Dear Parents, Guardians and Parishioners:

The children who attend our parish school and our parish religious education program are most precious not only to you but to all of us in the Annunciation-Our  Lady of Fatima community.  We strive to work together in order to better meet their needs and prepare them well for the future.  As a result, family and community involvement is a high priority for us.

Our wonderful parish of Annunciation-Our Lady of Fatima continues to combine the efforts of all our  parishioners–clergy, professed and lay–to assist one another in proclaiming the teachings and value system of Our Lord.  Therefore, our work as a parish, stated most simply, should be to help each other move towards a deeper relationship with Jesus. This indeed must be a communal enterprise.

For some time, we have set aside our 10 a.m. Sunday Mass at Annunciation Church as our parish family Mass during the academic year.  Through the tireless support of the priests of the parish along with our parish school principal, our parish director of religious education and our very dedicated school teachers and catechists, our children are involved in every aspect of our Sunday worship – readings, petitions, offertory gifts, altar servers and our marvelous children’s choir.  Each week one grade level, combined from both our parish school and parish religious education program, is asked to assist in planning the Family Mass.  It is truly a marvelous experience for all the children and for all who are in attendance.

However, to the great dismay of our school principal, our parish director of religious education and all the clergy, it appears that many families, especially the children, are not attending the family mass, nor for that matter, any other Sunday Mass.  We share this concern with you, not in any judgmental way, but in a most loving and caring way.

As we continue to move forward during these fall months, we ask you as parents, guardians and fellow parishioners to please give serious thought to this situation. If for one reason or another you and/or your child are not attending Sunday mass or are perhaps attending infrequently, we encourage you to prayerfully re-think your commitment as a Catholic to the serious obligation that is ours as Catholics to worship God together each and every Sunday, as a family.  None of us – especially the children – can exist in this world without a deep love and respect for Jesus.  We need above all else to pass this truth on to the children.  For this to happen, your support is vital.

So please accept this plea in the spirit in which it is written.  It is not meant to be an intrusion nor a   prying, but simply a matter of grave concern and a sincere effort to meet the spiritual needs of all our parishioners – most of all the children.  Their immortal souls are at risk.

God bless all of you for your goodness and love.  Enjoy this beautiful fall season and, as they say, “See you in Church.”