How to Increase Mass Attendance/Grow a Parish?

[benedictgal]

The most important activity that the parish does is the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I cannot stress how important it is that the Holy Sacrifice be celebrated with the reverence, solemnity and beauty that the the liturgy deserves. Karl Keating is certainly right when he noted that this needs to be a priority. I can assure you that when you ensure that the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated properly, solemnly and beautifully, with fidelity to the rubrics, you will attract more people to the parish.

You can have all of the socials, activities, parish festivals and meetings, but, if you get the Mass wrong, then you really have no grounding point. Investing in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is first and foremost.

You may not believe this, but, people are starving for the sacred. They want to be in the presence of the Totally Other, as the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger says in his books. They are hungry for that deep contact with the Triune God.

We are different, vastlly different from the Protestant ecclesial communities. They have only the Word. We have the Word and the Sacrifice.

Something about greeters that you might want to study. At times, they can be annoying. With all due respect to those who are pushing hospitality, the greeters remind me of the nice ladies stationed just outside of Macy’s who want to spray me with the latest fragrance. No matter how hard I try to avoid them, I manage to get sprayed. I try to go into Macy’s from the parking lot entrance because I know I won’t get sprayed. Unfortunately, if I want to go into the mall, I have to face the spray brigade.

I am afraid it’s the same with the greeters. A priest friend of mine went on vacation and went to Mass in a certain town. He tried to duck away from the greeters. He told me that he can understand why some folks are turned off by this well-meaning gesture. He said that he simply wanted to go in and pray. When he came back to his parish, he dispensed with the greeters. Oddly enough, if any newcomers came into the church, the parishioners themselves were friendly enough to guide them to what they needed, but, in a gentle and unassuming manner.

 

[Bull]

Look for groups in the community that are traditionally Catholic but are not being well-served at the present time. Our parish felt that Hispanics felt excluded and that even parishes that were nominally Hispanic weren’t meeting their needs. We added a Mass in Spanish, allowed the booking of quincineras, and initiated some formation programs to a lot of people who considered themselves “Catholic” but realy didn’t know their faith. Our pastor put it this way about their knowledge of Catholic prayer, “they might know the Sign of the Cross if you don’t press them on the words.” Despite a shortage of priests, our pastor persuaded the bishop to send an Hispanic priest who had been rather difficult to place. By that, I mean that he is a good and holy priest, just not a good administrator of a parish. All he does is minister (to all parishioners - even though his English is pretty bad). As a consequence, we’ve seen the parish grow a lot and many people are being reached for Christ who were languishing in ignorance. If you can identify such a need in your area, you’d be doing everyone a favor by reaching out to them.

Thank you. That truly sounds wonderful.

 

[Cat]

Before converting to Catholicism, I was evangelical Protestant.

For ten years in North Carolina, my husband and I were members of a church that grew exponentially.

Here’s how it happened, and I don’t believe any Catholic would have any objection.

Love. Real practical love.

It started with a car crash. A family whose teenagers occasionally attended our youth group were in a terrible car crash.

Mom was completely unhurt.

The younger teen boy, about 13 years old, had a broken leg and was hospitalized in traction.

Dad and the older teenaged son were critically injured, expected to die.

Mom alternated back and forth between staying with her husband and her oldest son. She tried to visit the younger son, but honestly, he was fine. It was an agonizing choice for Mom to make–she didn’t have the emotional strength to stay with her critically-injured family members and at the same time, keep up the spirits and calm the fears of her younger son.

That’s when the Youth Pastor of our church stepped in.

He essentially moved in with the younger teen.

For two weeks, he slept on a cot in the boy’s hospital room. He spent his ENTIRE day with the boy, playing games, watching TV, chatting, eating meals–I never heard anything about Bible reading and prayer, but I think the pastor prayed with him for his Dad and brother.

The Youth Pastor went home once a day to take a shower, see his wife and two younger boys (toddlers at the time), and eat a home-cooked meal. Then he drove back to the hospital.

Other church members helped the young mom out, by bringing food and giving her a short break from child care by sitting with the boys while she took a walk or a shower.

Also, everyone prayed.

We lived in a city of 300,000, yet word of this got around. We started seeing visitors at our Sunday morning services. The visitors would ask, “Is this the church where that Youth Pastor is, the one who’s staying with ___ at the hospital?”

People told us that this was what they had been looking for–a Christian church that actually LOVED people, not just in word, but in deed.

Praise God, the father and sons recovered, and the family started attending our church. They spread the word far and wide about the LOVE at our church. And people started coming, hundreds of them over the next year or so. We grew so big, we were having classes on Sunday mornings in the hallway and the women’s bathrooms.

That wasn’t the only incident of practical love. The LADIES in the church, under the leadership of the pastor’s wife, developed an organized brigade of women willing and ready to cook meals, clean, do childcare, shop for, and generally give practical aid to ANYONE who needed help. Young moms, newly-bereaved families, immigrants, people new to town, elderly, newly-divorced, the ill–ANYONE could call the churhc, and these ladies went into action.

The men certainly did their share–many of the men cleaned yards, fixed cars, and of course, gave money.

The church became known as “the church of God’s love in action.”

And it wasn’t just “practical stuff,” like cleaning up someone’s bathroom after a death in the family.

We prayed. I mentioned that before, but we really prayed. We had a weekly prayer meeting that was just that–PRAYER. No Bible study, no pastoral meditation. We just sat down, took out the list, and prayed for an hour and a half.

And of course, there was much spiritual “food” at the church. Yes, it was just the Bible, and I know that the Catholic Church has Jesus Himself. Well, we did pretty good with just the Bible. We certainly knew from the Bible how to love people for real.

When my husband and I moved away from that city, I cried for several hours on our last day at that church. My kids still talk about it. They remember the love.

So my suggestion to you is something that shouldn’t upset even the most traditional, rubrics-minded, orthodox Catholics–demonstrate practical LOVE outside the Church. Your people might not be willing to jump on board with greeting and other techniques that smack of “business world Madison Ave” to them.

But surely they are willing to make a meal and deliver it to a new Mom who had a C-Section and still can’t get around. Surely they are willing to take care of someone’s kids for a few hours so they can go down to the police station and identify the body of a loved one. Surely they are willing to rake the yard of an elderly woman who just broke her hip.

It is my opinion that it is what you do OUTSIDE the Mass that will grow the numbers in the Church. And it is what you do INSIDE, at the Mass, that will grow those numbers into “quality” Christians who truly know Jesus Christ.

 

[puzzleannie]

it has to come from the top down
pastor should introduce (gradually, through education and preaching) stewardship spirituality over a period of months and years, not just one weekend, not tithing, full spirituality

restore Eucharistic adoration, at a regular time and date, holy hour once a week with benediction would be ideal until there is support for longer times.

preach on confession and publish extended confession times, and make “repent and return to the church” a keystone of publicity–you are doing excellent in that area

it is past me but a good website is essential in this day and age, don’t farm this out to volunteers, there must be a paid staff member with knowledge and responsibility to keep it up

door to door evangelization aimed at inactive CAtholics, beginning with a parish census, an obligation ignored by most parishes these days. get up to date tract maps from city (water dept. is good for this) and make sure every neighborhood is covered by a team who simply introduces themselves, asks if there are any Catholics in the household and how can we serve you. Have door packets or to leave with an invitation to a meeting or event for those who don’t answer. Plan the event (a follow up often ignored.)

Have regular events to welcome new parishioners, and have stewardship and adult ed programs and other active parish orgs they can join. If there is no stewardship, outreach or ministry going on you will not keep newcomers. It should go without saying that without strong pastoral and liturgical orthodoxy you will not keep newcomers either, that has to come from the pastor

DO NOT hold fundraisers. Parish events should be community builders, not money makers.

in the old days it was a solid parochial school that virtually guaranteed growth and sustenance for a parish, when that comes back the rest will follow.

If the liturgy is not good, nothing else will bear good fruit.

 

[jpjd]

This isn’t aimed specifically at Mass attendance or growing a parish, but more at energizing the volunteerism which I think helps both.

In another thread I posted about a parish I used to be a member of when I lived in Virginia. They never lacked for volunteers on anything (seemed like that, anyway). What they did was every few weeks at the coffee & donuts after Mass, one of the people in charge of a various group or ministry would put on a short presentation about what they were doing, introduce the people involved, and describe how their ministry/group benefitted the parish if it wasn’t obvious. They also describe opportunities how others can help. “If you only have a couple hours on Tuesday nights, we can use help with…”

Other parishes I’ve been in where they always were begging for help never did this. All you got was the name of the ministry and a point of contact/phone number in the bulletin. So many didn’t know what was involved, and you know how that goes. People think it’s more work or involves more time than they might want to give. By “teaching” people what each group does and mentioning things like it only takes a few hours on a weeknight or Sat morning or whatever, it helps people see opportunities where they might help. People see something like “parish website” and don’t know what to think… maybe you have to be a computer guru or be network certified… when maybe they could help out by just shooting and submitting a few pictures, something that might take an hour a week.

So educate as well as ask for help. I think you will find it makes a big difference.

DoShea, this is excellent advice!

 

[zab]

The most important activity that the parish does is the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I cannot stress how important it is that the Holy Sacrifice be celebrated with the reverence, solemnity and beauty that the the liturgy deserves. Karl Keating is certainly right when he noted that this needs to be a priority. I can assure you that when you ensure that the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated properly, solemnly and beautifully, with fidelity to the rubrics, you will attract more people to the parish.

This is so true. But to add to that, I believe that Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament through Perpetual Adoration as well as times for Exposition and Benediction as well as the daily Rosary also help to make a parish thrive. I have seen a transformation over the years since Perpetual Adoration was started in our parish.

 

[kinderbueno]

So my suggestion to you is something that shouldn’t upset even the most traditional, rubrics-minded, orthodox Catholics–demonstrate practical LOVE outside the Church. Your people might not be willing to jump on board with greeting and other techniques that smack of “business world Madison Ave” to them.

I think Cat is touching on something here that I want to expound upon; that we should be going at any evangelization efforts as a BOTH AND, not an EITHER OR proposition, and it reminds me that we need to stick to the basics – that is, following the TWO great commandments from our Lord:

1. LOVE GOD: do not skimp on things liturgical and worship – faithful adherence to rubrics and investing in all the “smells & bells”. Anything less will short-change how we, as Catholics, (should) unapologetically PRAY the Holy Scriptures. A little hellfire & brimstone from the pulpit certainly doesn’t hurt (thank you, Karl). We have the One True Faith as given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. We shouldn’t water down anything for the sake of ‘inclusiveness’. Reverence for Christ and a strong message is what people need (VERY loosely paraphrasing Benedictgal). Availing ourselves of the Graces from the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession gives us and maintains that relationship.
2. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR: anything less, especially on the other six days of the week makes us HYPOCRITES. But it definitely stems from a strong message (see #1). We need to remember how most of Western civilization’s ideas of charity came from the Catholic Church. But this is certainly no time to rest on our laurels, we’ve done enough of that in the last 40 years. I seem to remember something about the spiritual and corporal works of mercy as being a good place to start…

I know that’s talking very high-level without a detailed plan…but without these, no amount of marketing will be sustainable nor genuine.

(I need to remind myself of these quite often!)

Peace, -Mike

 

[Bull]

Before converting to Catholicism, I was evangelical Protestant.

For ten years in North Carolina, my husband and I were members of a church that grew exponentially.

Here’s how it happened, and I don’t believe any Catholic would have any objection.

Love. Real practical love.

It started with a car crash. A family whose teenagers occasionally attended our youth group were in a terrible car crash.

Mom was completely unhurt.

The younger teen boy, about 13 years old, had a broken leg and was hospitalized in traction.

Dad and the older teenaged son were critically injured, expected to die.

Mom alternated back and forth between staying with her husband and her oldest son. She tried to visit the younger son, but honestly, he was fine. It was an agonizing choice for Mom to make–she didn’t have the emotional strength to stay with her critically-injured family members and at the same time, keep up the spirits and calm the fears of her younger son.

That’s when the Youth Pastor of our church stepped in.

He essentially moved in with the younger teen.

For two weeks, he slept on a cot in the boy’s hospital room. He spent his ENTIRE day with the boy, playing games, watching TV, chatting, eating meals–I never heard anything about Bible reading and prayer, but I think the pastor prayed with him for his Dad and brother.

The Youth Pastor went home once a day to take a shower, see his wife and two younger boys (toddlers at the time), and eat a home-cooked meal. Then he drove back to the hospital.

Other church members helped the young mom out, by bringing food and giving her a short break from child care by sitting with the boys while she took a walk or a shower.

Also, everyone prayed.

We lived in a city of 300,000, yet word of this got around. We started seeing visitors at our Sunday morning services. The visitors would ask, “Is this the church where that Youth Pastor is, the one who’s staying with ___ at the hospital?”

People told us that this was what they had been looking for–a Christian church that actually LOVED people, not just in word, but in deed.

Praise God, the father and sons recovered, and the family started attending our church. They spread the word far and wide about the LOVE at our church. And people started coming, hundreds of them over the next year or so. We grew so big, we were having classes on Sunday mornings in the hallway and the women’s bathrooms.

That wasn’t the only incident of practical love. The LADIES in the church, under the leadership of the pastor’s wife, developed an organized brigade of women willing and ready to cook meals, clean, do childcare, shop for, and generally give practical aid to ANYONE who needed help. Young moms, newly-bereaved families, immigrants, people new to town, elderly, newly-divorced, the ill–ANYONE could call the churhc, and these ladies went into action.

The men certainly did their share–many of the men cleaned yards, fixed cars, and of course, gave money.

The church became known as “the church of God’s love in action.”

And it wasn’t just “practical stuff,” like cleaning up someone’s bathroom after a death in the family.

We prayed. I mentioned that before, but we really prayed. We had a weekly prayer meeting that was just that–PRAYER. No Bible study, no pastoral meditation. We just sat down, took out the list, and prayed for an hour and a half.

And of course, there was much spiritual “food” at the church. Yes, it was just the Bible, and I know that the Catholic Church has Jesus Himself. Well, we did pretty good with just the Bible. We certainly knew from the Bible how to love people for real.

When my husband and I moved away from that city, I cried for several hours on our last day at that church. My kids still talk about it. They remember the love.

So my suggestion to you is something that shouldn’t upset even the most traditional, rubrics-minded, orthodox Catholics–demonstrate practical LOVE outside the Church. Your people might not be willing to jump on board with greeting and other techniques that smack of “business world Madison Ave” to them.

But surely they are willing to make a meal and deliver it to a new Mom who had a C-Section and still can’t get around. Surely they are willing to take care of someone’s kids for a few hours so they can go down to the police station and identify the body of a loved one. Surely they are willing to rake the yard of an elderly woman who just broke her hip.

It is my opinion that it is what you do OUTSIDE the Mass that will grow the numbers in the Church. And it is what you do INSIDE, at the Mass, that will grow those numbers into “quality” Christians who truly know Jesus Christ.

Thank you for such a heartfelt story. If the Holy Spirit acts upon individuals and ultimately a community like the one you describe there is no question it will attract people. But people have to be open to the Holy Spirit – that youth minister and the rest of them truly answered the call and gave of themselves. How to promote that in a parish. I suppose it must come from pastor?

I do know that employing the “smells and bells” is no guarantee of building a flourishing parish. I’m not sure it even always helps as some people don’t necessarily care for either.

The more I read these wonderful responses the more I believe it comes down to ample prayer, hard (and sustained) sacrifice and truly a sense of caring/community outside of the sanctuary, at least from the point of humans. If a parish does not have a strong communal prayer life (including sacrificial liturgies, adoration, etc.), if its members are not willing to sacrifice and give in terms of their time, talent and treasure and if they truly do not know and care for one another, I think they are headed for mediocrity at best.

From now on when I hear people objecting to placing an ad in the Saturday newspaper next to all the fast-growing Protestant churches or object to having a table at our local farmer’s market like most fast-growing churches do here locally I am going to attribute it to being lazy and placing myth ahead of facts.

 

[Tepeyac]

Thank you for such a heartfelt story. If the Holy Spirit acts upon individuals and ultimately a community like the one you describe there is no question it will attract people. But people have to be open to the Holy Spirit – that youth minister and the rest of them truly answered the call and gave of themselves. How to promote that in a parish. I suppose it must come from pastor?

I do know that employing the “smells and bells” is no guarantee of building a flourishing parish. I’m not sure it even always helps as some people don’t necessarily care for either.

I don’t think it’s about employing the “smells and bells”… I think it’s about approaching what you do with seriousness, which isn’t the same as fancy or the same as grim and dour. It’s about taking care with what you do. People notice that on a subconscious level. It can be the most bare bones liturgy but if it’s done with care people notice and that can be attractive.

The more I read these wonderful responses the more I believe it comes down to ample prayer, hard (and sustained) sacrifice and truly a sense of caring/community outside of the sanctuary, at least from the point of humans. If a parish does not have a strong communal prayer life (including sacrificial liturgies, adoration, etc.), if its members are not willing to sacrifice and give in terms of their time, talent and treasure and if they truly do not know and care for one another, I think they are headed for mediocrity at best.

From now on when I hear people objecting to placing an ad in the Saturday newspaper next to all the fast-growing Protestant churches or object to having a table at our local farmer’s market like most fast-growing churches do here locally I am going to attribute it to being lazy and placing myth ahead of facts.

Personally I would be careful about that attitude. If you start with the idea that things aren’t how they should be because everybody else is lazy, ignorant, etc. then you’ve started to isolate yourself and possibly made yourself less effective with your fellow parishioners.

Maybe instead of looking for the next big thing, the best place to start is to look at what you are doing and find ways to improve it. You mentioned having a great long standing coffee social but that some people tend to over-greet. Find ways to improve it. Make sure it’s enjoyable. People won’t participate in something if it’s not enjoyable.

 

[Cat]

I would suggest selecting a “target” group and doing what needs to be done to attract them to the parish. It makes the task a little less daunting to start small.

ALWAYS demonstrate love, no matter which target group you decide to go for!

But you will use a different approach depending on which group you target.

E.g., fallen-away Catholics–several people in the thread have made some wonderful suggestions. I personally think a personal home visit is very useful.

Another target group might be Hispanics–again, some good suggestions already.

Or perhaps families with school-aged children. This is tricky–if they already have a church (Protestant), you have to be careful. But things like exercise classes, pre-schools, MOPS programs, etc. are attractive to everyone, not just Catholics.

My personal choice would be evangelical Protestants, but then, I’m a little biased. Best way to attract them is with “events”–debates between Catholics and Protestants, apologetics classes and seminars, Bible studies, concerts, etc.

 

[Bluegoat]

Yes, I agree that there are a lot of groups that need to be served that you can look to. Perhaps as parishioners, or perhaps to serve them in a different way. But I think a church really needs to consider what its particular calling is besides attracting people in a general kind of way.

A close friend of mine spent a summer volunteering in a church in the inner city of a large American City. It was kind of an interesting place - Anglican, very traditional with lots of smells and bells, a choir that sang in Latin, etc. It also ran a small school that taught on the classical model. And it served the people of its inner city community with programs for kids, soup kitchens, programs for prostitutes, drug addicts, etc. Not all alone, but it was committed to it’s neighbourhood, though its parishioners were not the same people.

But it had a very strong sense of identity and purpose, both sacramentaly and practically.

 

[Bull]

I don’t think it’s about employing the “smells and bells”… I think it’s about approaching what you do with seriousness, which isn’t the same as fancy or the same as grim and dour. It’s about taking care with what you do. People notice that on a subconscious level. It can be the most bare bones liturgy but if it’s done with care people notice and that can be attractive.

Personally I would be careful about that attitude. If you start with the idea that things aren’t how they should be because everybody else is lazy, ignorant, etc. then you’ve started to isolate yourself and possibly made yourself less effective with your fellow parishioners.

Maybe instead of looking for the next big thing, the best place to start is to look at what you are doing and find ways to improve it. You mentioned having a great long standing coffee social but that some people tend to over-greet. Find ways to improve it. Make sure it’s enjoyable. People won’t participate in something if it’s not enjoyable.

I don’t think the “smells & bells” are a product of being more serious. While I personally like them I do not like the severity (something altogether different) that often accompanies them.

My observation is that the great majority of my parish was all for the efforts and changes that were made. That great majority shifted gears once they were pressed (they had been asked to be involved from the beginning) a bit to get involved and shoulder some of the responsibility.

It was only when we began to hear ridiculous comments that promoting the parish was demeaning, that we weren’t going to attract anyone anyway because Catholicism is “too hard”, that most people are divorced and will not attend Mass and that ultimately we cannot compete with the music/feel-good atmosphere of other groups that my opinion of these people changed. Those were nothing but excuses.

They are simply not willing to make the effort in terms of their time, talent and treasure required to increase Mass attendance and grow the parish. My question here was “why” and some people have provided a bit of insight.

This has actually been a good experience for me. I now know what it takes to increase Mass attendance and grow a parish and I’m slowly learning why some people/parishes will do what it takes and some will not.

If my parish does not grow and I have to face the bishop along with the pastor and others, I will be very much at ease.

 

[Cat]

I don’t think the “smells & bells” are a product of being more serious. While I personally like them I do not like the severity (something altogether different) that often accompanies them.

My observation is that the great majority of my parish was all for the efforts and changes that were made. That great majority shifted gears once they were pressed (they had been asked to be involved from the beginning) a bit to get involved and shoulder some of the responsibility.

It was only when we began to hear ridiculous comments that promoting the parish was demeaning, that we weren’t going to attract anyone anyway because Catholicism is “too hard”, that most people are divorced and will not attend Mass and that ultimately we cannot compete with the music/feel-good atmosphere of other groups that my opinion of these people changed. Those were nothing but excuses.

They are simply not willing to make the effort in terms of their time, talent and treasure required to increase Mass attendance and grow the parish. My question here was “why” and some people have provided a bit of insight.

This has actually been a good experience for me. I now know what it takes to increase Mass attendance and grow a parish and I’m slowly learning why some people/parishes will do what it takes and some will not.

If my parish does not grow and I have to face the bishop along with the pastor and others, I will be very much at ease.

Other people have alluded to it in the thread, and I am beginning to agree with them. You are blaming other people and you are giving up too soon.

I grew up in one of the top evangelical Protestant churches in the U.S. Evelyn Christensen was my pastor’s wife. Gary Smalley was my associate pastor. John Ortberg grew up with me in my youth group.

Those three names probably mean nothing to you if you are cradle Catholic, but they are evangelical Protestant paragons, superstars.

And those are just a few of the names of people associated with the church I grew up with.

In spite of the fact that our church was considered one of THE exemplary models of what an evangelical church should be, all of us knew that 10% of the people were doing 90% of the work, and all the rest of the 90% were just sitting back, or worse, complaining.

We didn’t pay any attention to them, and we didn’t fret about it. We just kept working to evangelize our world.

It didn’t matter what they thought of our efforts. It didn’t matter that they never showed up to help out. It didn’t matter.

All that matter is OUR obedience to Jesus Christ and our willingness to join in helping to fulfil the Great Commission.

Also, we didn’t give up. Back when I was a child, a group of men in the church started a Friday morning six A.M. prayer meeting to pray for revival and to pray that people will be converted to Christ. THAT PRAYER MEETING IS STILL GOING ON OVER 40 YEARS LATER! I know that several of the same men are still in that group of faithful prayers.

God doesn’t hold us responsible for results, but He does hold us responsible for sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ.

Here’s what you should do–set a goal for numerical growth in the parish in the next 50 years. Keep the LONG view. (I realize that many parishes are in dire financial straits and need more people/money right NOW to keep their doors open, and I’m sorry if this is your situation.)

And STOP looking at all the people who won’t jump on board the bandwagon. Go with who you have. If you only have a few people who are convicted about the need to evangelize, that’s enough. Throughout the Old Testament, God chose to use one man (or woman) to accomplish His work. You don’t need the entire parish.

I’m going to make another suggestion–go make friends with the local hot-shot evangelical Protestant pastor (I’m sure you have one in your town or city.) Make it clear from the beginning that you are not planning to reject Catholicism, that you are interested in learning more about becoming a Christian who shares the Gospel. Spend time with him (if it’s a her, stay away). SOAK in the atmosphere of what evangelicalism is all about, and LEARN how to apply it to your parish. It’s a lot more than just flashy advertising and cranked-up music. It’s a whole lifestyle, and I’ll be the first to admit that I do miss it as a Catholic. We are not an evangelical Church at all, at least at the lay level.

Finally, accept that the HOLY SPIRIT is the One who convicts people, not you and your committee. PRAY! Start that prayer meeting now and plan now to have your 40th anniversary breakfast together.

 

[HouseArrest]

I agree with Cat. It’s a waste of your time and energy to worry about what everyone else is doing. It is common to motivate a lot of people to help at the start of something promising and exciting. In time the people who weren’t really committed for the long haul drop off.

You’ll likely pick up others with your continued enthusiasm rather than chatising.

 

[Bull]

…Finally, accept that the HOLY SPIRIT is the One who convicts people, not you and your committee. PRAY! Start that prayer meeting now and plan now to have your 40th anniversary breakfast together.

Nothing like stating the obvious.

For tomorow’s bulletin my pastor has written a letter/article praising the small size of our parish. Something to be preserved based largely (and incorrectly) on the Pope’s comments about small faith communities.

I’m not sure how this comports with our bishop’s exhortation to grow the parish but I really don’t care. It wasn’t that they gave up too soon. We were getting great results from the very beginning. It’s that the great majority were not willing to do what it takes to continue. I think that’s faily common within the Church (at least in the USA) given Mass attendance levels. I think most parishes like mine pay lip service to the task of evangelization.

While I find that sad, I will admit I also find it to be a bit of relief. Ultimately I will enjoy reclaiming my place as a Sunday morning pew-sitter.

 

[Bull]

I agree with Cat. It’s a waste of your time and energy to worry about what everyone else is doing. It is common to motivate a lot of people to help at the start of something promising and exciting. In time the people who weren’t really committed for the long haul drop off.

You’ll likely pick up others with your continued enthusiasm rather than chatising.

I haven’t chastised anyone. I was just pointing out some things I have learned. In the past I have often (and I mean OFTEN) wondered when people have asked something like “why can’t we grow like some Protestant churches?”

At some level I think I accepted the excuses. It’s demeaning to publicise our parish. Catholicism is too difficult. Many are divorced and have no interest in the Church. The Catholic Church cannot compete with the feel-good theology and music of Protestant churches, etc. etc.

After working at it for a short but intense time and seeing the quick and positive results I now think those are untrue excuses.

 

[StillWondering]

Maybe I’m off-beat or off-topic, but before anything two things came to mind: Reconciliation and Adoration/Benediction of the Eucharist with the procession. Everyone has different tastes, but this is what tells me this parish really got it going on.

Lots of social connection are great. But the Anchor to keep everyone would probably be the Sacraments. If a lot of people come, have a great time, then leave, you’re just left cleaning up. But if they come and realized they can be washed and feed here fully, why would they ever want to leave.

 

[Bull]

Maybe I’m off-beat or off-topic, but before anything two things came to mind: Reconciliation and Adoration/Benediction of the Eucharist with the procession. Everyone has different tastes, but this is what tells me this parish really got it going on.

Lots of social connection are great. But the Anchor to keep everyone would probably be the Sacraments. If a lot of people come, have a great time, then leave, you’re just left cleaning up. But if they come and realized they can be washed and feed here fully, why would they ever want to leave.

I would like to hear practical examples from people here where greater use of “Reconciliation and Adoration/Benediction of the Eucharist” were the two main elements in increasing Mass attendance and growing a parish?

I’m curious as to why I see on EWTN and here that adoration is often upheld as being a primary way to grow a parish and vocations yet I rarely hear (for example) the exhortation to celebrate more Masses in a given parish?

 

[StillWondering]

I would like to hear practical examples from people here where greater use of “Reconciliation and Adoration/Benediction of the Eucharist” were the two main elements in increasing Mass attendance and growing a parish?

I’m curious as to why I see on EWTN and here that adoration is often upheld as being a primary way to grow a parish and vocations yet I rarely hear (for example) the exhortation to celebrate more Masses in a given parish?

Well I’ll use my parent’s parish as an example. They have 24-hour adoration every 17th of the month as well as additional periods specified for adoration throughout the month. They have Benediction every First Friday and a precession. In addition to what I see for the Vietnamese parishioners, they have benediction for Spanish and English speaking parishioners. In addition to this they offer regular Station of the Cross and weekly confessions every weekend. During the First Fridays, the pews are only half full but there’s still a great number of people. During Benediction, a great deal of people are there, probably a third to a half of the active parishioners. And reconciliation with four priests and the Vietnamese lines stays between 10-20 people during the full hour of reconciliation.

With all this active reverence and soul searching, every Sunday Mass done in Vietnamese are packed with people in the pews and standing along the walls and at the various entrances.

I could be totally wrong but I see Reconciliation and Adoration with Benediction have this trickling down effect. Souls that are washed are proud to be near Christ. The Adoration reminds and reteaches each one of us the difference between God and man so that we know who we need to worship. It’s not going to be your husband, or your wife, or your cool ideas you have, or your work, or your kids, or your money, or your luxuries. It’s going to be God who we exult with both our body (through community prayer and adoration) and in our minds (through the confessing of our sins and adoration).

In addition to frequent reconciliation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, they have over 44+ adult and youth groups to simulate and satisfy the yearning of the soul. Below is the website and most of the groups are parishioner started groups with the approval of the Pastor. Also I should make it clear it is not a physically large church and does not look impressive. It is a very average looking church.

blessedsacramentparish.com/

 

[jpjd]

Bull, you say that you had a great 4 months…and so what exactly is the problem? Are the newcomers not staying? Are the number of newcomers waning?

Also, why don’t you send a survey to the newcomers. Ask them what drew them to your parish, ask them what they are looking for in a parish and ask them if they found it in yours.