Parish Religious Education Program
PREP Registration 2024-25
PREP times are changing for 2025-2026:
Classes will be held in the hall from 5:15 pm–6:30 pm for Levels 1-6.
Level 7 will meet on Sundays, starting on Sept 7, 2025 from 8:45-9:30 in the church office.
The year will run from Sept. 11, 2025–April 30, 2026.
Confirmation is Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 during the regular 10:00 Mass.
First Reconciliation is during PREP on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
First Communion is Saturday, May 2, 2026 during a special 11:00 Mass.
Homeschooling is not an option when students are preparing for a Sacrament (Levels 3 + 7).
KIDTALKS
PARENTS and CATECHISTS, feel free to look at the KidTalks lessons that will be taught in March 2026. Both in-person PREP and homeschool students will participate in these required lessons.
Safe Environment Lessons
- Safety Environment materials and resources are on our website.
- Implementation of the KidTalk lessons is strongly recommended for the second semester to allow time for catechists to build trust and rapport with students.
- ALL LESSONS SHOULD PRESENTED AND COMPLETED BY THE END OF MARCH TO ALLOW SUFFICIENT TIME TO COLLECT THE NECESSARY DATA FOR THE ANNUAL PREP REPORT DUE IN APRIL!
- ALL programs including Virtual, Home-Based Catechesis and Family Catechesis are required to teach the lessons.
- All families should be provided with a link to review the lessons on our website.
- For In-Person Instruction:
- Communicate the date of lesson to parents in advance with the option to opt-out; see the Guidelines for Religious Education for sample letter which could be attached to your email.
- Opt-out Letters for in-person instruction are posted HERE for parents/guardians to sign and submit (Spanish translation)
- IMPORTANT CHANGE: Opt-out Letters no longer need to be submitted with your annual PREP report but should be maintained on file at the parish.
- For Home-Based and/or Family Catechesis:
- The Acknowledgement/Opt-Out Form provided by the Office for Child and Youth Protection should be posted or linked on your website or emailed to parents. If you choose to create your own electronic version (e.g., using Google Forms) it must capture all the data on the Acknowledgement/Opt-Out Form linked above for reporting purposes. (Spanish translation)
- DREs should communicate the due date for submission of these forms, send reminders to parents, and follow up with families that have not submitted them by the due date to ensure that the filing of the annual report in April is not delayed.
The safety and well-being of our students is always a top priority in our programs at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother and in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. If you have any questions, please do not hessite to reach out to our office or Leslie Davila, Director for the Office for Child and Youth Protection.
PREP Registrations for 2025-2026
PREP begins on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025 from 5:15-6:30. Classes are held in the for Hall. Confirmation candidates will meet on Sunday, Sept. 7 from 8:45-9:50 in the hall
Paper copies of the registration form can be picked up on the table in the church Narthex. One packet covers an entire family. Please return your child(ren)’s registration form and payment to the DRE in the church office.
The registration packet for Levels 1-6 can be downloaded by clicking on here. The coversheet that contains information about dates, events dates, cost scenarios, and discounts if people are PREP volunteers can be viewed here.
Level 7 forms for Confirmation were distributed at the Confirmation Parent Meeting on May 18, 2025. If you did not attend this meeting you are encouraged to make an appointment with Mrs. Linda Riofski by calling 610-268-0296 or emailing dre@saintgabrielparish.org to get these papers for your middle schooler. You should begin the paperwork immediately and should not wait until September.
Parish Giving has created two links that take parents to “Tuition” and “Candidate Fee” payment options, if you prefer electronic payments instead of paying by cash or check. Click here to get to Parish Giving’s Tuition link and here for the Level 3 and 7 Candidate Fee.
Resources:
A Parent’s Prayer
O Heavenly Father, make me a better parent. Teach me to understand my children, to listen patiently to what they have to say, and to answer all their questions kindly. Keep me from interrupting or contradicting them. Make me as courteous to them as I would have them to be to me.
Forbid that I should never laugh at mistakes or resort to shame or ridicule when they displease me. May I never punish them for my own selfish satisfaction or to show my power.
Let me not tempt my children to lie or steal, and guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate by all that I say and do that honesty produces happiness.
When I am out of sorts, help me, O Lord, to hold my tongue. May I ever be mindful that my children are children and I should not expect of them the judgments of adults. Let me not rob them the opportunity to wait on themselves and to make decisions.
Bless me with the bigness to grant them all their reasonable requests and the courage to deny them privileges I know will do them harm. Make me fair and just and kind and fit, O Lord, to be loved and respected and imitated by my children.
Amen.