Names are a tricky thing. We all appreciate it when someone addresses us by name, but a friendly “Hi, Bob!” isn’t as appreciated when your name is Bill. In a small community where there is a lot of continuity it’s easier to remember names. Add some time and distance to the mix and it gets a bit harder.

This summer many of you may have gone to a family gathering, possibly a wedding, reunion or BBQ. No doubt you noticed a lot of changes - people have aged, kids have grown, some are newly married, others are recently single. A lot of faces you recognize, a few you don’t. But even the people you recognize you can’t always remember their names, even though you’ve probably been told several times. Boy, you may have thought, this would be a lot easier if everyone carried a label.

Things can be much the same at our Holy Family. People change, new families move in, others age or move on. It’s hard to keep up, especially in a large parish like ours. Speaking for myself, I recognize hundreds of faces but I’m terrible with names.  “Come on”, you’re thinking, “I know all of the people that I see every Sunday: There’s the Older Lady with the Cane beside us; the Young Family with Three Kids across the aisle; the Lady from the Bank and Her Family behind us; and the Tall Guy with Sandals in front of us.” OK, maybe labels would be helpful.

So, to make everyone’s lives a bit easier, and to help bring our own Holy Family closer together, we will be having "Meet the Family” Sundays on the second Sunday of the month this fall starting in October. There will be no program or agenda, no reason to panic or stay away. Just slap on a name-tag as you arrive at church and try to take note of your neighbour’s names that morning. Maybe stay for the KC Breakfast afterwards. You might actually put a name to Sandal Guy and Bank Lady. And, over time, we’ll all get to know each other just a little better.