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The purpose of this page is to provide guidance for parish religious education and RCIA programs in light of COVID-19. Now is the time to develop plans before these programs begin in September.
Parishes will need to follow the guidelines from our federal, state, and local health and civil officials to socially distance, wash/sanitize hands often, sanitize frequently touched surfaces, and wear a facemask in public spaces or gatherings of 2 or more persons.
Parishes should develop 3 plans now, before these programs begin in September:
- Plan A: How will we begin parish religious education and RCIA at the normal time if we are not allowed to gather together in person?
- Plan B: How will we begin parish religious education and RCIA at the normal time if we are allowed to gather in person and our class and/or RCIA group size is within the number allowed for indoor gatherings?
- Plan C: How will we begin parish religious education and RCIA at the normal time if we are allowed to gather in person and our class and/or RCIA group size is not within the number allowed for indoor gatherings?
In planning, you can utilize any of the many COVID-19 resources you’ve received from my office that are offered by publishers, as well as any other resources you may be aware of. When in person sessions are not possible, we encourage the use of platforms such as Zoom or Google Classroom that make it possible for class / group members to interact with each other and with teachers.
Once you have developed your 3 plans, communicate them to the members of your parish in written form (parish bulletin, parish website, email, etc.) now, so that everyone will know what to expect before the programs begin in September.
Below is a policy for you to include with Religious Education and RCIA registration information. This is the same policy being used by our schools with some wording changed for parish usage.