SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE PARISH

ANNE PARISH 

Please keep in mind, in these extraordinary times, that although we cannot all attend Mass, the Church’s financial obligations remain. We ask that you continue to support the Church as you are able and look to the time when we can all gather together again in faith. Some options:

• Mail or deliver offertory envelopes & Parish Share pledges to the church office (or secure mailbox).
• Set up the parish as an automatic bill payee through your online banking.
• Donate through Online Giving.  Click on the ONLINE GIVING tab on the bar at the top of the webpage, and complete the online form.  Thank you!

Saints Joachim and Anne, July 26, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We are witnessing the presence of God in our lives through faith and perseverance under the guidance of the Virgin Mary.

     The names of the parents of Mary are known from the apocryphal Proto-Gospel of James (2nd century).  The cult to Saint Anne is documented in the East in the 6th century, in the West in the 10th century; that of Saint Joachim in the 14th century.  In the Byzantine rite the 25th of July reminds us of the dedication in Constantinople of a Basilica in honor of Saint Anne.
     In the Scriptures, Matthew and Luke furnish a legal family history of Jesus, tracing ancestry to show that Jesus is the culmination of great promises.  Not only is his mother's family neglected, we also know nothing factual about them except that they existed.  Even the names Joachim and Anne come from a legendary source written more than a century after Jesus died.
     The heroism and holiness of these people, however, is inferred from the whole family atmosphere around Mary in the Scriptures.  Whether we rely on the legends about Mary's childhood or make guesses from the information in the Bible, we see in her a fulfillment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.
     Joachim and Anne--whether these are their real names or not--represent that entire quiet series of generations who faithfully perform their duties, practice their faith and establish an atmosphere for the coming of the Messiah, but remain obscure.
     According to tradition, Saint Anne was born in Bethlehem, and married Joachim of Nazareth, both descendants of David.  Together with her husband, Anne raised Mary to be a paragon of virtue and entrusted her to the temple as a child.  It appears that she died at an advanced age.  The same tradition tells of Joachim, a wealthy livestock owner whose marriage to Anne did not produce offspring until late.  This was regarded as a lack of heavenly blessing, resulting in Joachim's sacrifice being refused at the temple.  Remembering the son granted to Abraham late in life, Joachim resolved to go into the desert and fast for forty days.  An angel appeared and told him of the birth of his daughter, and he went to meet his wife at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem.

The Reporting Process

• Everyone is a permissive reporter and is encouraged to make a report of suspected child abuse. Reporters of suspected child abuse fall into two categories. 
• Mandated reporters are those adults who come into direct contact with children in the course of their employment or volunteer of a regularly scheduled program or activity, who accepts responsibility for a child.
• The trigger to report is a reasonable suspicion that a child is being abused.  Permissive reporters may report anonymously; mandated reporters may not.

• Reports of suspected child abuse are to be made immediately.
• If the child is in imminent danger, call 911
• Reports may be made orally by phone or electronically
  • Oral reports are made to ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313 which is available 24/7
  • Electronic reports are made via CWIS Self-Service portal at www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis
• Inform the supervisor or person in charge of your program that a report was made

To report church-related abuse to the Diocese of Pittsburgh call: 
1-888-808-1235

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