preparation Programme runs from January to May in each year. The Confirmation ceremony normally takes place in June.

A team of experienced catechists organise the programme of 12/14 sessions, which always proves an enjoyable and rewarding experience for all the participants. The Parish Priest is involved personally in most sessions.

Each session involves the use of modern resources, and aims not only to prepare the candidates for the sacrament but also to give them an opportunity to explore their faith and the relevance of Jesus in their lives.

A highlight of the programme is a weekend retreat at the Pastoral Centre at London Colney. This retreat is an essential feature of the programme and has proved very popular indeed with the candidates.

If you are interested in joining the programme or, indeed, training to become part of the organising team, then please contact the Parish Office.

Adult candidates for Confirmation can receive instruction with the RCIA Group (see below).

The Masses at which the children make their First Holy Communion are normally held in June of each year. The preparatory programme runs for approximately 15 sessions between October and May, avoiding all school holidays.

The sessions normally take place for one hour once a week on Sunday mornings after the 9.45 Family Mass. On these days, the Family Mass is adapted to accommodate the children and includes a homily particularly relevant to their preparation.

A small charge is made to cover the costs of books and teaching materials and other expenses such as certificates, flowers and cakes.

The preparatory programme is run by a group of experienced catechists and new volunteers are needed to join this group each year. Full training is provided.

The start of each new preparation programme is announced in the Parish newsletter in the late summer.

Newcomers learn what Catholics believe about the purpose of life on Earth, how they can belong to Christ through faith and Baptism and how we can be made holy through the sacraments of the Church and through prayer and holy living. They learn that we want to live a life of loving service towards God and our neighbour and hope to be ready, when God calls us, to be happy with Him and the Saints forever in Heaven.

Men and women, who have asked if they can learn more about the Faith, are welcomed into a mixed-age, mixed-background group. Some are already Catholics, some have been baptised into other Christian communities and some have no previous religious affiliation. All meet weekly or fortnightly to spend an hour and a half together, with two members of the experienced team of facilitators. The team consists of the Parish Priest and lay-persons, all of whom are committed to Christ and His Church, and are glad to have a part in sharing their faith and prayer with enquirers. The programme usually lasts for nine or ten months, with gaps for school holidays.

The time together is spent in discussion, enquiry, instruction, and prayer. No special knowledge or qualifications are required of enquirers, only an openness to God and a willingness to listen and share and pray with the group, as it considers God’s love for us all and His wonderful plan for our salvation. One or two books are provided, including the Holy Scriptures.

Those members of the group whose growth in faith and prayer leads them to ask to become full members of the Catholic Church are baptised and confirmed in our church - or, if already baptised, are received in full Communion - in a beautiful ceremony, usually at Easter-time, although the time of Reception can vary.

1. CONSULT THE PRIEST

Go to see the priest who will conduct the funeral, at the earliest opportunity. He will be able to give you guidance on all matters concerning the funeral service. His guidance is especially important if you are going to print an Order of Service for the occasion. It is essential to remember that a ceremony in church, whether a Mass or Service of Prayer, is always an act of worship and is never simply a 'presentation' or 'event' with those present as observers. Normally a funeral takes the form of a celebration of Mass but this is not always so. A service of prayer may be held at the Crematorium or at the graveside. There is also provision for a vigil of prayer in the home or at the church itself prior to the funeral.

2. SONGS AND MUSIC

Singing forms a necessary or integral part of worship. As well as being a form of prayer it also acts as a means of including all present in what is taking place. There are a number of hymns that are particularly appropriate. The priest will be able to provide you with a list of hymns suitable for communal singing and appropriate to the occasion. If the parish has no organist one may need to be arranged. A family may wish to engage a soloist and they will need guidance about how what is sung accords with the pattern of the Church's Funeral Rite.

3. NON-RELIGIOUS MUSIC

This is not permitted in churches. Music of a non-religious kind, whether sung 'live' or played on CDs or audiotapes is best suited either for the crematorium or even at the graveside itself. The songs of the liturgy, like the liturgical texts, should be expressions of faith in the saving mystery of Christ's death and resurrection, and appropriate to the part of the liturgy in which they are sung. 'You'll never walk alone' and 'I did it my way' and the like, do not have a proper place in the Church's liturgy and they should not be used. It is possible to include quiet instrumental music so long as its secular associations will not distract from the liturgical prayer proper to the funeral liturgy.

4. THE WORD OF GOD

Worship in Church always includes passages of God's Word from the Bible. There will usually be two readings from the Scriptures, or maybe three. The last reading is always from the Gospels. The first may be from either the Old or New Testament. If there are three the first is from the Old Testament and the second from the New Testament. Some of these texts refer explicitly to death and resurrection but families may choose alternative Bible passages at the discretion of the priest.

5. NON-RELIGIOUS WORDS AND POEMS

Whilst these texts do have particular associations for people and may be very attractive, they do not fit easily into the normal Catholic Funeral Liturgy. Non-religious poems and texts might come across much better during prayers in the home before or after the funeral liturgy.

6. PERSONAL TRIBUTES

It is sometimes requested that a member of the family or friend be permitted to 'say something' in church. This is always a very sensitive issue and needs to be handled carefully. A funeral is a moment of solemnity and it can be very difficult for members of the family to contain their distress. Catholics are not permitted to have addresses of a political nature, and must also always be aware of how any address can cause tension or conflict.

The crematorium or the graveside might be better suited to such an address.

A 'personal tribute' should be restricted to the person's qualities and should be in keeping with the religious nature of the occasion.

If there is to be such a personal tribute in church, the person delivering it needs to consult the priest and should write their text beforehand so that it does not take more than two or three minutes. The text should be no longer than 400 words and should be handed to the priest at least two days before the ceremony. The place in the ceremony for such a tribute is after Holy Communion.

7. CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS

It is common nowadays for the Christian symbols of the crucifix and a book of the Gospels to be placed on the coffin at the beginning of the ceremony. A member of the family or a friend may place the symbols.

In some churches it is customary to cover the coffin with a white pall representing the white garment at Baptism. Again, a member of the family could do this. Any flowers placed on the coffin will be removed as the coffin is brought into the church and then replaced at the end of the Mass when the pall is removed and the procession leaves the church.

A table will be provided near the front of the church for people to place Mass cards.

8. FLAGS

It is sometimes requested that the coffin be covered with a flag. The Catholic Funeral Rite specifically does not permit this in church. National flags, or flags or insignia of associations have no place in the funeral liturgy. They may drape the coffin until it comes to the church door, but will then be respectfully removed before the coffin is brought into the church. They may be replaced again as the coffin is taken from the church after the mass, and before it is placed in the hearse.

9. OVER NIGHT IN CHURCH

Sometimes families request that their deceased relative might lie in church during the night preceding the Funeral Mass. Whilst this might be part of a vigil of prayer for the deceased, it should be noted that not all parish churches are able to permit such a practice.

10. FEASTDAYS

When arranging a funeral bear in mind that there are certain Feast days when it may not be possible for the parish to accommodate the celebration in church. Holy Thursday is one such example. You may need to be aware of this when discussing the date and time with the funeral director.

We hope this guidance will be helpful in your planning for the funeral and that the resulting ceremony in church will be dignified and prayerful.