“No brothers and sisters. No grandfathers or grandmothers. In our eyes that is terrible”, the parents write in the letter to the mayor, the church and school board. The letter is also held by NH News.
Postponed before
The celebration, which normally takes place in the spring, has been postponed several times due to corona, but is now scheduled for November 1. The writers assumed that the celebration would be suspended again because only thirty people are now allowed into the church by the diocese. But that turns out not to be the case.
The anger of the parents is mainly aimed at the Stichting Katholiek Onderwijs Volendam (SKOV). “It lied to the church that schools, directors and parents agreed that it was now celebrated in this way in November, and that while directors, teachers, masters were not asked at all,” they write. The parents hope that Holy Communion will be postponed after all.
Steering group sees no problem
The SKOV informs NH Nieuws that the decision to allow the communion celebration to take place lies with the church board and the steering committee. This steering group, responsible for the organization of the communion party, includes representatives from all schools.
The SKOV has only advised to stay within the guidelines of the RIVM. “The church is big enough to follow the guidelines of the RIVM.” And so there are only a maximum of thirty people in the church, says Wilma Tjalsma of the SKOV.
According to Tjalsma, the question is whether it would be safe to celebrate later. “Corona has already postponed it for six months and preparations for next year will start soon. In addition, there are also parents who prefer to let it go ahead, because otherwise the dresses no longer fit the children.”
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