Dear Friends:
The merger of both St. Agnes and St. Mary’s into Precious Blood Parish necessitated the development of a logo for the new parish, a “brand” as it were. With that in mind, on my return from the meeting of priests that gathered on May 3 when the Archbishop announced the new pastoral plan, I took to the internet to seek possible options for a logo. Some of the options I came upon were not in keeping with what I thought the new parish name focused on, namely the Blood of Christ which saves us from sin and everlasting death, the Blood of Christ in which we share at every celebration of the Eucharist.
Thus, our logo focuses on the cup filled with wine, with grapes lying around the cup, reminding us of the words of St. Paul that are found in his First Letter to the Corinthians, namely, “The cup of blessing that we bless, it is not a participation in the blood of Christ?” (cf. 1 Cor 10:16). Wine is called the “fruit of the vine,” the result of the crushing of many grapes so that their fermented juice might become the wine which is blessed and then consecrated, thus transformed into the very Blood of Christ himself. In the background of the logo is an ancient symbol for Christ, the combination of two Greek letters, chi and rho, which look like a “P” overcrossed by an “X”. These two Greek letters together spell “CHR” which, of course, are the first three letters of “Christ” which means “anointed one,” translated in Hebrew as “Messiah.” Thus, looking at the new logo, we can see it is a clear symbol which proclaims the “Blood of Christ,” blood precious beyond all price, and as the Votive Mass of the Precious Blood proclaims, it is the precious Blood of Christ on which all salvation depends.
This new parish logo appears prominently on our new bulletin, on the new parish website, and it will appear on the parish stationery and the new parish checks which will be printed once the parish corporation is legally established. A friendly reminder: if you make contributions by check, please continue to make them out to either “St. Mary’s Church” or “St. Agnes’ Church” until further notice.
It is also important to note that, by decree of the Archbishop, all parish records, including sacramental records, Mass books, and the like, are to be located at St. Mary Rectory on Gulf Street. Thus, if you need sacramental records, you will need to call or go there. If you wish to schedule a Mass, when you call or visit the office, please indicate the church in
which you would like the Mass to be celebrated. All calls for funerals, weddings and pastoral care, including sick calls, should likewise be directed to the residence on Gulf Street. For your reference, the number is (203) 878-3571.
Have a good week!
