Seventeen of our parishioners are participating in SPRED communities of faith at St. Joseph Parish and surrounding parishes. Six of these persons live at home with their families and eleven live at the Lambs Farm residences.

The goal of SPRED is to help the children and adults with physical and intellectual developmental disabilities increase:

• an awareness of God in their lives
• an awareness of themselves as an integral part of the parish community and of the entire church.

This is accomplished through meaningful one-on-one relationships within a small group.

The volunteer catechist/sponsor serves as a model for the friend with disabilities throughout a session. The catechist/sponsor invites the friend to find meaningful "work," in the special SPRED environment, such as: painting, working with clay, water or sand, etc. as a means of getting focused and ready to hear the Word of God. This preparation is followed by symbolic catechesis. Each member tells or is assisted in telling stories from everyday life, in which, the presence of God is discovered. The leader catechist leads the group through a liturgical evocation and a reading from scripture, and then presents a message for each session. The celebration time closes with a song accompanied by gestures, silence and the sharing of food. Sessions are designed to meet a friend at his or her level and invite the fullest participation and sense of belonging through which the friends learn to know God.

SPRED invites and trains volunteers to prepare a special place for our Friends. Volunteer helper catechists develop rewarding relationships and often discover that their faith experience is enhanced and nurtured in the process. For more information or to volunteer, contact John Brodarick at the phone or email address above.

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There are several parish centers where SPRED is offered for different age groups. St. Joseph Parishioners who would like more information for your child or adult with special needs should contact John Brodarick directly for a referral. His contact information is given above.

Other Vicariate 1 parish communities having SPRED Centers for ages:

Our SPRED program is always open to volunteers. If you are interested in becoming part of this ministry, please contact John Brodarick for more information.

To learn more about SPRED, visit the Archdiocese of Chicago website at www.spred.org.