Church Stuff

In order to marry at St. Pat's in Brooklyn I had to call Assumption and have them send me my baptismal certificate as I don't think I have ever seen it. Again, having no faith, I expect to have to call back to get it sent to me but after three days I have my certificate. They filled out all the necessary information (date, godparents, priest) and they also fill out my confirmation information. However, nothing is filled out for first holy communion. Now I am panicking that they have no record of me making my first holy communion there. I frantically search the few papers that I have in search of my holy communion certificate. I find my confirmation certificate, completion of 8 years of CCD at Assumption, my pre-school report card (stating I do not talk much and speak softly) but no communion certificate. I remember being there and I remember my dress (with the infamous purple ribbon at the bottom). I even find the program from the communion and I am listed on the girls page. So after waiting a few weeks, I finally call the rectory at Assumption and speak to the church lady. According to her, they don't typically fill out that section and I do not have to worry. While I believe, I still would have liked that section filled out. I am just saying.

Onto dealing with St. Pat's which is a different story. Brendan is supposed to handle all things church related since it is his church. That is/was the deal. At the beginning of the engagement phase, I had an office so he asked me to call and arrange the church since we have to call during business hours. This way I could talk freely whereas Brendan cannot. So I call and the person who answered the phone, I believe, was having a bad day. She was kind of grumpy. So I ask about booking the church and she says I will have to talk to a priest and she will have one call me back. After three days, I do not have a call back. Brendan tells me to ask for Mgsr. Nagle and I would get his secretary who can probably help us. He also thinks that he knows the secretary from his days of working at the rectory. So I call and ask for Msgr Nagle but he is not there so they send me to his secretary but she is out. The voicemail confirms that this is the lady Brendan knows. I leave a message and ask her to call me back. Two days later, still no call from St. Pat's. So I call again and ask for the secretary and I get her on the phone. We chat and she tells me I have to speak to a priest and she takes all my information and tells me a priest will be contacting me in a day or two.

I am still waiting for the call.

So, I put Brendan back in charge of the church. He did a sneak attack, went to mass and waited for Msgr. Nagle. So he got us in the book for November 8, 2008 at 3:30. Unfortunately, three weeks ago we decided we wanted the 2:00 time slot. So, I do the sneak attack with Kim except it is a Saturday and we are not going to mass. Rather, we are just showing up to the rectory. I should have known it was not going to be successful when we were told to come back in half an hour because the priest was hearing confessions. When we go back, I am immediately transported back elementary school and start laughing and couldn't stop. The priest comes in and for the next 15 minutes I only understand every tenth word he says. So in trying to explain the situation, he goes and gets "the book". The book he has lists all the mass intentions for 2007 year to date. He says that the request for the wedding date will be found in this book on the day we spoke to Msgr. Nagle. I think there would be a notation on the day we want to get married but what do I know? So after Kim and I try to get him to look at the date of the actual wedding with no success, he takes down my information and makes a notation that I want to change the time of the wedding. Again, I am not confident that we have changed the time or what I may have agreed to do since I can't understand the priest. However, the secretary called Brendan back a few days later. Unfortunately they have been playing phone tag for almost two weeks now. I currently have no idea what time the ceremony is set for.