NEW PARISHIONERS should contact the parish office to register in the parish. We are happy to have you as a member of the parish!
ALL PARISHIONERS are asked to contact the parish office if you have a change in address, school, parish, etc. Thank you!
Are you a registered member of the parish? You know you are a registered member of the parish if you receive
Registered members are expected to contribute to the parish through time, talent, and treasure in addition to paying their GLOBE subscription and contributing to DAA. Often, young parishioners leave their family home, get married, and consider themselves to be registered members of the parish as they were registered under their parents’ names. However, when young parishioners leave their family home, particularly after college, get married and/or begin employment, they become unregistered members of the parish in which territory they live. Simply living within the territory of a parish does not make a person a registered member of the parish. Persons wishing to register in the parish need to complete the registration process.
PARISH MEMBERSHIP is defined as the following: all who have been baptized and confirmed are full members of the Roman Catholic Church and are members for life in the Catholic Church. This fact is recorded on a person’s baptismal record in the parish where the person is baptized.
Parish membership is first determined by the place of residence, where a person lives. Persons living within a Catholic parish’s designated territory are automatically members of the parish. This can be described as begin “unregistered” or residential membership. Persons who are members of a parish in this manner can create confusion, especially when the parish staff does not know that the person either resides in the parish territory or the person believes they are a registered member.
“Registered” membership is accomplished by the contacting the leadership of a parish in order to claim official membership. Often this is done through the completion of a census or registration form that serves to help the pastor, the parish office staff, and parishioners know the people who wish to be “registered” members of a parish. Registering in a parish helps to maintain an accurate listing of parishioners who desire to receive the spiritual care of the parish. Registered membership often includes numerous benefits (i.e. eligibility to serve as liturgical ministers and on parish organizations; reduced fees for rent, Faith Formation, etc.) Registered membership also indicates that who are willing to contribute time, talent, and treasure to the best of their ability to the parish including subscribing to the Diocesan newspaper The Catholic Globe and contribute to the Diocesan Annual Appeal. The number of registered parishioners determines the size of the parish.
As a common courtesy, if a registered member has a status change (i.e. change of address, change in marital state, change in jobs/etc. that would affect the person’s time commitment to the parish, etc.) the parish office ought to be notified. And if a registered parishioner moves to a new parish, the common courtesy is to register in the new parish and to contact the former parish of this change.
Children of registered parishioners are registered with their families until they are no longer considered their parents’ dependents or until they move to a new parish territory where they are encouraged to register with that parish. Adult children of parishioners who enter the work force and/or marry and remain in the parish of their parents ought to register in the parish; otherwise they are considered “unregistered” members of the parish.