#52 Ancestors 2024 Week 13 Worship: Our Lady of the Fields

In 1957, my family moved from Baltimore to a farmhouse in Millersville, Anne Arundel County MD, within sight of the local Catholic Church, Our Lady of the Fields.  At the time, Our Lady of the Fields was just on the verge on becoming a parish in its own right instead of a mission church of St. Mary's in Annapolis.  There was a tiny sandstone chapel on the property (since torn down) that seated about 50 people, and a brand-new church building was just being completed. Appropriately, the church was (and still is) surrounded by fields, and a large herd of Hereford cattle grazed contentedly nearby. 

The first pastor of the new parish, the genial and voluble Fr. Francis Lynn, who served the parish for 23 years, was famous (or infamous) for the speed at which he could complete the celebration of the Mass; 30 minutes was not unusual, compared to the 50 or 60 minutes of other priests; 20 minutes was possible on weekdays. His Masses were very popular.  At the early 7 AM Mass, my father or some other man in the congregation would often step up as the altar server; they had all been altar boys in their youth. 

Of course, this was back in the day when the Masses were still in Latin and the priest faced away from the congregation.  Everyone brought their own missal or prayer book to follow along with the liturgy while the priest did his thing up front. 

My brothers were baptized and made First Communions at Our Lady of the Fields.  

My sisters and I were married there.

My children, my granddaughter, and dozens of my nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews were baptized there. 

My parents and my twin sisters who died in infancy are buried in the cemetery next to the church. I have a plot reserved for me there as well. 

Over the years, my family took many roles in the parish. My mother was the choir director for a time, so, of course we sang in the choir. My brothers were altar servers (girls not being allowed at the time!) My father served on one of the early Parish Councils.  My mother led a rosary group and many charitable outreach efforts. We taught Sunday School classes and served at pancake breakfasts. We walked in the May Procession and attended Midnight Mass at Christmas. I can remember when my brother and his twelve children took up an entire pew on Sunday morning. Until her death a few years ago at age 95, my mother had her reserved seat in the front pew, where she sat for Mass every day. (My spot is over in the quiet obscurity of the side aisle.)

After many years living out-of-state, I moved back to Maryland after my retirement and rejoined my childhood parish, which has grown to more than 2600 families including my sisters and me and some of our nieces and nephews who still live in the area. For me, there is a comfortable family feeling attending the services next to people I love.  

Several years ago, the parish decided to add a baptismal area to the church and wanted to commission a statue of John the Baptist to adorn this space. 

My family decided to donate this statue to the parish in honor of our parents.  We figured that, given my parents' six children, 30 grandchildren, and 40+ great-grandchildren, our family had probably had more baptisms performed at Our Lady of the Fields than anyone else.  So, a baptismal memorial seemed very appropriate. 

I smile every Sunday when I came into the church and see that memorial.  It brings back many memories of my experiences with Our Lady of the Fields and the efforts my parents made to support their family's growth in faith. I know they would smile to see their great-grandchildren as the altar servers.