J
junior3kv
Guest
Hi, I live in Los Angeles, and I’ve gone to many of the churches in the city, and from talking to people who “know things” to my own conclusions it seems that most of the English Mass congregations are not doing very well. There are hardly any thriving young adult and youth groups. It seems like 60% of people are late to Mass and 75% of people treat the final song as if it were movie credits…meaning they leave early. Here’s my solution that I believe with all my heart and soul will solve the problem. I guess this is also for those who are dealing with the same thing in their parish.
Love One Another
Hebrews 10:24-25
“We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this is all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (I didn’t know of anything better that would fit…)
I’ve met many wonderful people in the last year because I’ve been to many different churches. I usually just go up and talk to people before or after mass. Every weekend I try and visit a different church because I’m looking for a church where I can tell myself, “I can’t wait to go to church on Sunday!” Despite the fact I’ve met some wonderful people, I haven’t met a congregation that I want to go to every Sunday—and I doubt I will. So what’s the problem? The problem is that our Church is impersonal and I no longer want it to be this way. Many people that attend Church see the same people week after week yet don’t know anyone’s name. Many people sit alone in church, not by choice but because they have no one to go with. It shouldn’t be this way because we should be doing this together. Jesus wants us to be on this journey together, but we’re not.
Now, I have an idea to make our Church less impersonal. The idea is, why not make it a point to introduce yourself and talk to someone you don’t know, before or after every mass you go to, instead of always greeting the people you do know. Or if you don’t talk to people then make it a point to start talking to people if you’re willing to. This is one simple way of how fellowship can be formed. It’ll be something random and awkward at first because who knows what you’ll say or talk about but that’s not the point. The point is to interact with our fellow brothers and sisters. This idea is an extension of how in some churches we are told at the beginning of mass to greet those around us. Why not further this greeting? Let’s extend more than our hands to one another, let’s extend our hearts.
Some things you can say are to simply compliment people on dressing in their Sunday best. Most people don’t dress up for Him anymore so if you do see someone in their Sunday best then compliment them, because by complimenting them, you encourage them to keep dressing up for Him. Compliment a parent’s child for looking “so cute in that outfit,” or whatever you can think of to say about a parent’s child. Ask people to join you for coffee or whatever snack is being served at your church. Introduce people to one another, ask people how long they’ve been attending your church. I’ve done this before Mass, where I look around for someone sitting alone and go up to them, introduce myself, and ask them if I could join them for Mass. People always respond with warmth and say, “Sure!” and then we get to talking and then we get to talking after Mass. If you see a cute boy or girl, man or woman why not do the same thing and mozy on over to them. Ya never know… You can even pawn off this idea as your own just like I came up to you and told you… As in, I have this idea to help the Church…. As long as the word is spread, that’s all that matters to me. And yes, I know you’re making yourself vulnerable by doing this, but we’re being vulnerable for Him. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
If you’re too shy to go up to someone then do it with a friend or do it with a group of friends. Just so those that may be hesitant to do this know, I’ve probably talked to over 1000 people in the last year and only a handful of people have been mean to me. People for the most part are so nice and more than willing to talk to you. It seems like people want you to talk to them. They want that fellowship.
Now here’s how the youth tie in to all this: We all know that the youth in our Church are not too keen on Jesus, so something needs to be done to change this. The building of relationships/love is how to do it. Kids must actually SEE the love we have for one another because if they don’t see this love and feel this love in our second home, the Church, then many of them are not going to want to stick around. The youth don’t understand “Church” and don’t want to so you we have to use love to get the message across. Love is the best motivator there is, therefore love is the answer. For example, if there’s no love in the home, then they’re going to be out of there as soon as they have a chance. And if there’s no love in their second home (The Church), then they’re going to be out of there as soon as they have the choice.
If we show the youth that we love each other because of Jesus and they see that we have these incredible relationships because of Him, then maybe, just maybe, they’ll think that there’s something to this Jesus fella who creates all the joy and happiness they see. You never know, they could be inspired by what they see and be “converted.” Let’s set an example and show them how to love one another. Let’s be a true family. Jesus wants us to help each other on this journey because doing it alone is just too hard. We need the support/friendship of each other to get to heaven.
(Sorry, my essay is a little long so I had to put the rest on another thread. Just check the next thread.)
Love One Another
Hebrews 10:24-25
“We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this is all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (I didn’t know of anything better that would fit…)
I’ve met many wonderful people in the last year because I’ve been to many different churches. I usually just go up and talk to people before or after mass. Every weekend I try and visit a different church because I’m looking for a church where I can tell myself, “I can’t wait to go to church on Sunday!” Despite the fact I’ve met some wonderful people, I haven’t met a congregation that I want to go to every Sunday—and I doubt I will. So what’s the problem? The problem is that our Church is impersonal and I no longer want it to be this way. Many people that attend Church see the same people week after week yet don’t know anyone’s name. Many people sit alone in church, not by choice but because they have no one to go with. It shouldn’t be this way because we should be doing this together. Jesus wants us to be on this journey together, but we’re not.
Now, I have an idea to make our Church less impersonal. The idea is, why not make it a point to introduce yourself and talk to someone you don’t know, before or after every mass you go to, instead of always greeting the people you do know. Or if you don’t talk to people then make it a point to start talking to people if you’re willing to. This is one simple way of how fellowship can be formed. It’ll be something random and awkward at first because who knows what you’ll say or talk about but that’s not the point. The point is to interact with our fellow brothers and sisters. This idea is an extension of how in some churches we are told at the beginning of mass to greet those around us. Why not further this greeting? Let’s extend more than our hands to one another, let’s extend our hearts.
Some things you can say are to simply compliment people on dressing in their Sunday best. Most people don’t dress up for Him anymore so if you do see someone in their Sunday best then compliment them, because by complimenting them, you encourage them to keep dressing up for Him. Compliment a parent’s child for looking “so cute in that outfit,” or whatever you can think of to say about a parent’s child. Ask people to join you for coffee or whatever snack is being served at your church. Introduce people to one another, ask people how long they’ve been attending your church. I’ve done this before Mass, where I look around for someone sitting alone and go up to them, introduce myself, and ask them if I could join them for Mass. People always respond with warmth and say, “Sure!” and then we get to talking and then we get to talking after Mass. If you see a cute boy or girl, man or woman why not do the same thing and mozy on over to them. Ya never know… You can even pawn off this idea as your own just like I came up to you and told you… As in, I have this idea to help the Church…. As long as the word is spread, that’s all that matters to me. And yes, I know you’re making yourself vulnerable by doing this, but we’re being vulnerable for Him. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
If you’re too shy to go up to someone then do it with a friend or do it with a group of friends. Just so those that may be hesitant to do this know, I’ve probably talked to over 1000 people in the last year and only a handful of people have been mean to me. People for the most part are so nice and more than willing to talk to you. It seems like people want you to talk to them. They want that fellowship.
Now here’s how the youth tie in to all this: We all know that the youth in our Church are not too keen on Jesus, so something needs to be done to change this. The building of relationships/love is how to do it. Kids must actually SEE the love we have for one another because if they don’t see this love and feel this love in our second home, the Church, then many of them are not going to want to stick around. The youth don’t understand “Church” and don’t want to so you we have to use love to get the message across. Love is the best motivator there is, therefore love is the answer. For example, if there’s no love in the home, then they’re going to be out of there as soon as they have a chance. And if there’s no love in their second home (The Church), then they’re going to be out of there as soon as they have the choice.
If we show the youth that we love each other because of Jesus and they see that we have these incredible relationships because of Him, then maybe, just maybe, they’ll think that there’s something to this Jesus fella who creates all the joy and happiness they see. You never know, they could be inspired by what they see and be “converted.” Let’s set an example and show them how to love one another. Let’s be a true family. Jesus wants us to help each other on this journey because doing it alone is just too hard. We need the support/friendship of each other to get to heaven.
(Sorry, my essay is a little long so I had to put the rest on another thread. Just check the next thread.)
