St. Matthew > Faith Formation > BRIDGES: Middle School Eucharist Formation

2024-2025 Program Information

To inquire about registering your child for the upcoming program year, contact our Sacramental Coordinator, Lori Mathews.

**If your six or seventh grader participated in our program last year, please CLICK HERE for their path.

BRIDGES: Preparing for First Eucharist

The sixth or seventh grader seeking the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist participates in a one year intensive program designed for an age appropriate preparation for the Sacrament combined with an exploration of the pillars of our Catholic faith.  In addition to participating in sessions, youth will complete six ‘Be The Church’ experiences (see below); parents and youth also participate in mini-retreat experiences to prepare more fully for the Sacraments.

Attendance is expected at all sessions, but we recognize that illness or unforeseen family circumstances may prevent attendance. For that reason, we built in a grace for absences as well as the ability to ‘swap sessions’. More information will be posted here in August on session swapping. 


 What are Be The Church experiences? The goal of these experiences is for the participant to learn more about themself and how the Holy Spirit is guiding them to live an active life of faith within our parish community. These experiences can be social (Youth Group), spiritual (Daily Mass, Adoration) or service (Donated Goods, Walking with Moms…). During each program year (JUNE 1 to MAY 31), the participant must complete six experiences. The participant must submit a reflection of their experiences via the link below. No more than two experiences may be the same and one experience outside of the parish is allowed.