Welcoming new parishoners

[Sheeniac]

All,

I’ve volunteered to help out my parish in putting together a little something 3 times a year to welcome new parishoners.

The thinking is that our parish is not that welcoming, or perhaps not a real community of faith.

Any suggestion?

This will be open to all, and I’ve volunteered to hand out flyers one Sunday to invite people after the Masses. I’m going to get a costume made of a slice of cake, and hope that will draw attention to me.

I will stand outside the Church (in January…brrr…) out of respect for His Real Presence, but I think we need to startle people out of their apathy.

What else can be done to help get people together?

 

[PatienceAndLove]

I would forgo the cake idea
My church has a welcoming potluck once a month, and we have “induction” classes for new parishioners. Fr. Larry wants to make sure all of the parishioners understand the Church’s teachings and respect Our Lord.
I wish I could find a link to provide for you. If I do, I will post it.

 

[theresa]

I agree with the previous post that you should skip the cake costume idea. You shouldn’t feel that you need to attract people to the church using an undignified tactic. Rather, reach out to those who are new to the parish. A parish potluck is a great idea and one that my own parish has recently done. It was a huge success. Another idea is to have the parish priest host an informational evening with representatives of the different parish organizations. This way people can learn about the parish and get involved right away if they wish.

 

[conan025]

We have the standard coffe and doughnuts. We also invite newcomers to join us for brunch afterwards. (Ours is a small parish, so we can do this.)

 

[jc-servant]

Every couple of months we have “Discover St. Ann” on Sunday afternoon. Reps from all ministries and organizations try to man a spot at a table with info so that anyone who is new or just looking for info on something new to do can get it easily. They promote it in the bulletin and at all masses. I wish they had done it back when I first joined the parish years ago.

We also have a “welcome cart” in the narthex with all kinds of brochures. Every ministry or organization is asked to work it after all masses on one weekend on a rotating basis. Since we have a lot of groups it does not become burdensome to one group to be out there every weekend. Everyone who wants doughnuts or coffee must pass through the narthex to get to the goodies, so the cart is in a great spot.

When I’ve done the cart I just say hello to people who walk by, especially if I don’t recognize them. I ask if they are new or looking to find info on something. I give a personal welcome to the parish if someone is new. I ask about them and make suggestions and try to get them to show up for at least one thing outside of the weekend liturgy to dip their toe in the water. I feel like my parish is so welcoming that once someone dips a toe we just suck them into the whirlpool and they never want to get out!

We have found that people really like getting a personal invitation to check something out, especially if they are given a name of someone who will be there and welcomed again when they do show up.