This past year this family has had two prayer processions.  A few weeks ago the Incarnation Campus had a Marian prayer procession where the Rosary that had a great turnout.  120 people were praying the Rosary in procession for all to see on Main St.  The other procession was a Eucharistic Procession on Corpus Christi Sunday on the St. Francis Campus.  Both had multiple pictures taken from the staff as well as those driving by.  I remember as the Eucharistic procession came toward Wilmington Pike, there was a truck that stopped in the middle of the street to record what was going on.

These are just two examples of the many ways this parish family has shown the community of who we worship, Jesus Christ, and that we have our Blessed Mother to intercede for us and entrust ourselves to her Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The Eucharist is one of the guiding principles of Beacons of Light.  This principle reminds us that the Sunday Eucharist is the essential gathering of the parish community each week… it is life-giving, beautiful, and the transformative celebration of Sunday Mass is critical.  Sacramental celebrations and other parish and school liturgies are true encounters with Jesus Christ present in Word and Sacrament.  As the sacrament of unity (1 Cor 10:17), celebrations of the Eucharist within the Family are opportunities for members of the parishes to worship together. (https://pathway.catholicaoc.org/eucharist).

This shows us that as a family we should strive and desire to have our identity and unity in Christ.  This means desiring the Mass to be celebrated well, joyfully, and in great devotion.

This identity as a family then helps us to celebrate with great love together.

This means that we need to add a family identity as well.  As of right now, we are the NE-4 Family.  Phase one of Beacons calls us to find a family name that will help foster that unity and identity that we find in the Eucharist.  To be clear, this is a way to rename this family from NE-4 to another name that promotes unity, and something that we can identify with.  I am going to ask you to help us find a name for this family.

The name can be tied to the geography of the area, we are in South Dayton so South Dayton Catholics would be a possible example.  It can be a name after a saint.  The parish family of Troy, Piqua, and Russia are calling themselves “Our Lady of Fatima.”  The idea is to find a a name that can foster that growth and unity of our family that is different than NE-4.  Beginning this weekend we will have a Form that can be filled out online and a paper form available in the back of church at both campuses.  Please take some time to pray about how God is calling us to move forward as a family.  Please check the upcoming bulletin for this information.

Once more, to be clear.  This is not changing the parish names of Incarnation or St. Francis.  We are looking to change the family name from NE-4 to something different to add a new family name to help foster unity and identity as we celebrate the Eucharist together.

In Christ,

Fr. Brian

 

Deadline for submitting a Name for our Family was Nov. 20.  Voting on our new Family Name will begin soon at the following link: https://incarnation-parish.com/family-name/