Letter from the Pastor: New Parish Verification Procedures for Catholic Schools

October 30, 2026

Dear OLA Families,

As a Catholic school graduate myself, I am encouraged to see how many of you are choosing to send your children to OLA School or another Catholic school in our archdiocese. Catholic schools are one of the best opportunities we have for handing on our faith to the next generation.

As you know, the application process for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Atlanta includes completing a parish verification form, which is meant to confirm a family’s practice of the faith. This year I am happy to introduce a revised Parish Verification Form and a simpler process grounded in trust and shared responsibility.

I have heard from families who found the previous process burdensome and felt judged by it. My hope is that this new approach will strengthen a trusting and supportive relationship between your family and our parish.

The three criteria for active parishioner status remain: faithful participation in Sunday Mass, living the faith in the home, parish and community, and financial support of the parish according to your means. The revised form asks you to describe your family’s practice of the faith and attest honestly to your responses.

You will no longer need to place envelopes in the Sunday collection basket as proof of Mass attendance, and we will no longer tally ministry participation hours. Parish involvement remains valuable, of course, but will be considered alongside how you are living the faith beyond the parish, such as praying together as a family, using Christian/Catholic media to nurture your faith, serving your neighbors, and the many other ways we follow Christ in daily life.

I believe this approach better reflects our new pastoral framework, which calls us to form lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ through evangelization, worship and works of charity, and so become the saints God made us to be. Together as one community—parish and school—we strive to fulfill this sacred mission.

I invite you to approach this new process as an opportunity for honest eflection and renewed commitment. Every family has circumstances and challenges. Wherever you are in your journey, I hope this becomes an encouragement to make Christ more central to your family’s life, with our parish walking alongside you.

Please see below for the form, deadlines and instructions. If you have questions, please contact my secretary, Karen Kotara, at kkotara@olachurch.org.

Thank you for the trust you place in our Catholic schools and for your family’s place in the life of our parish.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Daniel Ketter, JCLPastor