Both Carmen Amato, our Director of Religious Education, and I are concerned about parent supervision of young children before, during and after Mass. 

Two Sundays ago, as Carmen was returning to the church after Religious Education, she encountered a young school-aged child outside the building, moving towards the parking lot. The child had the opportunity to leave the church premises because he was not with a parent or guardian. Luckily, nothing happened. Even though I have talked about child safety and supervision before, I am very concerned that such incidents are still occurring.  How can we work to improve on this? Here are a few suggestions: 
 

• Always accompany your child to any area of the church. 
• Never let your child run ahead of you, particularly in the   parking lot or high traffic areas. 
• Remind your child of safety rules, including speaking with strangers.

​I cherish your children and youth and want to make sure they are safe. I appreciate all of your help in this effort. Thank you!  Father Joe