Living Stones

Making a list, and checking it twice by Ken Perry

It's Christmastime!  The time when parishes all across the Diocese of Trenton will welcome a much larger number of people than on a normal given Sunday.

Parishes, including my own, have been preparing to host these additional visitors for some time - from those traveling from far away to those visitors (Catholics and others) who may not be with us on a regular basis. 

How has your parish made preparations outside of adding additional Masses (in and of itself no small feat)?  The guide below is an awesome resource for those parishes looking to really make a difference this Christmas, at other big celebrations (see Ash Wed., Easter, weddings, funerals, etc.) and for that matter every Sunday. We have an awesome responsibility, and opportunity, to reach out to those visitors with the love of Christ! 

This handy guide is not only a great way to begin to provide an awesome welcome to visitors, but a helpful guide so we can begin to track how we do hospitality over time.  This in turn enables us to identify areas where we are providing excellent hospitality and those areas where we need to improve.  Have an awesome way you are reaching out to visitors to your parish?  Let us know!

Download the Reaching and Keeping Visitors Checklists

Does One Size Fit All? by Terry Ginther

The newsletter of the Parish Evaluation Project this month featured some of the insights of John Roberto describing the need for different approaches to four broad segments of a Catholic congregation:

• Active Parishioners - "come to church regularly and practice their faith in the world"; volunteers and financially supports parish ministry
• Participating but Uncommitted - come to church but not involved or interested in other parish activities
• Spiritual but not Religious - "high on the hunger for God scale, but just don't come to church"
• Unaffiliated and Uninterested - "plugged into their active and demanding world, leaving little room for reflection and spiritual growth." 

It's worth taking a look at this free monthly newsletter and discussing it with your Parish Staff, Pastoral Council or other parish ministry group (http://www.pepparish.org/newsletter/).

It seems to me that Jesus was adept at knowing his audiences, their needs, and the things that concerned or motivated them.  He met people in the midst of their lives and touched upon their deepest desires.  Jesus taught and prayed with people; but he also healed, forgave, gathered and ate with people too.

In the earliest days of the Church, the disciples of Christ were inspired to place the "Good News" in context so it would have maximum meaning in the lives of those who heard it.  Each of the four Gospels addresses a particular group--Jews or Gentiles, those living in Jerusalem or elsewhere in the Roman Empire--that they might come to believe in the Christ.  If one Gospel was not sufficient, can one approach be enough?  

When you think about how your parish invites and involves, does your parish take a "one size fits all" approach?  How do you, or how could you, use different approaches to purposefully engage each of the different groups? 

 

Not Your Father's Oldsmobile: A new approach to faith formation by Ken Perry

This week's Trenton Monitor has a great article highlighting a new approach to religious education at Resurrection Parish, Delran, NJ.  Resurrection Parish is a merged parish formed from St. Casimir Parish in Riverside and Holy Name Parish in Delran.

Fr. David Stachurski, OFM, Conv., Pastor and Pat Brooks, Religious Education Coordinator spearheaded an alternative approach to the classroom model of religious education that brings together families for faith formation.  It is broader in its scope and offers opportunities for faith formation for people of all ages-- and is already bearing much fruit in their parish community.

It’s a great example of searching out new approaches to bring the Gospel to families.  Enjoy!

'A Family Affair': Parish offers faith formation for all ages

 

Raising the Bar - Part I: Mission by Ken Perry

I came across this gem of a mission statement in well done annual report brought to us by our Evangelical brethren at Granger Community Church.  The report comes under the direction of Kem Meyer, wife, mother, author, conference speaker and communications director. 

There are a lot of good things, best practices in fact, to unpack and apply to our work in parish pastoral planning and communications that I'll be back on this one to revisit some other aspects of the report (check here for the full report).

The first thing one notices is its visual design, its accessible and easy to read layout.  Goals are laid out in concrete terms underneath each category.  These Initiatives are spelled out in clear and concise terms.  Be placing it with the annual report, it places into context financial reporting, giving, worship, outreach, etc.  

The next thing I appreciated about the mission statement is that it sets expectations for its members and visitors.  There is a vision and plan in place.  People have a clear and concrete understanding of where the church is heading and where its priorities lay.  In turn, people can better understand what is expected of them (in general terms) as disciples of Christ at Granger -- which is a key factor in creating an engaged and committed church community.

Both the content and visual design work together to create a real sense of excitement and purpose to the community.  They are challenging themselves and their membership to put off the status quo and begin in a new way to live radically for Jesus Christ - to BE the church.  The emphasis is not only on personal renewal, but to equip the church to become people who equip others to live as disciples as well.

How does this challenge translate to our Catholic Parishes?  Where is God challenging us as pastors and parish staff/ministers?  In what ways are we called to challenge others?  How can we better articulate and promote our missions to engage parishioners more fully to spread the Gospel of Christ!  God deserves nothing less than out best.  Let's go out and raise the bar!

 

Friends don’t invite friends to church by Ken Perry

Wait. What?

Friends don’t invite friends to church.

There, I said it again.  And I believe, that for the majority of Catholics, it’s true.

"People aren’t ashamed of Christ.  People are ashamed of your church." (Ouch!)  I came across this powerful idea while reading Church Marketing 101: Preparing Your Church for Greater Growth by Richard L Reising.

It’s not that the folks in your parish don’t want other people to come to church.  It’s not that they don’t want them to become Catholic and share in a place at the Eucharistic table.  It’s just that the cost of inviting someone to church may just be too high.

When people step out of their comfort zone and invite their friend to church, it had better be a home run.  Why?  Because if it’s not, it reflects directly on THEM -they are putting their own reputation on the line.  They could be concerned about the music, or the homilies, or lack of welcome when you walk in.  It could be many things.  But they don’t invite other people to church because it’s intimidating—and the harder it is for someone to invite someone else, the less people will be invited.  And the less people will be willing to come.  Plain and simple.

Reising identifies six challenges (and therefore areas of opportunity) associated with inviting a friend to church.

1.     Will my friend feel welcomed?

Hospitality -- The atmosphere, nomenclature, and style of service should be inviting and not intimidating to the unchurched.

2.      Will my friend fit in?

Comfort and Compatibility -- Like it or not, invitations and visitor comfort decrease when cultural gaps exist

3.     Can I feel confident that I know how the service will turn out?

Consistency --  people need to know what to expect, because they will invite accordingly

4.     Will my friend get something out of it?

Revelance -- The message should be relevant and powerful for people at all spiritual levels

5.     Will my friend understand it?

Understanding -- Jesus taught through practical illustrations. The songs and message should be understandable for people at all spiritual levels.

6.     Will anything that could seem strange to the unchurched be explained through Scripture?          

Sensitivity--Scriptural actions should be carried out with clarity and considerate explanation

The more intentional we can be in these areas in our Pastoral Planning, the more we can make it easier for people to invite others to church.  The more we can be intentional about connecting the Gospel of Christ in relevant and meaningful ways with the lives of parishioners, the more growth we will see in our churches, and the more lives we will see transformed and renewed for the Glory of God.