Does Your Parish Have a Coffee Hour After Mass?

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Mine doesn’t, but it sounds like SUCH a good idea! Maybe I’ll try to get one started…
 
Ours does, every few months. And other things for other feasts during the year. But the tea/coffee cookie social after mass, was one thing that stuck in my little girls mind when we first returned last year. For a while after, she always wanted to go downstairs for a cookie 😛

It’s usually put off by the men’s group at the church.
 
It’s not a coffee** hour**, but we have coffee and some kind of treat (donuts, coffee cake, etc) after every Sunday Mass. I almost always stay. It helps that our church and hall are attached so that everyone has to walk through the hall when they leave Mass. Not only is is a great time for fellowship, it’s when we get to play with the new babies, welcome guests and check up on all the elder folks. I love my tiny parish. 🙂
 
Corki said:
It’s not a coffee** hour**, but we have coffee and some kind of treat (donuts, coffee cake, etc) after every Sunday Mass. I almost always stay. It helps that our church and hall are attached so that everyone has to walk through the hall when they leave Mass. Not only is is a great time for fellowship, it’s when we get to play with the new babies, welcome guests and check up on all the elder folks. I love my tiny parish. 🙂
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I sometimes find myself wishing for a tiny parish (certainly not that I want all of these people to leave, but you know what I mean) and getting a tad nostalgic for my old evangelical church, which was about 200 families, where you know almost everyone and they know you. My parish is large-I expect us to hit 5,000 families this summer or so-but I feel that they do a great job at fellowship and making the best of such a large parish. We have the monthly coffee hour, Bible studies, groups for all ages and interests, perpetual adoration, pretty much anything. There is really something for anyone and everyone!
 
We have bagel breakfast once a month and i’m love it when that happens just a little donation and bam donuts and bagels to go around. No that you mention it a coffee thing would be nice after church i’m in my youth group i ought to mention it. very cool oll and thanx for the new idea.
 
Dot and I go to 6.30pm Mass every Sunday and yes, we DO have tea/coffee and cakes afterwards. Dot, herself, bakes cupcakes, muffins etc at no cost to the Church and I run the kitchen. We sell coffee and cake for £1 ($1.50). We buy the milk and paper plates etc ourselves and ALL money raised goes to the Church.
There are quite a few elderly people who come to the evening service and to some it is their only socialization of the week. Some - who used to go to a different Mass - now come to ours purely because they enjoy the tea/cakes afterwards. Many others find it a time to catch up with their friends from the Church who they may not see at any other time. Even our (now-shared) parish priest comes down, has a cake (just the one) and talks and mixes with us.
I can thorougly recommend it.
 
The Knights of Columbus (that includes me) sponsor a donut sale on Sunday mornings. All proceeds go to benefit vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

We regularly support our seminarians with a stipend. The diocese assigns a seminarian to assist in our parish during the summer break. The seminarians do things like train altar servers and act as master of ceremonies for liturgical celebrations.

We have had donut sales for several years, and they are a slow but steady source of income. It is run after the 7am Mass until 10am, so if you’re going to the 10:30am Mass, better come early! We have 12:30pm and 5pm Masses with no coverage.

Our community dinners are usually held after the Saturday 4pm Mass. This is when the real fellowship happens. The Knights are also responsible for the majority of these, but there are also special events during the year, such as the upcoming St. Joseph’s Table.
 
Our parish doesn’t but on the first Sunday of the month the Knights of Columbus serve coffee and doughnuts after Mass.

Although they issue a parish invitation, not many people go to it. If I look around I’m usually the only one whose father/son/husband isn’t in the Knights and I go because my best friend’s husband is a Knight and they always go.

I’m not sure why attendance is low but suspect that it’s because they host it in their own building next door, rather than in the meeting rooms behind the church. It was better attended when they set up in the meeting rooms but they didn’t want to keep doing that, arguing that if they were hosting it should be on their own grounds. Guess if you’re paying the piper you get to call the tune – even if it means nobody dances.
 
I wish they had coffee after mass, but, no luck…

welcome back Truelight, it wasnt the same without u…👍
 
My parish not only has coffee and cakes but a whole lot of food! We have what the priest calls cafeteria service after every Sunday mass except the 7:00 pm mass.
You can get breakfast and lunch as well as dessert starting at 8:00 a.m. until about 2 p.m. This of course involves a whole lot of cooking that falls on the parishioners. Each group takes turns covering the cafeteria and we have to start prepping on Saturday to get all the food ready. I love my parish but it does require a lot of work if you are involved in any group between the cafeterias, flea markets and general cleaning we are asked to do.

It is a very poor parish in one of the poorest areas of Miami so that’s why we are asked to do so many activities to help with the finances. All in all it forges a lot of bonds between the parishioners and we have a very vibrant community. The only problem is we are constantly raising money to keep us afloat. I often see many here in need of more fellowship and lacking activities in your parish. I suggest you go to a poorer parish as they usually have more stuff going on and if you are anywhere near Miami come to my parish we need the help lol!
 
stanncie said:
My parish not only has coffee and cakes but a whole lot of food! We have what the priest calls cafeteria service after every Sunday mass except the 7:00 pm mass.
You can get breakfast and lunch as well as dessert starting at 8:00 a.m. until about 2 p.m. This of course involves a whole lot of cooking that falls on the parishioners. Each group takes turns covering the cafeteria and we have to start prepping on Saturday to get all the food ready. I love my parish but it does require a lot of work if you are involved in any group between the cafeterias, flea markets and general cleaning we are asked to do.

It is a very poor parish in one of the poorest areas of Miami so that’s why we are asked to do so many activities to help with the finances. All in all it forges a lot of bonds between the parishioners and we have a very vibrant community. The only problem is we are constantly raising money to keep us afloat. I often see many here in need of more fellowship and lacking activities in your parish. I suggest you go to a poorer parish as they usually have more stuff going on and if you are anywhere near Miami come to my parish we need the help lol!
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I’m curious. Why would poverty have anything to do with it? (I have also noticed this trend that the two very holiest parishes that I’ve seen were also poorer.)
 
Gordon_Sims said:
The fish seems secondary to the alcohol at fish fries around here.
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I didn’t know any parish fish fries served alcohol. I’ve been to two around here, and neither did. Does the parish serve it or is it BYOB?
 
Ours does, but it’s outside. In the winter I don’t want to stand outside in the damp, drizzly fog eating pastries. In the summer it’s frequently close to 100 degrees by 7:30 a.m. and the table’s set up where people have to stand in the sun. Again, no thanks.

Our problem is that our parish hall is a block north of the church.

Luna
 
stanncie said:
My parish not only has coffee and cakes but a whole lot of food! We have what the priest calls cafeteria service after every Sunday mass except the 7:00 pm mass.
You can get breakfast and lunch as well as dessert starting at 8:00 a.m. until about 2 p.m. This of course involves a whole lot of cooking that falls on the parishioners. Each group takes turns covering the cafeteria and we have to start prepping on Saturday to get all the food ready. I love my parish but it does require a lot of work if you are involved in any group between the cafeterias, flea markets and general cleaning we are asked to do.

It is a very poor parish in one of the poorest areas of Miami so that’s why we are asked to do so many activities to help with the finances. All in all it forges a lot of bonds between the parishioners and we have a very vibrant community. The only problem is we are constantly raising money to keep us afloat. I often see many here in need of more fellowship and lacking activities in your parish. I suggest you go to a poorer parish as they usually have more stuff going on and if you are anywhere near Miami come to my parish we need the help lol!
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Wow! Is there a donation jar?

This sounds like the Sunday brunch that my old Protestant church has. There is a four-course meal catered by a restaurant chef. Of course, it’s not free, but they also have a free coffee hour with coffee and sometimes cookies.
 
We use to go to the yearly Church auction and they use to sell beer in the plastic cups.

I didn’t vote as I think its only occasionally.
 
Yes, our local OF parish has a coffee.dessert hour after Sunday Mass and we do the same when we have our EF Mass. Its a great chance for like-minded folks to sit and chat.
 
Not to be a jerk, but what does this have to do with Liturgy or Sacraments?
 
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