Spring Is In The Air

I can't believe it's been so long since my last confession. Where has the time gone? I've been very busy with out of town stuff and haven't been around. Union City, I'm back!

I'm excited to know how Mayor Stack's campaigning is going. I haven't been to Union City First in a month, but will be back on Monday. I've had a few messages from campaign headquarters, and two from Brian Stack. I'm impressed with the diligence and follow up of volunteers.

Spring is finally in the air, despite a back yard full of snow. I see some new buds on the aster bush, and some new growth on my plant out front. I'm feeling a bit motivated for a fresh start today, and will start with mass at St. Joseph and Michael parish. Jay and I went for a walk down Central Ave yesterday, and did a bit of church shopping along the way. We used to go to St. Nicholas in Jersey City, but we haven't found a regular church in UC yet. Ok, so the reality is that we haven't really looked - we attended mass at Holy Family a few times, but for some reason, I didn't love it. Maybe the lack of singing? United churches have the choirs down pat, but my Catholic family seems to pay less attention to the music which is the part I really love.

In any case, we poked our heads into St. Joseph and Michael at 13th and Central, and it's such a beautiful church . A grotto! A baptismal font sunken into the floor! There was a nice old guy waiting for confession, and he told me a bit about the church. It used to be German, as is evidenced by the stained glass and interior. Of course now it's predominently Spanish, but we'll stick with the English mass. I may join the league of Maria. It would be fun to be in a group of all Maria's, no? Joke. My mother would have been horrified at the ripped lace in a tablecloth. If it's a good fit and we start going regularly, I'll have to offer to mend that, it would drive me nuts to look at that every time I went to church. It would be like a loose tooth that you can't stop poking with your tongue.

We also took a quick look at St. Anthony's which is a bit further south. Also a gorgeous church and also looks like it has a German (more Bavarian) interior. Less vaulted ceilings and more beamy. I think St. Anthony's is where our neighbor Agathe goes. Maybe we'll run into her on the walk down.

We saw another interesting church, but I'm not sure it's operational. Our Lady of Lourdes, a Syrian church. I'll have to investigate a bit more and see if it's still open. If it is, they could use some help with yard tending.