In order to standardize and make sure every servant at St. Verena is comfortable with visitations, we wanted to offer these guidelines. Please understand that these are guidelines only and individual situations may require different approaches, if you have any questions, you can always ask the Sunday School coordinator

Visitation Setup

  • Arrange with the parent of your child to find a day that works for them. Please don’t arrange just with the child. You are entering someone’s home, so they should know who you are, why you’re coming and when you’ll be there. You should not visit a young child without a parent/guardian in the home

  • Some parents ask why you are visiting because they are afraid there is a concern, you can just reassure them that we set a goal to visit all the children twice a year to help build a relationship with them.

  • Please visit in pairs. Reach out to the coordinators if you need someone to go with you and are having a hard time to arrange

  • From 7th grade and above, male servants should visit male students and female students should visit female students. 

  • High School kids can be visited outside the home at a coffee shop or other public place if preferred

What do I do at the visitation?

  • When you come in, introduce yourself to the parents if you don’t know them. The parents are welcome to stay for the visitation especially with the younger children.

  • Bring a small age appropriate gift for the visitation (cross, booklet, keychain, saint pictures, etc)

  • You will make some small talk, this is your chance to get to know the child, ask about their interests, school, hobbies, etc. Be eager to engage in the things they are interested in, proud of. If they open up about any issues, give them sound spiritual advice and refer them to their father of confession if appropriate

  • Ask age appropriate spiritual questions. 

    • Do you read the Bible daily

    • Do you pray regularly

    • Do you take communion regularly

    • Do you confess regularly

    • Sunday School attendance

      • What do they like about SS? What do they not like?

    •  liturgy attendance

    • Please note: This is a visitation not an interrogation, find nice and non-intrusive ways to open up these topics and praise them where they’re succeeding and encourage them where they need a little improvement

  • Read a chapter/passage in the bible with them and discuss it with them. Take time to let them tell you what they think about what was read so you can get to understand the spiritual level of your kids and what they might need in class

  • Pray with them an age appropriate section of the agpeya (thanksgiving prayer or Psalm 50, or Gospel Litanies, etc) and end with a small personal prayer

  • The visitation should last about 45 minutes to an hour