Letters

Family Support

Posted

To the Editor:

We have heard of certain communities that help build and maintain “family” by organizing members as food donors or meal preparers for mothers and fathers of newborn children. Volunteers are recruited to supply the family of a newborn child with full meals for the week after the baby is brought home from the hospital. Logistics and funding are coordinated by special committees created for this purpose.

This is a great way of showing support and congratulations for Catholic parish parents who have chosen to follow the dictates of their consciences and the Church in completing their pregnancies.

Besides the obvious relief for the parents during the hectic time of assimilating the newbom into the household, the meals serve as a reminder that they are a valued part of the parish and its future.

Focus can be made, not only on the meals, but also act as a vehicle for facilitating the process of preparation for Baptism and help acquaint the parents with any available Catholic school programs.

If our respective leaders also feel that this may help add vital life to our parishes, perhaps they might consider presenting suggestions or requests to the Archdiocese to assist in its efforts to make all things new.

Ken and Pat Horstman

Staten Island