Ortonville-These days, some children at St. Anne Catholic Church, 825 S. Ortonville Road, Ortonville, are coming forward during Mass to give thanks.
About two weeks ago, a ‘giving well? was started at the church as a way of involving youngsters in the Mass, said Fr. Bernie Mullen, pastor at St. Anne.
‘A few years ago, at a church where I previously served we tried something at Mass that proved to have great appeal for children, and became part of the worship experience for children there,? Mullen said, regarding St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Orion. ‘I was sure it would be received just as eagerly by our children here at St. Anne.?
During the offertory part of the Mass, when the adults place their monetary offerings in the basket, the children are invited to place their own symbolic offering of themselves in the giving well, which is a small piece of furniture with an opening in the top, where the children place their gift.
The giving well was introduced at the parish and blessed at each Palm Sunday weekend Mass, March 19-20, when after the opening prayer, Mullen invited the children to bless the well, and later invited the children to come forward during the offertory to place their gifts into the well.
Mullen said the children’s offerings include the good things they did the previous week in addition to the good things they intend to do during the coming week, as well as monetary offerings of coins or dollars their parents may have given them.
By including the youngsters in the Mass in this fashion, Mullen said the children learn ‘that they, too, are important; they learn that all of us come to Mass to thank God, from whom we have received so much; they learn to more easily connect their weekday life with the hour they spend in church on the weekend; and they learn the traditional, time-honored habit of supporting their church with their monetary support.?
In addition to the monetary offerings, Mullen said some of the ‘childlike expressions of doing good unto others are precious ? and priceless.?