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Br.Rich_SFO
Guest
One would hope the pastor would not do this. But then you never know. They need to speak with the pastor to see if they have his support or not.
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rpp
Guest
It strikes me that this woman may be a bit overworked. One question to ask is when does she attend Mass to meet her “Sunday obligation”?
Another questions, sad, but this is 2006, can the teen even help in the nursery? Don’t they need some diocesean background check or something, even if they are supervised?
I have run some programs on Sunday mornings at my parish that also relied exclusivley on volunteers. I was always very careful to ensure that those who helped made it to Mass. I myself attended the Saturday evening vigil Mass so that I was free Sunday morning.
Finally, I also get the sense from the way you portrayed her that the nursery coordinator looks at the teens as a source of slave labor. I am not sure that I would want to expose teens to someone so callus about spiritual development. After all, you probably have some future priests and/or nuns in your group. Think of their future first.
The worst thing that happens is that parents have actually (horror of horrors) bring their young children to Mass with them! (By the way, my parish of 2300 families does not have a nursery on Sunday morning and we have Children’s liturgy during only one of the 5 Masses on Sunday.)
Another questions, sad, but this is 2006, can the teen even help in the nursery? Don’t they need some diocesean background check or something, even if they are supervised?
I have run some programs on Sunday mornings at my parish that also relied exclusivley on volunteers. I was always very careful to ensure that those who helped made it to Mass. I myself attended the Saturday evening vigil Mass so that I was free Sunday morning.
Finally, I also get the sense from the way you portrayed her that the nursery coordinator looks at the teens as a source of slave labor. I am not sure that I would want to expose teens to someone so callus about spiritual development. After all, you probably have some future priests and/or nuns in your group. Think of their future first.
The worst thing that happens is that parents have actually (horror of horrors) bring their young children to Mass with them! (By the way, my parish of 2300 families does not have a nursery on Sunday morning and we have Children’s liturgy during only one of the 5 Masses on Sunday.)
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laforec
Guest
Thank you to everyone who replyed. I believe I have the information that I was seeking. I will speak to Father about the situation and I will advise any of the people I know that it is appropriate and required to attend another Mass if they are helping out with the Nursery.
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Veritas41
Guest
I wonder why she needs teenaged volunteers – parents should be volunteering in the nursery. If parents aren’t willing to help provide a service they enjoy, then maybe she should quit and let parents take their children to Mass with them. At other churches I’ve attended, when people have trouble getting parents to volunteer they explain there won’t be vacation Bible school or whatever the program is if some volunteers don’t show up. That usually gets people motivated. I imagine her anger is probably over frustration about the lack of help.
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mystified
Guest
In my parish, we miss parts of the Mass frequently…Father just skips them
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My old Irish pastor insisted that one should be there before the priest reaches the altar, and remain until he departed the sactuary. But, being a realist, he understood that sometimes urgent reasons could result in late arrival or early departure; he said it only bothered him when the late arrivals and early departers created a traffic jam in the doors.
.My old Irish pastor insisted that one should be there before the priest reaches the altar, and remain until he departed the sactuary. But, being a realist, he understood that sometimes urgent reasons could result in late arrival or early departure; he said it only bothered him when the late arrivals and early departers created a traffic jam in the doors.
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puzzleannie
Guest
I get asked every year why I (meaning Confirmation youth) do not provide a nursery to care for babies and toddlers so parents can attend Mass in peace (and older parishioners don’t have to hear crying babies and screaming toddlers). I respond that our insurance coverage does not allow it, and we cannot afford to pay the trained qualified people to supervise it, unless they, the parents, are willing to pay for the service. It is not allowed for teenage volunteers to care for the children without adult supervision. Period. It violates child safety guidelines. (it is also not in my job description for what it’s worth).
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Veritas41
Guest
Imagine – parents have been attending Mass for 2,000 years without nurseries
Actually, having come from a Protestant background where nurseries are the norm and into the Catholic Church, where all the parishes I’ve attended *don’t *have nurseries, I can honestly say I don’t think nurseries are beneficial overall. It’s yet one more thing the church has to try to recruit volunteers for, and the children are corraled together where they can spread illness to each other. My oldest child grew up in church nurseries and later children’s church, so that by the time we started attending the Catholic Church when he was 5, we had more trouble with him than we did his younger brother, who was 1 1/2, simply because he’d never had the opportunity to learn to behave in church. I have four children, two of whom are still rather young and still need correcting in church, so I know how exasperating kids can be in Mass, but having my children in Mass with us gives them a chance to be present at the greatest miracle on earth (even if they don’t fully understand what’s going on, I believe they still receive blessings of grace from God for being there), and I get the opportunity to practice patience (which I need). I think cry rooms are a better alternative or parents alternating their Mass attendance if they very young children.
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