Townhall Meeting after Homily of Mass

[lakotak]

I’ll try to make this short. The parish I am in, the people are rather cold towards anything other than a social gathering. Father had called for a Townhall meeting after Mass to discuss things like the sale of a church property, etc. Well, only about twelve of us stayed, most of us was from the Parish Council and Finance Committee. The meeting had been announced for the last two weeks. It was to have taken place after the Saturday Mass and the Sunday Mass. Father was very upset and called the meetings off.

Now Father is a very devout person and a great speaker;however, what he wants to do next really bothers my conscious. He want to have the townhall meeting right after the Homily, right during Mass. My conscious tells me, or the Holy Spirit, that this is not the appropriate place to have this kind of a meeting. I don’t feel he should use the Mass as a premise for a townhall meeting. I understand why he is doing this, but I feel this is not the way.

I would like to hear what others think of this.

Thanks.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I’ll try to make this short. The parish I am in, the people are rather cold towards anything other than a social gathering. Father had called for a Townhall meeting after Mass to discuss things like the sale of a church property, etc. Well, only about twelve of us stayed, most of us was from the Parish Council and Finance Committee. The meeting had been announced for the last two weeks. It was to have taken place after the Saturday Mass and the Sunday Mass. Father was very upset and called the meetings off.

Now Father is a very devout person and a great speaker;however, what he wants to do next really bothers my conscious. He want to have the townhall meeting right after the Homily, right during Mass. My conscious tells me, or the Holy Spirit, that this is not the appropriate place to have this kind of a meeting. I don’t feel he should use the Mass as a premise for a townhall meeting. I understand why he is doing this, but I feel this is not the way.

I would like to hear what others think of this.

Thanks.

I think it’s a bad idea. The middle of Mass is not the time for a town hall meeting. I think the previous plan was acceptable, even if only a few showed up. If people aren’t interested in showing up for the meeting, they have no reason to complain about the results. This type of thing has happened in my parish and Father made it clear that if you want (name removed by moderator)ut into whatever was being discussed, show up, otherwise things will proceed without your (name removed by moderator)ut. In truth, that’s probably how most parishes operate.

 

[laszlo]

I was present either before Vatican II and after on community discussion instead of homily. If the pastor controls is it can be justifiable, a bit stretching the rules but still acceptable.

For the peace of your mind you may ask the diocese about it. This forum os not judge.

 

[Pakesh]

It is not at all appropriate to do that in the middle of the Mass. The Liturgy is not the plaything of the clergy or the people.
God Bless,
Pakesh

 

[thequeen]

It is not appropriate at all The Mass should be the mass and nothing else.

 

[lizaanne]

NO - the sacrifice of the Mass is NOT a townhall meeting for Father’s purposes, regardless of how important he may feel it is.

My goodness, he should know better. Please make sure this does not happen, it leads the faithful away from the purpose of the Mass.

Just when you think you’ve heard it all.

~Liza

 

[Claire_from_DE]

IMO, this should be done at a parish council meeting that is open to all the parishioners. The council represents the parish and the opportunity is given for all to participate. Those who have no interest won’t come and will accept whatever is done.

Father must be very frustrated and perhaps is hesitant to make such decisions on his own. But that’s why there are parish councils. My suggestion is to make a preliminary decision about what to do based on the (name removed by moderator)ut he has, write it up as an insert to the parish bulletin, and have a final meeting before taking action. That way no one can later complain of being ignored.

This sort of thing shouldn’t be done at Mass. What about having the final meeting at a ‘social gathering’ after Mass with breakfast provided by the Sodality or K of C?

 

[zab]

I’ll try to make this short. The parish I am in, the people are rather cold towards anything other than a social gathering. Father had called for a Townhall meeting after Mass to discuss things like the sale of a church property, etc. Did he provide for babysitting?
Well, only about twelve of us stayed, most of us was from the Parish Council and Finance Committee. The meeting had been announced for the last two weeks. It was to have taken place after the Saturday Mass and the Sunday Mass. Father was very upset and called the meetings off.

Now Father is a very devout person and a great speaker;however, what he wants to do next really bothers my conscious. He want to have the townhall meeting right after the Homily, right during Mass. I don’t think this is appropriate My conscious tells me, or the Holy Spirit, that this is not the appropriate place to have this kind of a meeting. I don’t feel he should use the Mass as a premise for a townhall meeting. I understand why he is doing this, but I feel this is not the way.

I would like to hear what others think of this.

Thanks.

I agree with the person who said that the parishioners should be invited to the parish council meeting, or a special meeting to discuss this issue. It is not appropriate to hold a “townhall meeting” in the middle of Mass. And I’m not surprised that only a few people showed up after the Sunday Masses, especially families with young children and elderly people who sometimes struggle just to get through Mass.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I can relate, our parish struggled to get all the people in for a General Parish Council meeting with most of the regular parishioners. It had to be rescheduled several times. I’m sure the priest probably didn’t want to put the Mass on hold for this, but the people just didn’t care enough. This also falls on the parishioners, we should support our priests and our parish, not just show up for Liturgy. We definitely have a role in the life of a parish.

 

[lakotak]

An update to my thread.

I spoke with Father about this last month and he said that I was right that it should not be done after the homily. I just got back from a Parish Council meeting and now he is going to have a town hall meeting right after Communion. I just don’t feel right about this and I am not going to Mass at this Church this coming weekend.

 

[benedictgal]

An update to my thread.

I spoke with Father about this last month and he said that I was right that it should not be done after the homily. I just got back from a Parish Council meeting and now he is going to have a town hall meeting right after Communion. I just don’t feel right about this and I am not going to Mass at this Church this coming weekend.

According to the Roman Missal, the time for any brief announcements should be after the post-communion prayer, but, before the final blessing. The town hall meeting does not have any business being in any part of the Mass. Father should schedule it away from the Mass. If people want to come, they will.

 

[lakotak]

According to the Roman Missal, the time for any brief announcements should be after the post-communion prayer, but, before the final blessing. The town hall meeting does not have any business being in any part of the Mass. Father should schedule it away from the Mass. If people want to come, they will.

I agree, but he seems determined to do this. We had a long conversation about this being after the homily last month. I am not sure what to do. It is like he is trying to force the people to come when most in my parish are oblivious and could care less about what is happening. I don’t feel comfortable with this.

 

[benedictgal]

I agree, but he seems determined to do this. We had a long conversation about this being after the homily last month. I am not sure what to do. It is like he is trying to force the people to come when most in my parish are oblivious and could care less about what is happening. I don’t feel comfortable with this.

This has gone past the point that it needs diocesan intervention. The bishop needs to be made aware of this. While the priest’s intentions may be good, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is neither the time nor the place for such a meeting.