...a healthy and blessed 2014.
May the Lord who is drawing near to us be received with open doors, so you may accept all the gifts he is bringing: Love, health, peace, and much more.
Have a wonderful year 2014!
Sincerely,

Deacon George Montalvo, DRE and 

Mrs. Arlene Kennedy

CCD Classes Cancelled for December 17, 2013 

Emergency Announcement.

Due to inclement weather conditions our Religious Education Classes has been cancelled for Tuesday, December 17, 2013. We will resume on Tusday January 7, 2014. 
We wish you a Blessed Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!
Remember:"Jesus is the reason for the Season"

CHRISTMAS 2013 SCHEDULE

Communal Penance Service

Monday, December 16

7:30 pm

Christmas Eve Masses

Tuesday, December 24

5:00 pm

(Upper Church, Mary’s Chapel, & School Gym)

7:00 pm

10:00 pm

Christmas Day Masses

Wednesday, December 25

7:00 am

8:30 am

10:30 am

12:30 pm

(Upper Church & Mary’s Chapel)

Solemnity Mary, Mother of God

Tuesday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve)

5:00 pm

Wednesday, January 1, 2014 (New Year’s Day)

8:30 am

10:30 am

12:30 pm

All Masses are in the Upper Church unless otherwise indicated.

ANNOUNCEMENT
If you did not received our email on 12/10/13 (Tuesday's students) or 12/14/2013 (Sunday's students) we may not have your correct email or it is outdated. Send an email to religioused@sjcnj.org   with your updated email.

CCD Classes Cancelled for December 15, 2013 

Emergency Announcement.


Due to inclement weather conditions our Religious Education Classes has been cancelled for Sunday, December 15, 2013. We will resume on Sunday January 5, 2014. 
We wish you a Holy Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year!
Remember:"Jesus is the reason for the Season"

CHRISTMAS 2013 SCHEDULE

Communal Penance Service

Monday, December 16

7:30 pm

Christmas Eve Masses

Tuesday, December 24

5:00 pm

(Upper Church, Mary’s Chapel, & School Gym)

7:00 pm

10:00 pm

Christmas Day Masses

Wednesday, December 25

7:00 am

8:30 am

10:30 am

12:30 pm

(Upper Church & Mary’s Chapel)

Solemnity Mary, Mother of God

Tuesday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve)

5:00 pm

Wednesday, January 1, 2014 (New Year’s Day)

8:30 am

10:30 am

12:30 pm

All Masses are in the Upper Church unless otherwise indicated.

Classes Cancelled for December 10, 2013

Emergency Announcement.

Due to inclement weather conditions our Religious School Classes has been cancelled for Tuesday, December 10, 2013. We will resume on Tuesday December 17 for testing grades 2-6. K and 1st graders will have class as usual.

Parents of Religious Education Students. Please send an email to religioused@sjcnj.org to update your email. A good amount of emails  are returning as "undeliverable".
Your help will be appreciated as we are trying to implement email as the preferred method of communication. Thanks!

Home School Students
Parents with students in the Home School Program should be calling the Religious Education office to make an appointment to review the first 5 Chapters with the student.

Reconciliation/Penance service for 6th graders scheduled for Monday Nov. 12 at 4 pm has been CANCELLED until further notice.

Catechist Training Offered 

The Archdiocese of Newark Catechetical Ministry has announced program dates for both the Spirituality Level of Certification and the Methodology Level of Certification.  Programs are open to all catechists and both levels are required to achieve full catechist certification.  We encourage and support this training for all catechists here at St. Joseph.

Programs are held on Saturdays from 9 am to 3 pm  at various locations throughout the Archdiocese.

Registration deadline is one week before the start of your chosen session.
Cost is $40 per person which includes lunch.

For additional information or to register, contact Elizabeth Foer at the Archdiocese.
Phone (973) 497-4297
Fax (973) 497-4249
Email foereliz@rcan.com

Spirituality Day Dates & Locations

December 7, 2013 Essex County
St. Philomena 386 So. Livingston Avenue  Livingston, NJ
December 14, 2013 Bergen County
St. Joseph  280 County Road Demarest, NJ
February 1, 2014 Union County
St. Teresa of Avila  306 Morris Avenue  Summit, NJ
March 8, 2014 Hudson County
St. Aloysius  691 West Side Avenue  Jersey City, NJ

Methodology Day Dates & Locations

September 7, 2013 Bergen County
Holy Trinity 2367 Lemoine Avenue  Fort Lee, NJ
September 28, 2013 Hudson County
Holy Cross 16 Church Square  Harrison, NJ
October 12, 2013 Union County
Assumption 113 Chiego Place  Roselle Park, NJ
March 15, 2014 Essex County
St. Philomena 386 So. Livingston Avenue  Livingston, NJ
March 22, 2014 Bergen County
St. Peter 445 Fifth Avenue  River Edge, NJ

Flyers with additional information are available in the Religious Education Office at 105 Harrison Street, New Milford (Rectory Building).

ATTENTION CATECHISTS

Below are links a YouTube Sadlier Catechist Training session forWe Believe with Project Disciple (Grades K-8) which was originally done as a webinar.  These are the text books that we use for grades K through 6 and the videos contain a wealth of information to help you with your lesson planning.

Full video of Sadlier webinar on YouTube (44 minutes)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UMjhGRmuqc

The same video is available in shorter sessions if you don't have 40+ minutes available in one sitting:                                                                                                                                                               

Part 1 of Session 1- Sadlier Printed Resources presented by Mike Power (20 minutes):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XmvVJQ04DY

Part 2 of Session 1- Sadlier Online Components Link presented by Tim Regan (20 minutes):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-L9YYI7x9A

We believe that you’ll find this information very useful and valuable for your lesson planning. We will feature additional training throughout the school year.

Catechists, Volunteers & Staff:

Thank you all for being a part of our Catechist Appreciation Night last evening.
It was very uplifting to see such a wonderful turnout and to have the chance to
meet with so many who give their time and talent in sharing their faith with the
children of the parish.

If you did not get a chance to complete the Catechist Survey or the Volunteer
Sign Up Form, please do stop by the Religious Ed Office (105 Harrison Street)
to do so.  Also, if you have not returned your Teacher Edition textbook, you can
drop this off at your convenience.

Again, we so appreciate all that you do to share your faith with the children.

God Bless. 

Religious Education Office Staff 

REMINDER TO CATECHISTS, MEMBERS OF THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD & STAFF MEMBERS

IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY RESPONDED, PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ATTEND THE WINE AND CHEESE GET TOGETHER SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 15TH AT 7:30 PM IN THE PARISH LIFE CENTER LOCATED AT 268 GROVE STREET (BEHIND THE LOWER SCHOOL).

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE TIME AND FAITH THAT YOU SHARED WITH THE CHILDREN DURING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

PLEASE ALSO RETURN  THE 2012 - 2013 CATECHIST SURVEY - YOUR OPINIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO US. YOU CAN BRING THIS TO THE GATHERING OR DROP THIS OFF AT THE RECTORY.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ON MAY 15TH.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION STAFF

Dear Catechists, Religious Education Office Volunteers, Advisory Board & Staff Members,

In appreciation for your grace-filled commitment to the children of our parish, and in particular, to the students who attend Religious Education classes on Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, you are cordially invited to a "Wine and Cheese" get-together at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at our Parish Life Center, located at 268 Grove Street (behind the Lower School).

We are extending this invitation to especially thank you, the catechists, who generously give your time each week, sharing your faith and journeying with the children as they deepen their knowledge of and commitment to the Lord.  You are each in our prayers.

Please R.S.V.P. by May 1st to let us know whether you will be able to attend.  Give us a call at 201-261-1144 or send us an email at religioused@sjcnj.org.

We look forward to gathering with you.

Religious Education Office Staff

REMINDER - This is the last week of Religious Education classes.

Catechists: If you need to return your Teacher's Edition Book or any other materials, please drop them off at the Religious Education Office located in the Rectory Building.

Parents/Students: For any students that were unable to make class this week, we do have important handouts for you including a special edition Religious Education booklet that continues the Good News and an announcement about the Summer Performing Arts Camp being held here at St. Joseph.

The Religious Education Office Hours are Monday through Thursday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.  We welcome catechists, parents and students.

Attention All Catechists...

There is an upcoming opportunity for catechists to achieve Spirituality certification.  This is scheduled for April 27th at St. John's in Clark/Linden.  The program will be a one-day event and participants can achieve Spirituality certification through attendance.  The program will be offered from 9AM until 3 PM.  

Please click here for additional information and registration.

REMINDER - NO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CLASSES THE WEEK OF APRIL 7TH.

CLASSES RESUME ON APRIL 14TH (SUNDAY), APRIL 16TH (TUESDAY) AND APRIL 17TH (WEDNESDAY).

SEE YOU ALL THEN!

HAPPY EASTER FROM THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OFFICE

We hope that everyone enjoyed a Blessed Easter and that the abundance and renewal of Spring is at hand.


God blesses us out of His love for us.  He wants us to experience a life of peace and joy.  He wants us to rejoice, on this Resurrection Day, and always.  Philippians 4:4 (NIV) tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  So, during this Easter Season, take a moment to thank Jesus for everything He has done for you.  Thank Him for the smile on your child’s face when they found their first Easter egg.  Thank Him for the joy you felt after celebrating masses during the Easter Triduum.

 Thank Him for giving you an abundant life to live.  Most of all, thank Him for giving His life.  Jesus Christ loves you unconditionally.  Will you love Him in return?

Weather Alert- 7th and 8th Grade Retreat and First Penance Service

Due to the impending storm, the 7th and 8th Grade Retreat Night scheduled for today is cancelled. Please spread the word.

The First Penance Service, scheduled for Saturday, February 9 has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 2, 2013.