Baptismal Aftercare program gifts newly baptized with religious items

POMPTON LAKES  In October, Dylan Francis Lysaght, six months old, received a cute blue hand-crocheted cap to wear in the cold weather. He also got a cross and set of rosaries they are displayed around his crib and new religious picture book that sits in his library ready for when his parents, Jeff Lysaght and Kristen Magrath, read to him.

These baby items hold a special place in the hearts of the couple that the casual visitor to their home in Ringwood would miss. While most of them bear religious significance, they also remind the family of the love and welcome that they feel from their tight-knit home parish, St. Mary’s, here, run by Franciscan priests of the Holy Name Provi­dence. They are among the 10 to 15 families a month who receive a gift package filled with handpicked — and some hand-made — items, after the baptism of their child at St. Mary’s, courtesy of its long-time Baptismal Aftercare ministry. Francis­can Father John Aherne, parochial vicar, gave the Lysaghts their gift package in the sacristy of the church on Oct. 16, after he baptized Dylan Francis.

“It was a pleasant surprise. We were blown away that people at St. Mary’s took the time for someone they do not even know. The cap is hand-crocheted. That took a lot of effort,” said Jeff Lysaght, who works in tech for a startup financial firm, while Kristen is an executive assistant for a financial firm. As a family, they moved to the area recently. “We are super-appreciative,” said Jeff, who worshipped at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Wayne, as a young person.

The priests and deacons present families with a gift package — a gift bag with brightly colored tissue paper and ribbon. Inside is an assortment of items, such as prayer cards, a rosary, a Miraculous Medal, a photo frame, and a blanket or hat, crocheted with great love by St. Mary’s Hearts and Hands Ministry. It also contains a booklet that lists information about the parish’s ministries, said Jill Timony, a married mother of three grown children in their 20s, who helps coordinate Baptismal Aftercare.

The gift packages contain items that are purchased by Baptismal Aftercare or donated by parishioners. Once a month, the women in the ministry get together one afternoon in a conference room of the former St. Mary School. They take out and organize items for 10 to 15 packages, dividing the colors between blue for boys and pink for girls. The items are geared for infants as well as toddlers in the parish, who are baptized later in their young lives, Timony said.

“We love to get together for fellowship and for the love of doing something for someone else. We are elated to give this little gift to these families, as they start their faith journey with their newly baptized child and become a part of shaping their lives,” said Timony, who joined Baptismal After­care after it had been running already for several years.

Each month, Hearts and Hands donates several hand-crocheted blankets and hats. Its members pick out the patterns that they like, which might have such cute designs as butterflies, hearts, or caterpillars on them. They use yarn of varied textures and colors — blue, pink, and other colors — that they donate or other parishioners have donated. Members make the blankets in two sizes for both infants and toddlers. They get together to work on the projects at St. Mary’s, but since COVID-19, many of them work at home, Timony said.

Hearts and Hands makes six to 20 blankets a month for Baptismal Aftercare and for other outreaches, including to Straight and Narrow, the substance-abuse-recovery program in Paterson operated by diocesan Catholic Charities. Mary Lenior, coordinator of Hearts and Hands, called making the blankets and hats for other people “a nice feeling. It’s relaxing and rewarding.”

Among St. Mary’s clergy, who hand out the gift packages, is Franciscan Father Frank Critch, pastor, who told The Beacon that they “help keep these families connected to the parish.

“It’s a tough time for young families, who often feel disconnected from their families. The gift packages let them know that their parish family is here for them. We are there to support these families and their children. They appreciate it and say, ‘Thank you,’ ” said Father Critch, who noted that Baptismal Aftercare would be part of a revamping of St. Mary’s Baptismal Ministry in the near future.

On a recent afternoon, Karen Niemann, co-coordinator of Baptismal Aftercare with Timony, helped lead putting together the gift packages — an effort that she admits could take an hour or a little longer “depending if we’re chatting a lot.” Before COVID-19, ministry members would drive to family’s houses to drop off the gift packages if they lived close by. Today, they are given out after the baptisms, which ensures that every family, regardless of proximity to St. Mary’s, receives one. St. Mary’s conducts baptisms privately in church or prayer room or during fully attended Masses, Niemann said.

“When we are working on the gift packages, we talk about our families and our children through the years. We think of when they were little,” said Niemann, a married mother of three grown children and a son-in-law, who had the pleasure of assembling a gift package for a great-nephew. “People are thankful for the gift packages. It’s a nice way for us to recognize and share our love with families and their baptized children and say, ‘Welcome to St. Mary’s.’ It’s a part of the Franciscan spirit of the parish,” she said.