Like minded Catholics needed

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GRATEFULONEjim

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Have you ever found yourself worn/burned out from the lack of like minded Catholics?

I am trying to promote a rediscovery of the value of the Catholic community out side the Mass as a goal for our parish this year and find it alarming at how many Catholics want nothing to do with the Church except on Sunday. 🤷

Has the secular world won???
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
Have you ever found yourself worn/burned out from the lack of like minded Catholics?

I am trying to promote a rediscovery of the value of the Catholic community out side the Mass as a goal for our parish this year and find it alarming at how many Catholics want nothing to do with the Church except on Sunday. 🤷

Has the secular world won???
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“Catholic community outside of Mass” can include many different ministries, such as Rosary group, Divine Mercy group, Small Church Community, Bible Study, Book Club, Knight of Columbus, Young Adult Group, Charismatic Prayer Group, etc.

What is your idea and how do you do your promotion?
 
Remember the society of st Vincent de Paul who serve the poor.
 
InLight247 said:
“Catholic community outside of Mass” can include many different ministries, such as Rosary group, Divine Mercy group, Small Church Community, Bible Study, Book Club, Knight of Columbus, Young Adult Group, Charismatic Prayer Group, etc.

What is your idea and how do you do your promotion?
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Yes, it includes all of the things that you have mentioned and more…

I am hoping to generate some great ideas from this thread, but I can see that that there have been hundreds of people view the thread but only 2 replies.

I am witnessing here the same lack of interest in the Catholic lifestyle outside the Mass as I am in my home parish…

Hmmm, Methinks the problem may be more widespread than I had imagined:eek:

But, when the Diocese makes a decision to merge or close a parish, the parishioners have no idea why!!! Time to get involved my friends and bring back the vibrancy into your parishes before it is too late.
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
Yes, it includes all of the things that you have mentioned and more…
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I am still not clear about your intention and effort when you say you are trying to generate interest about all the ministries mentioned and more.

Does your parish have all those ministries established? If so, all ministries should already have ministry heads and they should recruit their own members. Not to say you cannot help them.

If your parish does not have any or some of the ministries mentioned, are you trying to establish them for your parish?

Or are you simply collecting some ideas?
 
InLight247 said:
I am still not clear about your intention and effort when you say you are trying to generate interest about all the ministries mentioned and more.

Does your parish have all those ministries established? If so, all ministries should already have ministry heads and they should recruit their own members. Not to say you cannot help them.

If your parish does not have any or some of the ministries mentioned, are you trying to establish them for your parish?

Or are you simply collecting some ideas?
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Participation in the ministries at our parish is almost non existent. We have the ministries in place, but no one will foster their growth.

What I am trying to do is gather ideas on how to change the average Catholics thought process. I want them to discover that the parish community has value and can enrich their lives in ways other than just showing up for Mass once a week.

This is not just an issue that our parish is experiencing by itself. This is evident among parishes far and wide.
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
Yes, it includes all of the things that you have mentioned and more…

I am hoping to generate some great ideas from this thread, but I can see that that there have been hundreds of people view the thread but only 2 replies.

I am witnessing here the same lack of interest in the Catholic lifestyle outside the Mass as I am in my home parish…

Hmmm, Methinks the problem may be more widespread than I had imagined:eek:

But, when the Diocese makes a decision to merge or close a parish, the parishioners have no idea why!!! Time to get involved my friends and bring back the vibrancy into your parishes before it is too late.
Click to expand...
It would help if we knew what you were looking for. 🤷
 
maryjk said:
It would help if we knew what you were looking for. 🤷
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I really don’t know how to explain it any simpler than I have…

What can a parish do to get parishioners to come to events, sign up for ministries, attend fellowship gatherings, etc.???

It seems as though they only want the Church when it is convenient for them. I get the impression that Catholics want their Mass, but don’t dare ask them for anything additional to do that conflicts with their secular lives.

We are experiencing this NOW at our small parish. I just want the parishioners to rediscover the VALUE that these other activities in the faith community have.

OR should I just throw in the towel as others in the past and allow the pieces to fall where they may?
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
What can a parish do to get parishioners to come to events, sign up for ministries, attend fellowship gatherings, etc.???
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Don’t wait for them to sign up. Call them and ask for specific help, maybe?

I know our Respect Life Committee, who provides a meal to new moms, will call someone who lives close to the new mom. The hope is, that the family will make and take a meal, but will also end up meeting the new family. I know tons of people at church. But after I took a meal to a new mom, I met and got to know another family. 👍

Our Religious Ed people will call parents to help with food for VBS.

So maybe that is the way to do it. Don’t wait for people to sign up. Tell them you need them.
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
Participation in the ministries at our parish is almost non existent. We have the ministries in place, but no one will foster their growth.

What I am trying to do is gather ideas on how to change the average Catholics thought process. I want them to discover that the parish community has value and can enrich their lives in ways other than just showing up for Mass once a week.

This is not just an issue that our parish is experiencing by itself. This is evident among parishes far and wide.
Click to expand...
It is true most parishes have about 20% people volunteer, participate in church activities and give money; the other 80% either not attend church or only attend one hour on Sunday. It is a sad fact.

I think you can start with the group you are in, talk to people and invite them to join, put announcement on the bulletin, do a podium announcement, and ask your priests help to promote. Each ministry head should make his or her effort along with other group members’ to make known the benefit of their particular group.

Our parish also holds a once a year stewardship fair when all ministries display their stations with posters, visual audio aids, pictures, coffee and donut for promotion and recruiting. A stewardship form with list of various ministries on it is passed on the pew for everyone to fill in their names and mark their potential interests. The filled form is collected by the ushers and given to each ministry head to make contact phone calls.

Does this help?
 
InLight247 said:
Our parish also holds a once a year stewardship fair when all ministries display their stations with posters, visual audio aids, pictures, coffee and donut for promotion and recruiting. A stewardship form with list of various ministries on it is passed on the pew for everyone to fill in their names and mark their potential interests. The filled form is collected by the ushers and given to each ministry head to make contact phone calls.

Does this help?
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👍

Our Parish does this as well.
 
InLight247 said:
It is true most parishes have about 20% people volunteer, participate in church activities and give money; the other 80% either not attend church or only attend one hour on Sunday. It is a sad fact.

I think you can start with the group you are in, talk to people and invite them to join, put announcement on the bulletin, do a podium announcement, and ask your priests help to promote. Each ministry head should make his or her effort along with other group members’ to make known the benefit of their particular group.

Our parish also holds a once a year stewardship fair when all ministries display their stations with posters, visual audio aids, pictures, coffee and donut for promotion and recruiting. A stewardship form with list of various ministries on it is passed on the pew for everyone to fill in their names and mark their potential interests. The filled form is collected by the ushers and given to each ministry head to make contact phone calls.

Does this help?
Click to expand...
This is the avenue that we are currently using and is woefully non-effective. We just flat out get refused when we promote a ministry fair. 2/3 of the ministries do not even have a chair to promote them.

It feels as though the Church entity has failed in educating its members on the importance of the Catholic Community.
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
This is the avenue that we are currently using and is woefully non-effective. We just flat out get refused when we promote a ministry fair. **2/3 of the ministries do not even have a chair to promote them. **

It feels as though the Church entity has failed in educating its members on the importance of the Catholic Community.
Click to expand...
Then the first step is to find a leader for each of those ministries. A group without a leader is hard to move on. Could your Pastor help to promote? I find the priests’ words play magic. When my ministry sponsors an event, if a priest announces it after Mass, more registration forms will come in. Can you discuss the situation with your priests?
 
What are the demographics of your parish? Are these mostly young families? Retirees? As with any kind of outreach (or in secular parlance “marketing”), knowing one’s audience is important. If, for example, you’re attempting to reach young families, make things easy for them. Invite them to family faith activities at which a kid-friendly dinner is served. Just an example. I find our local Jewish groups do a far better job at creating community – what are other faiths and parishes doing in your area and how might you borrow ideas from them?
 
gracepoole said:
What are the demographics of your parish? Are these mostly young families? Retirees? As with any kind of outreach (or in secular parlance “marketing”), knowing one’s audience is important. If, for example, you’re attempting to reach young families, make things easy for them. Invite them to family faith activities at which a kid-friendly dinner is served. Just an example. I find our local Jewish groups do a far better job at creating community – what are other faiths and parishes doing in your area and how might you borrow ideas from them?
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50% retiree
40% working/kids in college
10% single/working/kids at home

What we’re getting is that the retirees claim they have already fulfilled their obligations in the past. The remaining 50% have too many outside obligations.

It’s hard to pull from such a willing crowd.
 
GRATEFULONEjim said:
50% retiree
40% working/kids in college
10% single/working/kids at home

What we’re getting is that the retirees claim they have already fulfilled their obligations in the past. The remaining 50% have too many outside obligations.

It’s hard to pull from such a willing crowd.
Click to expand...
Do these retirees respond to educational experiences? For instance, my mom’s parish hosts a series of lectures each month on various Church or faith-related topics. They’re really popular and they usually motivate some great, reflective conversations (e.g., a lecture of early Christianity provoked parishioners to identify with these historical figures more centrally and consider how they might “keep the faith alive” in dark times). None of this is simple, for sure.
 
If you are on a position of a Commission Chair which oversees different ministries under the Commission, I recommend you to form a committee, a core team, to carry out the missions you want to achieve. Also, you may call meetings with the different ministries members, those 2/3 you mentioned that have no head to lead, and get a leader for each group. If you are not on a position of a Commission Chair, it makes it even harder to do what you want to do. If that is the case, you may want to talk to your Pastor to see if there is any chance to take on a Chair position and go from there.

No matter what the situation is, it is a long shot. But it is good to see you have the zeal for your church. And one person can make a difference. In the mean time, pray. Nothing works without prayer.
 
InLight247 said:
If you are on a position of a Commission Chair which oversees different ministries under the Commission, I recommend you to form a committee, a core team, to carry out the missions you want to achieve. Also, you may call meetings with the different ministries members, those 2/3 you mentioned that have no head to lead, and get a leader for each group. If you are not on a position of a Commission Chair, it makes it even harder to do what you want to do. If that is the case, you may want to talk to your Pastor to see if there is any chance to take on a Chair position and go from there.

No matter what the situation is, it is a long shot. But it is good to see you have the zeal for your church. And one person can make a difference. In the mean time, pray. Nothing works without prayer.
Click to expand...
I am currently the newly elected Pastoral Council President and have tried to inspire people to come forward to fill the vacancies on the Council and ask for chairs to oversee the various ministries that report to the Council. No luck…no interest…very frustrating!
 
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