What is your parish doing to prepare for the influx of C&E (Christmas and Easter) Catholics at Christmas Mass this season?
Making more room and bringing in more chairs? Assigning more extraordinary ministers? More greeters and seaters? More hosts and wine? You might need all of those.
But what are you doing to make a special connection with those C&E Catholics (and anyone else who may be visiting)?
Just think. What if you did something that actually started a meaningful relationship with them? What if you did something that allowed you to make a connection and continue your relationship with them between now and when you see them next (next Easter or Christmas ... or maybe never)?
What if you did something that made them want to come back next week even? Or to attend some event you have coming up?
Intrigue them. Connect with them. Show them that you miss them and care for them. Make them comfortable. Go out of your way to welcome them (but don’t annoy them). Show them that your parish offers something that they need (they just don’t know it yet). Be creative.
One simple thing you could do is start an emailing list and get their email address (something flockNote can help you with). And then only send them stuff that is interesting and helpful and not annoying, of course. But think of something intriguing you can send them that will make people want to sign up (i.e. Father Bob’s ten most embarrassing life stories that taught him about God). Again, be creative.
Or another great idea I’ve seen is this parish book program by Dynamic Catholic. You can get a great book like “Rediscover Catholicism,” by Matthew Kelley, for $2 each. Imagine if you spent $4,000 on 2,000 copies (find some parishioners to sponsor it if you need to). And you gave them out for free to the crowd of people standing at the back of the church?
Let’s be conservative and assume that only 20 of those 2,000 books affect somebody to the point of coming back to your parish and being a regular member. From a financial perspective, those 20 people would end up contributing $416,000 over time. That’s a pretty darn good return on investment for a $4,000 up-front cost. And, of course, the spiritual benefits to both those individuals and your parish, along with the ripple effects, would be immeasurable.
Anyway, that’s just one example. But the influx of people at Christmas and Easter is a huge missed opportunity for a lot of struggling parishes out there. Don’t let your parish miss it this year.
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Okay, I’ll be the first.
At the 6:00 Eve mass, we have a live nativity (no animals, sorry). We have a young boy as a shepard, a teen male and female as Mary & Joseph and somebody’s infant as the Baby Jesus…which usually gives us a giggle because the kid will get cranky…very unChristlike but that’s what’s so funny about it. But then again, “maybe” Baby Jesus was a crankly infant.
Well, I’m cranky when I see nine hundred people at Mass on Christmas and Easter and 100 the week after.
“Give a book” idea is excellent. Great project for the local Knights of Columbus to sponsor in colaboration with a parish. I’m going to bring it up at our next business meeting!
Bah humbug. Writing as a former Chreaster Catholic, I suggest everyone read the recently circulated articles about Jimmy Fallon and understand that having hippie-dippy welcome sessions would have completely turned me off of the church experience, just as he mocks it today. Yeah, books are a good idea—trying to be too “clever” or “relevant” would have spooked me off.
The best thing we can do is to lead by example: Observe sacred silence so that perhaps they will, too. Make sure you are being reverent during the Consecration, so that they get the idea that something special is going on. Christmas carols are great, but let’s try to keep the music pretty, too. It’s 2011 and Generations X, Y, and Z are not impressed by folk groups with a song repertoire that sounds like “Puff the Magic Dragon.” That is NOT the Peter, Paul, and Mary we want to introduce them to.
As for me and mine, we’ll go to a very early Christmas morning Mass, so as to avoid the crowds.
Matthew, I am rather shocked that you mention such a motive as potential financial gain from new people either joining a parish or returning to church after a period away. One’s only motive should be that of elevating Christ into the life of a man or woman. The fact that you would mention the Christmas and Easter season as an opportunity to grow a new source of revenue I really find quite disturbing. Glory goes to the Lord for His provision and not to new people for having increased the Sunday collection. If one’s pastoral staff had financial gain as their motive, I would leave that parish in a heartbeat.
“Lector at Mass” - I don’t think that’s a very charitable view of what I said. And I’m sorry if you misunderstood me. But if you read what I said right after that statement, it was to confirm that the spiritual benefits to those parishioners and to others would be “immeasurable” as compared to the financial return on investment.
And the primary reason I mention such a “return on investment” is to help parishes more than justify spending a little money to help their parishioners. AND that doing such would bring even more financial value back to the parish so that, of course, they are able to help even more people experience Christ with such “financial gain.”
It’s called being good stewards of parishioner tithes and if more parishes were as good a stewards, they would be helping a lot more people.
Matthew, Please forgive my misunderstanding. I accept your explanation. Thank you. I admit I must work harder against becoming too cynical. In my diocese and parish, an ever increasing emphasis upon money, second collections, pledge drives, etc. seem to take away from things spiritual. I do appreciate your comment and that your intent was spiritually motivated.
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