Date change for Christmas Carol Festival training
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Christina Leslie | Correspondent
Though the liturgical calendar may reflect it is Ordinary Time, it’s never too early to start planning for Christmas.
The training phase for the diocese’s award-winning Christmas Carol Festival has begun. A workshop will be held August 11 at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to prepare new and experienced parishes in the relaxed yet structured song and scripture presentations.
The CCF program was developed by John and Therese Boucher in 2007. John, the diocese's associate director of evangelization, and his wife Therese, an adult religious educator, noted the national trend towards the growing number of inactive Catholics had also affected the Diocese of Trenton.
The Christmas Carol Festival addresses these unchurched Catholics in a 45- to 90-minute program of singing religious Christmas carols interwoven with witness statements, prayer, and a procession of a statue of the baby Jesus to the manger. The Gospel of Luke is read to close the event; light refreshments, fellowship and invitations to future programs serve to coax inactive Catholics back into a more active role in the parish family.
Last year, more than 5,600 attended CCFs around the diocese held between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas Carol Festival program was awarded the 2010 New Wineskins award from the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. The selection committee recognized the potential of the CCF to “not only reach far beyond the borders of the Trenton Diocese but to be an inspiration to others in connecting evangelization and catechesis for people on their journey of faith regardless of where they are on that journey.”
Workshop attendees will learn how to set up the program, invite guests, and develop the necessary materials. The registration fee of $20 covers light refreshments, updated materials and the Christmas Carol Festival Guidebook. Attendees should bring a lunch.
Topics discussed at the workshops include finding Jesus in Christmas carols; how to reach out to inactive friends and relatives; starting a CCF in your area; and a panel presentation by experienced CCF leaders.
Registration deadline is July 20. St. Robert Bellarmine Parish is located at 61 Georgia Road, Freehold. For further information on the workshop, contact Kathleen Golazeski at 609-403-7205 or email [email protected]. For additional information on the Christmas Carol Festival program, see their website at www.christmascarolfestival.com or “like” them on Facebook.
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By Christina Leslie | Correspondent
Though the liturgical calendar may reflect it is Ordinary Time, it’s never too early to start planning for Christmas.
The training phase for the diocese’s award-winning Christmas Carol Festival has begun. A workshop will be held August 11 at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to prepare new and experienced parishes in the relaxed yet structured song and scripture presentations.
The CCF program was developed by John and Therese Boucher in 2007. John, the diocese's associate director of evangelization, and his wife Therese, an adult religious educator, noted the national trend towards the growing number of inactive Catholics had also affected the Diocese of Trenton.
The Christmas Carol Festival addresses these unchurched Catholics in a 45- to 90-minute program of singing religious Christmas carols interwoven with witness statements, prayer, and a procession of a statue of the baby Jesus to the manger. The Gospel of Luke is read to close the event; light refreshments, fellowship and invitations to future programs serve to coax inactive Catholics back into a more active role in the parish family.
Last year, more than 5,600 attended CCFs around the diocese held between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas Carol Festival program was awarded the 2010 New Wineskins award from the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. The selection committee recognized the potential of the CCF to “not only reach far beyond the borders of the Trenton Diocese but to be an inspiration to others in connecting evangelization and catechesis for people on their journey of faith regardless of where they are on that journey.”
Workshop attendees will learn how to set up the program, invite guests, and develop the necessary materials. The registration fee of $20 covers light refreshments, updated materials and the Christmas Carol Festival Guidebook. Attendees should bring a lunch.
Topics discussed at the workshops include finding Jesus in Christmas carols; how to reach out to inactive friends and relatives; starting a CCF in your area; and a panel presentation by experienced CCF leaders.
Registration deadline is July 20. St. Robert Bellarmine Parish is located at 61 Georgia Road, Freehold. For further information on the workshop, contact Kathleen Golazeski at 609-403-7205 or email [email protected]. For additional information on the Christmas Carol Festival program, see their website at www.christmascarolfestival.com or “like” them on Facebook.