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Guest
In my experience, there are about four kinds of people who grew up Catholic and now are not. There are also people who are still in the Church, but have complained to me about a lack of connection between their life and their faith.
That said, here’s a set of categories that I think describe many of the lapsed, and ideas for outreach…
I have met each of these “types,” which tend to have different reasons or motivations for leaving (or considering leaving) the Church.
(1) Catholics who still attend mass, but who just aren’t getting it or feeling it;
(2) Catholics who don’t attend any religious services, but still self-identify as Catholic;
(3) Catholics who attend religious services with another Christian congregation, and who no longer self-identify as Catholic;
(4) Catholics who don’t attend any religious service, and who no longer self-identify as Catholic.
Type (1) represents Catholics who are still involved in mass, but aren’t getting the connection to their intellectual or emotional lives. I know a number of current and former Catholics who have gone through this stage, and a common theme is that they don’t see the connection between the mass and the rest of their lives. To them, outreach might be best accomplished in an announcement in mass. Depending on your preference, it could be one that gives a light touch to the issue. Something along the lines of this:
“Are you hoping for more meaning in your faith life? Are you seeking connections between what we do here at mass and what you do in the rest of the world? We’ll be starting a new group to get together to weekly sit down with our fellow Catholics who are looking for a way to carry their faith into the rest of their lives. As part of the [new small group program], we’ll be talking about the weekly Sunday readings, sharing our reflections, and hopefully making new friends.”
Personally, I don’t mind being a bit more blunt, but that’s up to you. I’ve got a long history of slogans that grab you, so this could be the “in your face” approach:
“Sit, stand, kneel, leave. Come back seven days later and repeat. If that sounds like your faith life, you’re not alone. We’ll be starting a new group to get together to weekly sit down with fellow Catholics who are looking for a way to connect their faith into the rest of their lives. As part of the [new small group program], we’ll be talking about the weekly Sunday readings, sharing our reflections, and hopefully making new friends.”
Type (2) represents Catholics who, for one reason or another, don’t attend religious services any longer. This could be the people who grew up in “Christmas and Easter” households, and who never saw how faith fit into the rest of their lives. This could include a lot of “spiritual but not religious” people. This could also be people who have been hurt in Catholic schools, parishes, and families. There could also be a lot of people who, for one reason or another, don’t feel welcome in the Church… feminists who protest the Church’s reserving ordination to men, LGBT people, and survivors of abortions, to name a few. Lastly, this group could include people who dismissed the Church because they viewed its teachings as inconsistent with their desired lifestyle. For this group, I’d need to resort to a tactic I’ve used in a lot of community organizing… handing out quarter sheets in public venues like college campuses, main streets of downtowns, public festivals, etc. Again, it would be based on your preferences for how “in your face” to be… along the lines of Pope Francis’ exhortations, something like this might work:
“Does being Catholic mean checking all the boxes on a checklist? Decided that you don’t qualify? Well, that’s not my idea of what it means to be Catholic. You’re invited to come to a [talk by special outreach ministers] or [small group discussion with special outreach ministers], and be the Church again.”
Type (3) represents people who have joined Protestant or evangelical Churches. I know quite a few of these people, and their common refrain is that Protestant preaching appeals to their mind and heart more. They complain that Catholic masses were just rote recitals, with no connection to the Bible. To reach these people, I think the quarter sheet distribution strategy would also work, but with an emphasis on promoting Bible study with Catholics.
Type (4) is people who have tipped into agnosticism or atheism. The odds of reaching these people is remote, but for them, the quarter-sheeting would possibly work. Similar issues as #2 might arise, plus the “new atheist” strain of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens might also have motivated them.
These are just thoughts, but I’d welcome your feedback.
That said, here’s a set of categories that I think describe many of the lapsed, and ideas for outreach…
I have met each of these “types,” which tend to have different reasons or motivations for leaving (or considering leaving) the Church.
(1) Catholics who still attend mass, but who just aren’t getting it or feeling it;
(2) Catholics who don’t attend any religious services, but still self-identify as Catholic;
(3) Catholics who attend religious services with another Christian congregation, and who no longer self-identify as Catholic;
(4) Catholics who don’t attend any religious service, and who no longer self-identify as Catholic.
Type (1) represents Catholics who are still involved in mass, but aren’t getting the connection to their intellectual or emotional lives. I know a number of current and former Catholics who have gone through this stage, and a common theme is that they don’t see the connection between the mass and the rest of their lives. To them, outreach might be best accomplished in an announcement in mass. Depending on your preference, it could be one that gives a light touch to the issue. Something along the lines of this:
“Are you hoping for more meaning in your faith life? Are you seeking connections between what we do here at mass and what you do in the rest of the world? We’ll be starting a new group to get together to weekly sit down with our fellow Catholics who are looking for a way to carry their faith into the rest of their lives. As part of the [new small group program], we’ll be talking about the weekly Sunday readings, sharing our reflections, and hopefully making new friends.”
Personally, I don’t mind being a bit more blunt, but that’s up to you. I’ve got a long history of slogans that grab you, so this could be the “in your face” approach:
“Sit, stand, kneel, leave. Come back seven days later and repeat. If that sounds like your faith life, you’re not alone. We’ll be starting a new group to get together to weekly sit down with fellow Catholics who are looking for a way to connect their faith into the rest of their lives. As part of the [new small group program], we’ll be talking about the weekly Sunday readings, sharing our reflections, and hopefully making new friends.”
Type (2) represents Catholics who, for one reason or another, don’t attend religious services any longer. This could be the people who grew up in “Christmas and Easter” households, and who never saw how faith fit into the rest of their lives. This could include a lot of “spiritual but not religious” people. This could also be people who have been hurt in Catholic schools, parishes, and families. There could also be a lot of people who, for one reason or another, don’t feel welcome in the Church… feminists who protest the Church’s reserving ordination to men, LGBT people, and survivors of abortions, to name a few. Lastly, this group could include people who dismissed the Church because they viewed its teachings as inconsistent with their desired lifestyle. For this group, I’d need to resort to a tactic I’ve used in a lot of community organizing… handing out quarter sheets in public venues like college campuses, main streets of downtowns, public festivals, etc. Again, it would be based on your preferences for how “in your face” to be… along the lines of Pope Francis’ exhortations, something like this might work:
“Does being Catholic mean checking all the boxes on a checklist? Decided that you don’t qualify? Well, that’s not my idea of what it means to be Catholic. You’re invited to come to a [talk by special outreach ministers] or [small group discussion with special outreach ministers], and be the Church again.”
Type (3) represents people who have joined Protestant or evangelical Churches. I know quite a few of these people, and their common refrain is that Protestant preaching appeals to their mind and heart more. They complain that Catholic masses were just rote recitals, with no connection to the Bible. To reach these people, I think the quarter sheet distribution strategy would also work, but with an emphasis on promoting Bible study with Catholics.
Type (4) is people who have tipped into agnosticism or atheism. The odds of reaching these people is remote, but for them, the quarter-sheeting would possibly work. Similar issues as #2 might arise, plus the “new atheist” strain of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens might also have motivated them.
These are just thoughts, but I’d welcome your feedback.
