“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. . .Now the body is not a single part, but many. If a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body…but as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended…so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy. (I Cor 12, 14-15, 20, 25-26) 

Happy summer, families! It is hard to believe that we are already half way through July. That means that the start of the school year is just around the corner. Full disclosure: I have always loved school and the start of a new year brought me excitement first as a student and then as a teacher. I was the front-row-center-hand-in-the-air kind of student and the stay-really-late-on-a-Friday classroom teacher. So, when my son Andrew began kindergarten last fall, I was excited to share my love of all things learning with him. I couldn’t decide who was looking forward to the first day of school more: me or him. 

As it turns out, the school year was full of many unexpected surprises and some significant challenges that neither my husband or I had anticipated based on our own school experience. And while the year was filled with many joyful “firsts” (first day of school, first birthday party invitation, first lost tooth, first school exhibition, first classroom valentines), it was also filled with lots of growing pains as Andrew navigated “how to friend” and “how to school” within an environment that included other people besides Mama and Daddy. And while the details of these growing pains are private to Andrew, I will say that the frequency and number of “concerned” phone calls I received from the school during the months of April and May kept me up at night as I wondered where I had failed Andrew as a parent. This wondering drove me to my knees as I first asked and then pleaded with the Lord to please help Josh and I discern how to help Andrew not only live his best life as a 6-year-old, but how we could help him grow into the person God intended him to be because nothing I was doing seemed to work. The school year did NOT end on a positive note. In short, I felt like a dismal failure. 

It was with all this in my heart that Andrew and I made our way to take our post as greeter/counters at the Saturday 5 pm Mass in late May. If your family attends this Mass you know that Andrew takes his position as greeter VERY seriously. As we both stood by the door and the 5 o’clock regulars started to stream in, he received many friendly hellos. Various people inquired how his latest lego project was going and how his birthday party went. (Andrew has no problem sharing the details of his life with those he encounters at church, so his birthday party date and location was well known to many well over the age of six.) He received countless fist bumps and smiles, and when we entered church to attend Mass, he waved at his church friends; let’s just say there was a lot of waving. The smile on his face was a welcome sight, as it had been missing during the week when I had picked him up from school. It was as if his whole spirit was lifted. 

It just so happened that a baby was baptized during Mass that weekend and this brought to mind Andrew’s baptism six years ago. It was at this moment God revealed Himself to me in prayer. During the baptismal rite, we as parents promise to train our children in the practice of the faith and to help our children keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us by loving God and our neighbor. This is a big job, but we are not alone in doing so. Not only do we select Godparents to support us, but the entire Christian community vows to do the same during the following part of the rite: 

Priest: People of God, do you agree to support these parents and Godparents in the baptismal covenant for this child/children?
All: We do 
Priest: (Name) The Christian community welcomes you with great joy. In its name, I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of his cross. I now trace the cross on your forehead, and invite your parents and Godparents to do the same. 

As the parents and Godparents traced the cross on the baby’s forehead, I looked around at all the people that surrounded us. As I reflected on the past six years, I remembered countless acts of kindness from so many of the people there, some who I have come to consider as close if not closer than family. My eyes fell on the sacristan, “Miss Penny,” who lets Andrew “help” wash the vessels after Mass, the usher, Mr. Jim, who lets him stand next to him in the back when Mama carries up the book of Gospels, and the greeter, Miss Kathy, who makes sure Andrew stays at his post during greeting and does not wander too far away from the door. (However, if he does end up in the parking lot, another usher or other kind-hearted parishioner often gently shepherds him back to the church building.) He also has at least three honorary grandparents (Linda, Marlin, and Rick). As I looked around I saw other faces that brought back countless memories of love and support for our joyful, energetic, and precocious little boy. 

Andrew is loved and supported in so many ways big and small by our St. Raphael family. Within our church community, Andrew is not only accepted but embraced for all that he is, with both his strengths and weaknesses, and it is that love that supports and encourages me as a parent and helps me to fulfill my baptismal promise to bring him up in the Catholic faith and to teach him how to follow Jesus’ commandment to love God and neighbor. In that moment I knew that I did not have to despair over the phone calls I was receiving from school, because Josh and I are not alone in helping Andrew navigate what it means to be a follower of Jesus and grow into the person God made him to be. The road will not be easy, but it will also not be lonely. The community of believers that is the church is a gift from Jesus, who sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to unite us into one body of believers. We are not meant to live the Christian life alone, and I am so glad that we don’t have to. We are surrounded not only by prayer but by helping hands and loving hearts. 

As a parent, I am grateful for the love and support of our church family and the good news is that love and support is offered to every parent who brings their child to the waters of baptism or enters through the doors of our church. It is my greatest desire as a disciple of Jesus and the main focus of my ministry as Director of Religious Education that every child AND parent who participates in faith formation at St. Raphael knows how deeply and personally they are loved by Jesus and supported by our entire church community. We realize that the past three years have been full of challenges for families due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so if your family has not participated in faith formation for several years, please do not let that keep you away! We are excited to welcome you back and want to walk with you as you return more fully to the church community. You are not alone! We need each other, if even one person is missing, the church is incomplete. 

We realize that different families have different needs, so we offer several different faith formation options for families with children in grades 4K–High School Confirmation, which typically takes place in 11th grade. Here are a few helpful links to help your family prepare to grow in faith together this year:


As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. I am SO excited to journey with your family this year. Know Josh, Andrew and I are praying for you. Please pray for us!