The Parish Community of St. Kevin

Q:        How do Mass Intentions work at St. Kevin’s and how do I arrange one?

*Mass Intention / Mass Offering / Having a Mass ‘Said’ – these terms are often used interchangeably

A:         This is such a good topic to cover and there is so much to discuss! A Mass Intention here at St. Kevin’s is either for someone who has passed away or for a special intention. An intention for someone who has passed away means that the person’s name will be mentioned by the Priest during the Eucharistic Prayer. Mass intentions (for both deceased and special intentions) are said Monday-Friday at our 9:00am Masses and Saturday evenings at our 5:00pm Masses. We do not have Mass Intentions on Sundays.          

           

Having a Mass ‘said’ in memory of someone significant in your life is a wonderful way to honour their memory. We have a slightly different process for booking a Mass depending on how long a person has been deceased. If they have passed away within the last year then we can book one intention per day at any of our weekday Masses (9:00am Masses) and our Saturday evening 5:00pm Mass. We allow so many days for these intentions because, unfortunately, we have so many Parishioners pass away each year and so many loved ones wanting to have a Mass offered for them. If your loved one has been deceased for more than one year then we can either book up to three of these intentions on Monday morning at our 9:00 Mass or on Saturday evening at our 5:00 Mass. We tend to refer to those Masses as anniversaries. Often they are booked close to the person’s birthday, date of passing, or other important days in their lives. So – if your loved one has been deceased longer than a year then we restrict those Masses to either Monday at 9:00am or Saturday at 5:00pm.  As a Diocesan rule – we can only have collective (multiple) intentions on two days per week. The other days are singular.
                       

           

           

           

Special Intention Masses are offered for those who are still with us but whom we want to pray for. For example, these Masses may be offered for someone who is in the hospital, someone who may be going through a difficult family situation or even someone who is having a significant birthday/wedding anniversary. For a number of reasons, including privacy, we only publish/say ‘Special Intention.’ We do not mention the name or reason for the Mass.
           
            We encourage our Parishioners to visit our Parish Office, during office hours, to arrange for Mass Intentions. This way we can check if certain dates are available for you, we can officially book your requests, and we can provide a Mass Card (if you wish to notify a friend or family member of the upcoming Mass Intention). Although some churches publish who requested which Masses, we do not. Lastly, we ask for a donation of $10 for a Mass Intention and $1 for a Mass Card.

When it comes to booking anniversary Masses (or Masses for someone who has died many years ago) often our Parishioners unknowingly assume that the best time to come into the office to book Mass Intentions for a new year is to come in at the end of the previous year (ex. many came in late December of 2021 to book their Masses for 2022). Although well intentioned, late December is not a very good time! As you can imagine, we are extremely busy in the Parish Office in December with the Christmas season and with year-end administrative work. Given that we have our Mass book nearly a year prior, you can come well in advance! If you would like to book Masses for 2023 you can do so at any time but we encourage you to come by the office during our office hours over the next few months. By visiting us in the summer and fall, it will ensure that you book early and avoid the Christmas/New Year rush! Thank you!                      

           

Q:        My family and I just moved to the area two months ago. We want to be a part of St. Kevin’s, how do we go about it?

Q:        My wife and I attend Mass most weeks and we usually just place some cash in the collection basket when we are here. Will we receive an income tax receipt for that?

A:        Great question and we know that a lot of families have recently joined our Parish, so we hope this helps. First and foremost, welcome! You can certainly join us for any of our Masses, liturgies, and events. Just by being here you are already a part of our community and we are happy to have you with us. However, we strongly encourage you to become officially registered with us and the registration process consists of a very simple form that we ask you to complete so we have some basic contact information and details about you and your family. There are a few ways to register:

1. Stop by the Parish office and you can do so in person. It only takes a few moments. We can answer any additional questions you may have and get acquainted. We would be happy to show you around, get you familiar with our Mass times, and should you need to arrange anything (ex. a house blessing) or wish to become involved in Parish ministry in any way, we could assist you.

2. Email us and we can send you a form that you can complete and email back.

3. You can pick up a registration form in the foyer OR a box of envelopes* that contains a registration form – located on the top shelf of one of the bookcases located in the foyer. As you walk into the foyer from the church, you will see it on your right. You can bring the completed form to the office or even place it in the collection basket.

So what do we do with your information?

We input it all into our Parish database.
We will be sure that you are added to our mailing/email lists so that you receive all of the latest Parish updates. Down the line, if you request a Sacrament or a Pastoral Reference, for example, knowing that you are registered in the parish is a huge help and we can quickly look up your information. If your child makes a Sacrament with us (ex. First Communion), we enter all of that information into your family’s file too (as well as our registers). Additionally, should you wish to financially contribute to the Parish, we track all of your donations and issue an income tax receipt yearly. But the topic of donations leads us to another question…

A:        We always wish to credit everyone for the donations they make. In order for us to credit you for what you submit in the collection – we encourage you to use our Parish envelopes. Or we at least ask that you put your donation in a clearly labeled envelope with your name and address. Unfortunately, we cannot issue a receipt for loose cash (not labeled) that is placed in the basket.

*So, how do you obtain a box of envelopes?

1. You can visit us at the Parish Office and we can certainly give you a box.
2. You can find the unassigned boxes of envelopes for new parishioners also on the top shelf of the right bookcase in the foyer.

 

We appreciate every donation and take our fiscal responsibility as a Parish very seriously.