Parish connections rediscovered

When checking into various document in preparation for applying to the diaconate program, I discovered that I was baptized at St. Margaret's Church in Brockton, Massachusetts.

I hadn't known that. But it's not surprising. My mother had only moved over to the U.S. from Scotland a year or so before to marry my father (he was in the Navy, and they met when his ship anchored near Greenock Scotland, where she lived).

St. Margaret is the patron saint of Scotland. I imagine she picked the church because of the name. A Scottish connection.

We later moved from Brockton to Geneva, N.Y., where we joined St. Stephen's Church. I attended the parish school, was an altar boy at the church, and was confirmed there.

St. Stephen - one of the first deacons, and the first Christian martyr (unless you count the Holy Innocents). I'd forgotten the connection between my hometown parish and my diaconal dreams.

It may not mean much in the scheme of things, but I enjoy discovering or realizing such connections.