Children attending the public schools, and at the beginning of this history of St. Anastasia nearly all did, were and they still are, offered religious instruction and preparation for the Sacraments of Penance, Eucharist and Confirmation through formal classes at parish facilities, now the school building. As early as 1922 Father Clark provided instruction for the fifty children of school age in the new parish. Bishop Molloy formally established the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in the Diocese of Brooklyn in 1935 decreeing that it be canonically erected in every parish in 1936. Since then the CCD program has been a vital part of our parish. For many years use was made of the “released time” right that took a Supreme Court decision on April 28, 1952 to secure and children were released from the public schools they attended to come to St. Anastasia to be educated in their faith on Wednesday afternoons. The decision was acceptable to parents because it was accompanied by the assurance that no new material would be taught in the public schools while children of different faiths were at their churches for instruction. The Sisters in St. Anastasia’s School took charge and many participated in the teaching of the religion classes. There were also well-instructed lay volunteers from the beginning and two, Mrs. Marie Kurkowski and Mrs. Dorothy Hyland directed the program. Sister Ellen Brown, O.P and later Sister Esther Ann R.S.M. guided the program. Since the Sisters departed the parish, the program has been competently and effectively guided by Mrs. Florence Rose and now by Ms. Janine Kramer. The children of kindergarten age through the fourth grade are taught religion on Wednesday afternoons through the released time arrangement. Children in grades 5 through 8 have classes on Wednesday evenings. This arrangement seems to work exceedingly well and the teachers, again, are all well-instructed, competent and dedicated lay people, members of the parish.

What was to have been the gymnasium/auditorium of the school replaced the little wooden Church to become the permanent Church for the parish in 1936.

Over the last few years it has been redecorated and modified to comply with the liturgical directives of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) for a Church edifice and seems completely adequate for the present needs of the parish. The population is changing to some degree, with ethnic groups that are for the most part not Catholic. The Catholic parishioner population is graying. This is an area where housing is so expensive that most young families find it beyond their financial means. But in the early days of the parish, expansion seemed unlimited. To prepare for this growth, in 1928, Father Bohag purchased an additional eighteen lots on Alameda Avenue. The whole triangular block of land was secured for the parish to accommodate the Church-School-Convent.