Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools has endorsed an initiative from the Edmonton archdiocese that will see the school division take a greater role in sacramental education, a move designed to maintain and protect its Catholic population.ìI think it is fair there has always been a constant flux between who is doing the bulk of the work and who is supporting in a bigger role at some points, and I think the schools may have bigger roles. In order for us to continue and be viable as a Catholic school system we need the Catholic population,î said Ryan Ledene, division principal and faith coordinator. ìIf we want to maintain a population based on Catholics we need to continue to support the churches in giving the sacraments to our population.îLedene noted that about 25 per cent of families utilizing the local Catholic school system are non-Catholic. Of the other 75 per cent, many of those families are non-practising Catholics, he said. He added that 71 per cent of the board's Catholic students have received the sacrament of baptism.ìWe see ourselves as being a great catalyst in bringing those people back to the church that have stepped back from it or are rediscovering their faith a little bit,î said Ledene.On Jan. 10, the board of the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools formally passed a motion to be part of the Archdiocesan Sacramental Education Initiative (ASEI), and to support the hiring of a sacramental education coordinator for a period of two years, starting in September.The ASEI was a process conducted by the Edmonton archbishop office and senior officials from Catholic boards since 2009. The process also involved surveys on sacramental preparation.The goal of ASEI is to ensure the Catholic sacraments, which include baptism, communion, and confirmation, are pivotal events in the lives of students in the school system. The process includes objectives of providing all Catholic students with an equal opportunity to receive sacramental education at home, school and in the parish. As well, the goals are to foster greater collaboration among families, schools and parishes with sacramental education, and to share best practices from parish to parish, district to district and school to school.ìI think it is a great idea. I think it will help promote more collaboration and cooperation between parishes and schools in getting more of our students to receive the sacraments,î said Diane MacKay, trustee for the QEII subdivision, representing Innisfail, Bowden, Olds and Didsbury.She said the initiative will be well received by parents. ìIn the old days the schools used to do all the sacramental preparation and then in recent years it has been the churches' responsibility,î said MacKay. ìWe've seen not as many students are receiving sacraments. We're thinking if there is more collaboration between parishes and schools then that will increase those numbers.îThe total amount estimated for the program and coordinator, who will be seconded from within the Catholic school system, is $199,945, which includes salary, benefits, and program costs. This is being split between the archdiocese of Edmonton and 10 school boards, including Red Deer. The Red Deer school board's share of the cost is $17,530 a year.ìWe see it as a reasonable amount. If we see some really good benefits from it then it will be money well spent,î said Ledene. ìOur religion curriculum already teaches and promotes the sacraments, but this would be another way we could try to help our students make that step into the parish if that is something they are struggling with.ìThis position would help us do our job. We have the students in our schools but they are not necessarily attending the parishes,î he added. ìMany times we are the link between the parish and the home, and the family.î
