FAQ’s2024-03-27T12:41:28+00:00

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Come find an answer!

Please drop by or call the Parish Office at (864) 654-1757. You can also go online, fill-out the form, and place it in the offertory basket at any Mass.

The Sacrament of Baptism is the first of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist). In Baptism, God cleanses a person from all sin and welcomes that person into the Church, the community of Christ’s disciples, so that, through active participation in the life of the Church, the baptized comes to experience the fullness of God’s grace and love.

Baptism of adults comes at the conclusion of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Baptism of children 7 or older comes at the conclusion of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults adapted for Children. Baptism of infants comes when parents and godparents, themselves active and participating members of a parish, ask for the sacrament on behalf of their child.

In order that the child’s baptism can be celebrated in a manner worthy of what God does in this sacrament, the parish has established the following guidelines that we ask you to review.

  1. Parents are the most important people taking part in the baptism rite. It is their “yes” that makes it possible for the sacrament to be conferred and for the child to begin life as a member of Christ’s church. Since a child can only know what being a member of the church is all about by imitating his or her parents, parents must give indication that they can offer this example to their child. This is usually done by being registered members of a parish. Parents can register as members of our parish by visiting the parish office during office hours, or by completing a registration (available in the church vestibule) and placing it in the Sunday Offertory basket.
  2. Parental preparation for baptism of their children usually involves a home visit by the pastor or deacon.
  3. Because baptism is the sacrament of bringing a person into the life of the church, a family of faith centered on the Eucharist, all baptisms are normally celebrated at a Sunday Mass (or Saturday Vigil). Parents may choose any Mass on those weekends.
  4. Godparents are important. Together with the parents, they are people whom the child can look to in order to learn how it is that he or she ought to live as a Christian. Godparents must be fully initiated Catholics (i.e., they are baptized, confirmed and have received Communion) no younger than sixteen who are members of a parish. (The child is to have only one male or one female sponsor or one of each sex.) If a child’s prospective godparents are not members of Saint Andrew Parish, they need to provide us with a letter of recommendation from their pastor. To avoid the necessity of re-scheduling the baptism, this letter should arrive in the parish office two weeks before the baptism. A baptized person of a different Christian tradition may serve as a ‘witness’ along with a Catholic godparent.
For children, pre-K through and including grade 5, please call Laura Witt, Coordinator of Religious Education at (864)-643-2587. For those in grade 6-grade 12, please call the parish Youth Minister – Christopher Kerfoot – at (864)-643-2583.

Children are prepared for First Reconciliation and First Communion are usually celebrated as the child completes grade 2. At least one year of faith formation is required before a child begins the year of preparation for first Confession and Communion.

Our teens are confirmed at the end of grade 9 after a two-year preparation program. Adults who were never confirmed should speak with Fr. Dan.

Congratulations on your engagement! The parish is excited for you and looks forward to helping you prepare for your wedding day and, most importantly, for a long and happy life together.

Preparing for your marriage is a six-month process, so please keep that in mind when you contact one of the friars to set a date and begin the preparation. Your first meeting with one of the friars begins the six-month preparation. Please keep in mind that we are unable to set a date for the wedding until after the couple has met with a friar.

Because marriage in the Catholic Church is a sacrament, it is a community as well as a personal celebration. Catholics should be married in their parish church or receive their pastor’s permission to be married elsewhere.

If you are not formally a member of any parish, we’ll look forward to helping you commit to sharing in the life of Saint Andrew Parish during your marriage preparation.

Here’s what you need to do to get started:

  1. Make an appointment to meet with Fr. Dan. At your first meeting, we will fill out the initial paperwork required by the Catholic Church for a marriage. We’ll check to see what documents are necessary for you being securing. If your wedding ceremony is to be celebrated at Saint Andrew, we’ll book the church and/or Chapel and briefly talk about what’s to be expected in the celebration. We’ll also book a time for a rehearsal, usually the evening before the ceremony.
  2. Couples marrying at Saint Andrew are welcome to have a priest or deacon friend or relative officiate. If the officiant works outside the Diocese of Charleston, he’ll need to provide Saint Andrew with a “letter of good standing” from his bishop.
  3. If your wedding is to be celebrated at Saint Andrew, Contact our music minister, Jamie Dean and set a time to plan the music for your wedding liturgy. The stipend for the music minister is $200.
  4. After this initial meeting, we will meet again so that you can take the marriage preparation inventory known as FOCCUS (Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding, & Study). FOCCUS is a series of about 160 questions that have to do with issues related to married life. After you complete the FOCCUS, you’ll meet with one of several couples in the parish equipped to help you discuss what you’ve said in the FOCCUS about your relationship. This “meeting” is usually a conversation over dinner at the couple’s home.
  5. When you take the FOCCUS we’ll give you information to sign-up for an Engaged Encounter Weekend. From a Friday evening through an early Sunday afternoon, you’ll join with other engaged couples for several presentations about marriage as a Sacrament of the Church and what that means for the rest of your life together.
  6. No later than 1 month before your wedding date, set a time to meet with the friar to go over final details of the wedding. Also make sure to obtain your marriage license and bring it to the wedding rehearsal.

Please let Parish Office or Fr. Dan know when someone is seriously ill or has been admitted to the hospital. Those who are homebound should ask for one of the Minsters of Communion to bring them Holy Communion. When someone is in danger of death, no matter the day or time, call Fr. Dan at (919) 699-6323.

The New Testament letter of James invites the sick to call for the priest that through the laying on of hands and the anointing with oil the sick person might receive the consolation of God’s healing and the forgiveness of sin.

Persons who are seriously ill or scheduled for serious medical procedures should receive the sacrament. This can be celebrated at any of the daily Masses or the priests are glad to come to your home.

Persons already hospitalized should ask the hospital pastoral care staff to contact one of the priests of the parish.

The Sacrament of the Sick can be received as often as one’s physical or mental condition warrants.

If a family member is seriously ill and doctors have indicated that their time is short, please call Fr. Dan as soon as possible. If at all possible, the Sacrament of the Sick should be celebrated with family and friends present.

When death occurs, please call Fr. Dan and then call the funeral home you choose to assist you.

The funeral director will discuss matters with you. When you determine a date for the funeral services the director will call Saint Andrew and schedule the service. Fr. Dan will then meet with the family to plan the readings and music.