Every afternoon when I write these posts, I try to think of what is foremost on my mind, and then make it interesting. Today, it was my to-do list. :) Sorry, tough to make that interesting.
Finally, I called about scheduling Baby CL's baptism. I have to be honest and admit that I've been putting it off because I knew the parish would want us to attend a "pre-baptism class," and I'm not saying I'm opposed to such a notion, I just wasn't particularly looking forward to it. Both Mike and I going out in the evening is a bit of a hassle - my mom has to be free to watch Henry, and I have to drag my exhausted self out at a time when I'd normally be crocheting in my jammies. Plus, sometimes classes like these can be (I'll just say it) a bit painful. But sometimes they surprise you, so why am I being so negative?
So I called. I immediately let the secretary know that this is our second child, and our first was in fact baptized. *halo* Next question:
"Did you attend a pre-baptism preparation class then?"
Sigh. :) No, we didn't, and I'm certainly going to tell the truth. Henry was baptized by the priest that married us, and he didn't require us to attend a class prior to the sacrament. Alas.
So, I signed us up for the class, and the secretary then got the paperwork to fill out as she talked to me. Me being Type A was thrilled to be able to schedule the baptism. I like my ducks all neat in a row.
"Ok, your names?... Great. The baby's name?"
*confused pause*
"Well, we don't know yet."
*other side of the conversation confused pause*
"Oh, you haven't had the baby yet?"
*another confused pause*
"No. I'm due in May."
"OHHhhh. Well, we can't schedule the baptism until after the baby is born."
*unhappy pause*
I did get the go-ahead to request sponsor letters following the class, so that we'd be all set come May/June. But I was a bit taken aback that the parish doesn't even schedule baptism until after the birth. I'm kind of old school - I like to baptize as soon as possible, certainly within 6 weeks. I mean, I'm certain that if there was a medical issue, an emergency baptism would be performed forthwith. But for uncomplicated matters, the assumption was that baby is already here, and following the baptism class plus acquisition of the sponsor letters (which sometimes can take awhile) the baptism will then be *scheduled*. That could be several months, or even longer.
I did what I could right now, and our class is actually next week. I'd like the baby to be baptized in June. Hopefully all will go well.
I also called our Catholic school of choice, St. A's, to inquire about first grade registration. We would simply need to bring in Henry's birth certificate, proof of baptism, his most recent report card, and $60. This will hold his place, and then we can fill out the remaining paperwork at our leisure. My hope is that this will happen next week, and I couldn't be more thrilled. This weekend will be the end of our self-imposed "2 week waiting period" and then I get paid that Wednesday. I'd like to bustle on in and register him. Mike is still on board, so I'm getting very excited. Maybe I'll meet some new Catholic friends too. :) I think this is the right move for all 3 of us.
Strange about the schedule. We did the same thing and were "penciled in" for a date. She told us, though, that we could not attend the classes until after he was born because she needed a birth certificate. My old church would let you attend the classes and then would file the paper work after the birth. Honestly, I don't understand why you need the baby to do anything before hand. It isn't like your baby needs to be there to understand what's going on. And furthermore, they could pencil you in for a few weeks after your due date. I don't know of any moms they let go to week 43. It's silly really.
ReplyDeleteI am like you about the baptism classes. The one we went to was not educational. I suppose because I had taught confirmation, which goes over baptism, it was very redundant and boring. She asked us about the symbols of baptism and why people baptize. That was mostly what the whole class was about. I think I could have read that in a hand out. Then she told us what would happen. That was the only thing that I learned: how this particular church does what it does. It took a couple of hours. We brought the baby. We're the only ones who lived close by who did (there was one other couple I think). Couldn't find a sitter. It was on a Sunday (although in retrospect I could have used the church nursery). Perfectly fine though. He's always been a quiet baby.
Very strange about needing to wait until after the baby is born to schedule the baptism.
ReplyDeleteRemind me to tell you how I accidentally attended the baptism preparation class at St. Benedict's a few years ago. Oh, I'll just "tell" you now... they decided it'd be a good idea to use the baptism prep class as the first part of the first of their RCIA classes (because they thought they'd kill two birds with one stone?) so we had to sit through the whole thing with all the parents before they even began to address us.
I'm glad to hear that all systems are still tentatively "go" for Henry's school switch.
Yeah, we had the same runaround when we tried to schedule our baptism before the baby was born. In the end we spoke to the priest, told him that our family would only be in town a short time, and asked if we could schedule it. He said that we could have him baptized any Sunday, and we would just have to call and let him know what day as soon as the baby was born. In the end he actually did it on a weeknight, just for us!
ReplyDeleteThe class was a pain. It was about an hour in the evening, and mostly was so basic that the baby's godfather (both godparents had to attend, too!) was very annoyed. We had to name the seven sacraments and repeat back that baptisms are 12:15 on Sundays, and all the rest was stories from the deacon. Blah. But, on the bright side, we were able to get it out of the way before the birth.