Reach Out and Welcome Back
What can parishes do beyond what is already being done? Perhaps "New Evangelization" implies a shift not in tactics, but in motivation and method. The promotion of a New Evangelization by Pope Benedict focuses on equipping engaged parishioners to witness to those who are within our reach, who while baptized Catholic, have drifted away. New evangelization invites us to make an examination of conscience as a parish. Pope Benedict calls upon parishes "to evaluate their pastoral practice on the basis of the missionary character of their programs and activities." New Evangelization will necessitate a willingness to consider new models and measures for parish success. This will include new approaches for supporting faith at home, encouraging ministries off church property, adopting new technologies for communicating the Good News and providing access to the richness of Catholic spirituality 24/7/365.
Responsive parishes can start by alerting parishioners that one in ten Americans is a former Catholic. Perhaps we can learn to listen for the particular reasons why Catholics stop coming to church and exercise creativity in response to the spiritual hunger that lies just beneath the surface of that discontent.
Consider the video below as just one example of the creative responses that any parish is capable of producing:
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Welcome all people back to church this fall
The Welcome to Our Church video at the right is part of an annual fall campaign to welcome all people back to church. Fall is a time of change but it is also one of those times that people are drawn back to traditions and the essential priorities of their lives. Fall is a time that people are open to the invitation to return to church. Why not celebrate the Year of Faith by welcoming people back to your church!
Contact the Office of Parish Life for more ways to welcome people back to your church this fall. |
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Consider what it takes to be an irresistible church.
Churches that want to attract people, are well advised to start with those who were once members. This group has at least a familiarity, if not a childhood fondness for the church. The Pew Forum recently reported on reasons why these folks left the Catholic Church. Increasing numbers of these former Catholics are either staying unaffiliated or wander from congregation to congregation.
Among the most significant reasons given for leaving in this last report, a few items (see chart to the left) are especially significant. This chart also reveals the difference between those who leave the Catholic church only to remain unaffiliated verses those who leave and find a home in a different church.
Among the most stunning results is that most people who leave the Catholic Church simply drift away. Admittedly some disagree with long-standing teachings and no pastor would consider changing core teaching just to satisfy those who are dissatisfied. But this is not the major concern reported for those who have left. They have been allowed to just slip away unnoticed. This is almost surreal to imagine. Most of those who drifted away or joined another church indicated that they found their spiritual needs were better met elsewhere or they found that they simply liked another community better. According to this report, there is no reason to fear that Jesus Christ still lives and is relevant to people or that the Gospel still has power in people's lives.
This is almost as if we were hypnotized or these Catholics were invisible among us. Can you imagine a visitor entering and leaving your home during a celebration without notice? This suggests a tremendous lack in customer relations skills on our part. We all know the difference between a business that is clearly glad to see a visitor and one that is not. After hearing accounts from the Acts of the Apostles, we must ask ourselves if some parishes by comparison seem to be filled with hypnotized parishioners. This must be a shock to those who come hoping for a transformative experience of worship, or an encounter with the living Christ through a vibrant community like they read about in the Bible.
Furthermore, when other studies inquired with those still active, they found similar expressions of dissatisfaction regarding the same issues (church teachings, treatment of marginal groups or the clergy abuse scandal). And yet, somehow these disagreements did not constitute a deal breaker for those who stayed. Could the difference be that someone simply paid attention to us when we needed it? Perhaps someone took time to comfort us when we were hurting or talked through our disagreements when we could not understand? Some churches keep track of those who leave and find out why using an exit interview.
Several studies have also pointed to a dissatisfaction with the quality of worship, a lack of welcome or disappointment with the homily for why Catholics leave. What should be most stunning about so many of these issues is that they are all things over which the parish has significant control. While we cannot change universal church teaching, pastors can get help with making their preaching relevant to the congregation. We can all pay more attention to those who are at the margins of our communities. Parishes can discuss their spiritual hungers in small faith groups, address learn about the teaching of the church and rediscover the rich treasures that make being Catholic worth the commitment.
Through the upcoming Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI invites us to a new vitality through new evangelization Don't be a zombie church. This is our chance to come alive.
Contact Dennis Mahaney, Office of Parish Life for more ideas or call 716-847-8393.
Among the most significant reasons given for leaving in this last report, a few items (see chart to the left) are especially significant. This chart also reveals the difference between those who leave the Catholic church only to remain unaffiliated verses those who leave and find a home in a different church.
Among the most stunning results is that most people who leave the Catholic Church simply drift away. Admittedly some disagree with long-standing teachings and no pastor would consider changing core teaching just to satisfy those who are dissatisfied. But this is not the major concern reported for those who have left. They have been allowed to just slip away unnoticed. This is almost surreal to imagine. Most of those who drifted away or joined another church indicated that they found their spiritual needs were better met elsewhere or they found that they simply liked another community better. According to this report, there is no reason to fear that Jesus Christ still lives and is relevant to people or that the Gospel still has power in people's lives.
This is almost as if we were hypnotized or these Catholics were invisible among us. Can you imagine a visitor entering and leaving your home during a celebration without notice? This suggests a tremendous lack in customer relations skills on our part. We all know the difference between a business that is clearly glad to see a visitor and one that is not. After hearing accounts from the Acts of the Apostles, we must ask ourselves if some parishes by comparison seem to be filled with hypnotized parishioners. This must be a shock to those who come hoping for a transformative experience of worship, or an encounter with the living Christ through a vibrant community like they read about in the Bible.
Furthermore, when other studies inquired with those still active, they found similar expressions of dissatisfaction regarding the same issues (church teachings, treatment of marginal groups or the clergy abuse scandal). And yet, somehow these disagreements did not constitute a deal breaker for those who stayed. Could the difference be that someone simply paid attention to us when we needed it? Perhaps someone took time to comfort us when we were hurting or talked through our disagreements when we could not understand? Some churches keep track of those who leave and find out why using an exit interview.
Several studies have also pointed to a dissatisfaction with the quality of worship, a lack of welcome or disappointment with the homily for why Catholics leave. What should be most stunning about so many of these issues is that they are all things over which the parish has significant control. While we cannot change universal church teaching, pastors can get help with making their preaching relevant to the congregation. We can all pay more attention to those who are at the margins of our communities. Parishes can discuss their spiritual hungers in small faith groups, address learn about the teaching of the church and rediscover the rich treasures that make being Catholic worth the commitment.
Through the upcoming Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI invites us to a new vitality through new evangelization Don't be a zombie church. This is our chance to come alive.
Contact Dennis Mahaney, Office of Parish Life for more ideas or call 716-847-8393.
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Web Resources
New Evangelization - Resources from the U.S.C.C.B., 2012
Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization - U.S.C.C.B., 2012 Porta Fidei - Pope Benedict XVI, 2011 New Evangelization, Synod Preparatory Materials - Vatican, 2012 Pouring New Wine Into New Wineskins: The New Evangelization and What It Means for the Way We Do Catechesis by Bishop Edward Clark, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 2006 |
evangelization, new evangelization, parish, Catholic, renewal, innovation, pastoral planning, faith formation, young adults, Millennials, Mosaics