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What can we as a Parish Community do to welcome people back to our church community?
First and foremost, we can make them feel welcome. Our Mission Statement says:
We are a community that lives the values of Jesus Christ in a prayerful, welcoming, and nurturing environment.
Welcoming is not only the job of the Parish Staff or Hospitality Ministers but Welcoming is all our ministry.
Below are a few letters written about our community. The first is from one of our greeters.
After Mass today I had a woman ask me if I was part of the ministry at the church. It took me by surprise but today was the first time I was a greeter. She asked if I would relay her message. Her name was Alice and she was visiting from Pittsburgh. She said she escaped to Erie to get away from her children because she didn't want them honoring her for Mother's Day. She wanted me to tell someone that the Mass was the most warm, loving, moving Mass she has every been to. She lost her faith a few years ago and today has renewed her faith. She said it was time she make amends with her children.
Many of you know Helen Black, especially if you go to 11:00 Mass.
Helen really misses her church community. Homebound now she is sad that she can’t come to church to get her regular dose of love and care. She said, “When you walk into Our Lady of Mercy, you can feel the warmth. It is as if you can feel the arms of God physically embracing you.”
Our next letter wasn’t addressed to us, but was a reflection from a Pastor.
As we gear up for fall, (or we could say Catholics Come Home) let's take a minute to make sure we're really
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ready for newcomers, and for those returning to church. “When I think of how churches welcome and don't welcome people, I remember this story of when I was visiting a church. The sign at the front of the church said, “All Are Welcome." And the official greeters at the door greeted me. I found my way to the sanctuary and sat down. All around me conversations were going on, and although I smiled and tried to make eye contact, no one said anything to me at all. After the service, as I was slowly walking toward the back of the church, I was pushed or bumped into (hard enough that I had to take a step left or right to stop myself from falling into a pew) FIVE times. No one actually said hello to me, or even noticed I was there. But I was pushed aside physically so people could get past me to see their friends. The pastor greeted me at the door as I left, but well, that's what pastors do. I had not been welcomed by the congregation, and that's what counted.”
So we ask:
HOW WILL PEOPLE FEEL…
•AFTER THEY LEAVE MASS TODAY?
•AFTER THEY’VE MET ME TODAY?”
Will they feel like we care that they have come? Do we greet others we have seen but don't really know, or those we KNOW we haven't seen before? Do we make a special effort to greet those we haven't seen in a while. Or do we focus only on our friends?
Do we have an attitude that is welcoming? Do we care for each other and about each other? Is it a place you want to tell others about? Is this a place “where everyone Knows your name”?
Do we set an example of being a Worshipping Community? Do we pay attention, look interested? Do we participate? Do we respond? Do we sing?
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We never feel more welcome than when someone calls us by name.
How do we meet someone in the parish and learn their name? Sometimes it’s embarrassing like when we recognize people and can’t remember their name. Or when we ask if people are new and find out that this person has been coming to the parish for 20 years. Sometimes they just go to a different Mass. Or when they know my name and I don’t know theirs.
Here is a thought...suppose during Lent as we begin each Mass, when we greet one another we say, Good morning, I’m Bob Jones. At first this may seem awkward but if everyone introduces themselves it won’t seem so awkward.
If you sit next to the same people every week at Mass and don’t know their names then it is safe to say they don’t know yours either. This is the time to learn each other’s names.
It takes time to remember names, you need to speak other’s names more then once. You can use their names again at the sign of peace.
So let’s do it throughout Lent at least.
Finally, 75% of all new and returning church members are the result of invitations by friends.
It is so important that each and every parishioner invites their family and friends to come home.
In this bulletin is a brochure that is meant to help us invite others into a deeper relationship with God. Give it to someone you know who is searching or might be separated from the community.
Think About It!
Invite someone home to God.
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