EAT SOME PIE AND SUPPORT SPRED – Apple Pie! Apple Pie! – Purchase an Apple Pie at the Happy Apple Pie Shop (on Harrison Street at Harvey Avenue) between June 6 and June 10 and 10% of your purchase will support SPRED (Special Religious Education Development) – If you are interested in being a catechist, the process is simple, CALL US! – Terri Monaco (t.monaco@ascensionoakpark.com) or Kelly McCreary (708-383-3430 ext 404 – kmccreary@stgilesparish.org)
SPRED (Special Religious Development) is a program of the Archdiocese of Chicago whose purpose is two-fold: the inclusion of the developmentally disabled into the liturgical and community faith life of the parish and the formation of a small faith community where both special friends and their catechists nurture their faith. We meet 11-12 times during the year on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8 pm in the Gleeson Building from September through May. A SPRED Family Liturgy is held in June.
See calendar on the sidebar of this page – SPRED Information 2022-2023
All ages are served through a collaborative effort of parishes. The SPRED program at St. Catherine – St. Lucy and St. Giles is for adults 22 and older. Ascension Parish has SPRED for children 6-10 years old, St. Mary’s Church in Riverside for young people 11-16 years-old. The goal is to provide religious development support and inclusion for special needs individuals accompanied by adult catechists for their entire life span.
Questions? – If you are interested in finding out more information about this ministry as a participant or as a catechist, please contact Kathleen Ritten at kathyritten@att.net. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing our faith with you.
“I have been a catechist in the SPRED program at St. Giles since 2013, when the program began. Since that time, I have come to know and love our special friends, their families and the other catechists in our program. We share our faith with each other through activities, songs and, of course, prayer. I must admit I have learned so much more from our friends than I have taught them, and I am honored to be a member of this wonderful community.” – Kathy Ritten
Our SPRED program at St. Giles began in 2013 and today (Year 2022-2023) includes four friends who are all in their twenties. Our catechists and friends meet about twelve times throughout the year. We share our faith with each other through activities, songs and, of course, prayer. One of the highlights of our meetings is Agape, a time near the end of our evening together when we break bread and share ourselves with one another. The Holy Spirit is a part of all our SPRED gatherings!
