Before I forget, may I ask you to pray for Stella, Rose, Mildred, Fran, & Mary Jane? These are all parishioners whom I have anointed or visited recently & I promised your prayers for them.
Gail Ryan was a longtime member of the parish who had been living in the home of her son and daughter-in-law for several months. She passed away on January 7th and we celebrated her Funeral Mass on Saturday, January 13th. She was a devoted Catholic who held bible study’s in her home, prayed the rosary daily and would never miss Mass when she was physically able to attend. Her son Jay spoke beautifully about her at the funeral and we extend to him and to his wife and 5 children our sympathies and our prayers.
Here’s a bulletin correction: I misspelled the name of one of the twin girls who were baptized last Sunday. Both parents and both girls have names that begin with K (now I keep thinking of the jingle in that commercial for Kay Jewelers that goes, “Every kiss begins with Kay.” I bet that jingle will be in my mind the rest of the day now!). Anyway, I typed “Karson Joan Wheeler” instead of “Karsyn Joan Wheeler.” It was spelled that way in the bulletin because it was spelled that way on the registration form and it was spelled that way on the baptismal certificate. At least I’m consistent. When I’m wrong, I’m wrong everywhere.
So in last week’s bulletin I spoke about why we have parish boundaries and I said I would point out the advantages to being registered in a parish (or parishes). First, being registered (which simply means we have basic information about you in our files like your address, family members, etc.), allows us to know who officially “belongs” to our parish community. This census information helps us to know the size of the parish so that we can plan accordingly. It also helps you because if and when you are asked to be a sponsor or godparent for someone being baptized or confirmed, it is required that you be registered in our parish in order for you to receive a sponsor certificate which gives the assurance that you are a full-fledged, practicing member of the parish & so qualified to act as a sponsor. Being registered also helps when someone is getting married or is requesting another sacrament or when it is time to plan a funeral. You can do this in the rectory office or after Mass at the Information Desk in the vestibule or even online at our website. It’s just a short form to fill out and it will help you and us to know that we are responsible for your spiritual care. So make it official and we’ll make sure that we spell your name right.