What questions would you ask?

  • Thread starter Thread starter TwinMommy
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

TwinMommy

Guest
Since we officially move on Friday I am really trying to narrow down what parishes I want to visit. There are two. One has a site with lots of info, bulletins and I have emailed with the priest.

The other one is very limited. There are no bulletins. I want to call there later today.
So far I have come up with the following:

Holy Hour on Wednesday? (no clue what Holy Hour is, where I am going does not have that)
Rosary before Mass? Sunday/Weekday? (the parish I am going to has Rosary every weekday morning before Mass and I love that!)
Religious Ed for kids?
Children’s Mass/ Cry Room?
Knights of Columbus?
Rosary Altar Society?
Bulletin(and if yes can one be emailed to me)
What kind of community involvement
Bible study/spiritual enrichment
Info on RCIA

Since I am so new and have only experienced a few Masses on Sunday and weekdays, I want to have important information. One thing that is confusing is that there is a Parish and a Chapel. At the parish, there is one Sunday Mass time, 10am. At the Chapel there is 8am, 9:15 and 10:30.

I don’t want to sound stupid when I call. I know until I visit both I can’t tell but gaining the information needed is a start. Since it will be me and my boys, something for the kids like religious ed is very important to me.
 
Holy Hour is exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on a monstrance 🙂

A more general question is whether or not there is a Perpetual Adoration chapel. That would be awesome, because then we can sign in for an hour of adoration at any given time during the week, or simply go at any time as long as the chapel is open. Near my house, there’s a 24-hour Perpetual Adoration. Sometimes when I really need to speak to Christ I walk there even in the middle of the night. Other Parishes schedule a Holy Hour in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on a monstrance, the rest of the time being present only inside a sealed tabernacle 🙂

Also: probably the “Parish” Mass is the main Sunday Mass, while other times, given the limited attendance, the Mass is celebrated in a chapel of the Parish rather than in the main church 🙂
“Love is a fusion of two souls in one in order to bring about mutual perfection. …] If you knew Him enough, you would love Him. If you were with Him for one hour, you’d know just what heaven on earth is.”
Click to expand...
S. Teresa de Los Andes
Click to expand...
 
R_C gave my number one…any parish that offers perpetual adoration is doing something right!

You could always ask about NFP classes and sponsor couples.
Ask about the average number of kids per family…but that’d get you a raised eyebrow or 2! Like this…:eek:
 
R_C said:
Holy Hour is exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on a monstrance 🙂

A more general question is whether or not there is a Perpetual Adoration chapel. That would be awesome, because then we can sign in for an hour of adoration at any given time during the week, or simply go at any time as long as the chapel is open. Near my house, there’s a 24-hour Perpetual Adoration. Sometimes when I really need to speak to Christ I walk there even in the middle of the night. Other Parishes schedule a Holy Hour in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on a monstrance, the rest of the time being present only inside a sealed tabernacle 🙂

Also: probably the “Parish” Mass is the main Sunday Mass, while other times, given the limited attendance, the Mass is celebrated in a chapel of the Parish rather than in the main church 🙂
Click to expand...
Thank you so much!!!
 
How often is the Sacrament of Reconciliation offered, when?
Are there kneelers in the Church? Does the Church itself have a “modern” look? Where is the tabernacle located, near the altar, behind the altar, off the the side, in its own separate room?
Do they have many statues, one of Mary, Joseph, other saints?
Do they have a nursery where families can take their children during mass, not a cry room, a nursery, and would that be something you want or don’t want depending upon your preference?
How close is the nearest religious community? If one is nearby, are they active in the parish? Only reason I ask is one of the reasons we didn’t pick the closest parish when we moved is because they have a nun routinely lead a communion service when the priest has his day off, with the nun giving a homily even.
 
Maybe talk to an active parishioner or parish council member. If I was a pastor or parish secretary and you fired off all of those questions at once at me, I think that I might be intimidated.

You could volunteer to develop a website for the parish without one.
 
Armor_of_Light said:
R_C gave my number one…any parish that offers perpetual adoration is doing something right!

You could always ask about NFP classes and sponsor couples.
Ask about the average number of kids per family…but that’d get you a raised eyebrow or 2! Like this…:eek:
Click to expand...
I don’t think that is a raised eyebrow LOL
Ok, took off asking about Holy hour and changed it to see if there is perpetual adoration.
No clue what NFP is LOL

I added to my list to see when they are closed.
 
PatriceA said:
How often is the Sacrament of Reconciliation offered, when?
Are there kneelers in the Church? Does the Church itself have a “modern” look? Where is the tabernacle located, near the altar, behind the altar, off the the side, in its own separate room?
Do they have many statues, one of Mary, Joseph, other saints?
Do they have a nursery where families can take their children during mass, not a cry room, a nursery, and would that be something you want or don’t want depending upon your preference?
How close is the nearest religious community? If one is nearby, are they active in the parish? Only reason I ask is one of the reasons we didn’t pick the closest parish when we moved is because they have a nun routinely lead a communion service when the priest has his day off, with the nun giving a homily even.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by religious community?
Reconciliation is once a week.
Never would have thought to ask about kneelers. I would have figured that was a given.
I would think the Deacon would do those things if the priest wasn’t there.
 
PaulfromIowa said:
Maybe talk to an active parishioner or parish council member. If I was a pastor or parish secretary and you fired off all of those questions at once at me, I think that I might be intimidated.

You could volunteer to develop a website for the parish without one.
Click to expand...
I have actually found over the years of moving, at least with the protestant churches I have been in, that when you ask these questions typically it is well received. I actually do know how to make sites, I helped with the site at the church I just left.
 
NFP is the only approved method to space births. For future reference…👍

BTW…never EVER call it ‘catholic birth control’.

Natural Family Planning

or Now I’m Flippin’ Pregnant
 
Armor_of_Light said:
NFP is the only approved method to space births. For future reference…👍

BTW…never EVER call it ‘catholic birth control’.

Natural Family Planning

or Now I’m Flippin’ Pregnant
Click to expand...
I would rather go with the natural family planning than the now I am preggers LOL
 
TwinMommy said:
Since we officially move on Friday I am really trying to narrow down what parishes I want to visit. There are two. One has a site with lots of info, bulletins and I have emailed with the priest.

The other one is very limited. There are no bulletins. I want to call there later today.
So far I have come up with the following:

Holy Hour on Wednesday? (no clue what Holy Hour is, where I am going does not have that)
Rosary before Mass? Sunday/Weekday? (the parish I am going to has Rosary every weekday morning before Mass and I love that!)
Religious Ed for kids?
Children’s Mass/ Cry Room?
Knights of Columbus?
Rosary Altar Society?
Bulletin(and if yes can one be emailed to me)
What kind of community involvement
Bible study/spiritual enrichment
Info on RCIA

Since I am so new and have only experienced a few Masses on Sunday and weekdays, I want to have important information. One thing that is confusing is that there is a Parish and a Chapel. At the parish, there is one Sunday Mass time, 10am. At the Chapel there is 8am, 9:15 and 10:30.

I don’t want to sound stupid when I call. I know until I visit both I can’t tell but gaining the information needed is a start. Since it will be me and my boys, something for the kids like religious ed is very important to me.
Click to expand...
I’d narrow down your questions to 3 or 4 that are most important to you, and see if you can get the bulletin.

I’d suggest visiting each parish several times to see where God is calling you. The atmosphere will be different on different Sundays, i.e. Easter Sunday. You won’t get everything you want in the same parish, probably, so decide what your priorities are.

Don’t be discouraged if someone doesn’t have time to talk to you this week as Holy Week is busy.
 
TwinMommy said:
Knights of Columbus?
Rosary Altar Society?
Bulletin(and if yes can one be emailed to me)
Bible study/spiritual enrichment
Info on RCIA
Click to expand...
Knights of Columbus?
Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal service organization, Catholic men. My parish KOC are involved/have programs for mentally-disabled children, unwed mothers, and organize Rosaries at our local abortion clinic. There’s more they do, however, this post would be way too long. :eek:

Rosary Altar Society?
At my parish, the Rosary is prayed before every Mass, at the Vigil Mass (Saturday evening), the Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed.

We call ours, the Altar Guild Society. We’re volunteers who wash/iron all linens for the Mass. Three times a year, we clean the church/altar: clean/polish the brass, wash the pews, vacuum the area around the altar, change the linens at the altar, Mother Mary’s statue, and St Joseph’s statue. We decorate the Church for special days, we’re meeting this Saturday to decorate for Easter.

Bulletins?
My area parishes don’t email bulletins. There should be a link on the parish website for the bulletins. Typically, PDF format, and you can download to read. Or enter the parish name in your search engine. There are websites who will list parishes, provide a link for the bulletins and parish website.

Bible Studies/Spirtual Enrichment?
The best person to contact about studies is the DRE (Director of Religious Education).

Info on RCIA
Once again, talk to the DRE, he/or she will be the coordinator for RCIA. They’re also the coordinator for children’s education.

Of course, first of all,contact the priest.

The very best to you and yours, TwinMommy.
 
TwinMommy said:
What do you mean by religious community?
Reconciliation is once a week.
Never would have thought to ask about kneelers. I would have figured that was a given.
I would think the Deacon would do those things if the priest wasn’t there.
Click to expand...
Religious communities…nuns, sisters. Are the parishes you considering have deacons? Consider yourself lucky if you do. We belong to one parish but share three priests with three other parishes, in other words three priests cover four parishes. The other parish up the road, one priest and one priest only with a religious sister that covers “services” when the priest is not available.

I don’t know where you are in the world, there are Church buildings that don’t have kneelers anymore. Which is a shame.
 
How about setting appointments for next week, to meet with the pastors of the churches you are considering?

When we were considering a move to Sanford, Maine, while we were there to visit the factory we actually made an appointment with the pastor and had a face to face meeting. He was very candid about the strengths of the Catholic community, and even more so about the weaknesses. He told us of some of the politics of school parents and parish leaders, and how that has translated into a school that is in disrepair and struggling all the time. He also talked to us about the other parishes around and compared what to expect at each.

He was refreshingly candid and to the point, and answered our questions plus the questions we would like to have thought of asking. It was very informative, and we knew all we would want to know before even deciding to move, and then if we had which parish to join.

Alan
 
asia53 said:
Knights of Columbus?
Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal service organization, Catholic men. My parish KOC are involved/have programs for mentally-disabled children, unwed mothers, and organize Rosaries at our local abortion clinic. There’s more they do, however, this post would be way too long. :eek:

Rosary Altar Society?
At my parish, the Rosary is prayed before every Mass, at the Vigil Mass (Saturday evening), the Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed.

We call ours, the Altar Guild Society. We’re volunteers who wash/iron all linens for the Mass. Three times a year, we clean the church/altar: clean/polish the brass, wash the pews, vacuum the area around the altar, change the linens at the altar, Mother Mary’s statue, and St Joseph’s statue. We decorate the Church for special days, we’re meeting this Saturday to decorate for Easter.

Bulletins?
My area parishes don’t email bulletins. There should be a link on the parish website for the bulletins. Typically, PDF format, and you can download to read. Or enter the parish name in your search engine. There are websites who will list parishes, provide a link for the bulletins and parish website.

Bible Studies/Spirtual Enrichment?
The best person to contact about studies is the DRE (Director of Religious Education).

Info on RCIA
Once again, talk to the DRE, he/or she will be the coordinator for RCIA. They’re also the coordinator for children’s education.

Of course, first of all,contact the priest.

The very best to you and yours, TwinMommy.
Click to expand...
I want to know about the KOC as it gives me more of an idea on how involved the parish is in the community.

Yes, the Rosary Altar Society is just as you described.

One of the parish’s does not have a website, so no bulletins online.
 
PatriceA said:
Religious communities…nuns, sisters. Are the parishes you considering have deacons? Consider yourself lucky if you do. We belong to one parish but share three priests with three other parishes, in other words three priests cover four parishes. The other parish up the road, one priest and one priest only with a religious sister that covers “services” when the priest is not available.

I don’t know where you are in the world, there are Church buildings that don’t have kneelers anymore. Which is a shame.
Click to expand...
I live in Rhode Island in the States.
From what information I have so far, each parish has their own priests and deacons.
 
AlanFromWichita said:
How about setting appointments for next week, to meet with the pastors of the churches you are considering?

When we were considering a move to Sanford, Maine, while we were there to visit the factory we actually made an appointment with the pastor and had a face to face meeting. He was very candid about the strengths of the Catholic community, and even more so about the weaknesses. He told us of some of the politics of school parents and parish leaders, and how that has translated into a school that is in disrepair and struggling all the time. He also talked to us about the other parishes around and compared what to expect at each.

He was refreshingly candid and to the point, and answered our questions plus the questions we would like to have thought of asking. It was very informative, and we knew all we would want to know before even deciding to move, and then if we had which parish to join.

Alan
Click to expand...
That is so great your were able to do that. I did just get off the phone with the office manager of one the churches and she said that I should feel free to make an appointment with the priest as he would be very happy to sit down with me.
 
I was able to speak to the office manager of one of the parish’s a bit ago. It is bothering me that there is no Eucharist adoration…like never. I have not had the experience to go do this but I have been looking so forward to having that time with the Lord.

The only thing that keeps me looking at this parish is that weekday Mass is at noon. The other two have 8am which I wouldn’t make with getting the boys off to school. I did check the school schedule and they will be getting on the bus at 8:05 at the earliest. Now that I have been going to Mass during the week, I don’t think I could handle not going.

One cool things is the music is done by a man name Tom Kendzia, who is a Liturgical composer.
youtu.be/bftl3xUV2Nk

From talking with different people it seems common place for the doors to be open here and there, when Mass isn’t going on, for people to pray. This place they doors are not open unless there is Mass or something scheduled.

With everything being so new to me, figuring out what is priority and wasn’t isn’t is wicked hard.
 
Well the parish with the noon Mass is out. I am a digger of information and dug up something like that I disagree with 100% and now I am seeing what the office manger meant when she said it is a progressive church.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top