It is not an unusual thing for any of us who pass by something regularly to ignore or not fully appreciate what is before our eyes. That may in fact be the case for some or many of you when it comes to the Narthex at Sacred Heart Church. If I were to ask you to name everything that is on the walls of our Narthex OR at least the largest item on the walls, I would hope you would say our "Remembrance Tree." Admittedly, I do not know how long it has been there, but I can tell you that the funds collected go into our parish "memorial fund" which is used to purchase needed liturgical items for our church. The tree has names of both living and deceased parishioners. Some do it in honor of someone or in celebration of a special marriage anniversary. Some have a leaf engraved in loving memory of a deceased parishioner. We ask for a donation of at least $50.00 for a leaf. Requests go to Sheila our bookkeeper, who finds out what wording is requested and then sends that information and a blank leaf back to the company that we bought the tree from. Once we receive the engraved leaf back from the company, it is placed on the tree where it will remain as a remembrance of that person or persons. Something new for you to consider is that the First Saturday, 9:00 a.m. Mass, will now be offered each month for those living and deceased whose names are on the tree. There are envelopes for the purpose of obtaining an engraved leaf for our Remembrance Tree in a designated spot in one of the slots on the credenza leading from the Narthex to the Education/Administration wing of our parish building. The next time you are in the Narthex, stop by and look at the names of parishioners you know (or knew) and say a little prayer for them. This parish was started and sustained by many wonderful people and I am glad we have a way of keeping their names and memories present for anyone and everyone who come into our Narthex to see!!