IS IT REALISTIC FOR US TO THINK THAT WE COULD DOUBLE THE SIZE OF OUR PARISH IN ONE YEAR?

Why not? Why shouldn’t we aim high? Really, is it that high at all? Is it really so unrealistic to ask every member of our Parish to shepherd one soul back to the Sacraments and to the practice of their faith in the next year? Is that so impossible, for each one to reach one, and work with them for a year and to invite them to come and learn more of the faith?

Well, we are going to try. 

As a Parish we previously engaged in a door-to-door "Ambassador" program which did not produce the results we thought it should. Countless homes were visited and yet our Weekend numbers did not really budge.

But we are aware that friendship and family is a more fruitful vine than the “cold-contact” approach of door to door solicitation. We’re not going back to that, but every parishioner knows at least five members from among their family or friends who need to come to God’s House either because they have drifted, or because they have never had a Church home at all. It’s time to go to work and shepherd them back.

And this is not going to be a one-time ask, a la “Come to Christmas Mass with me.”

What we are asking is a year-long effort that would include some of the following:

• Introduce – On January 1, 2012, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, I am going to ask every member of our Parish to prepare to commit to the Lord that they will shepherd one soul back to weekend Mass.
• Pray and Discern - Between January 1st and the First Sunday of Lent (February 26, 2012), we are to pray and ask the Lord who that person might be. It may not be the obvious one, such as a spouse or a child. Then again it may be. Simply pray and ask the Lord for guidance: “Who Lord? Who? Speak to my heart Lord, show me who. Who is it that I reasonably know and will be able to gently shepherd?”
• Commit – On that First Sunday of Lent we will be asked to commit to shepherd that one soul to the Lord by spending the remainder of the next year praying, some fasting and abstaining too, befriending, drawing closer and meeting with that person. Parishioners will be asked to place the name of this person on a card. The cards will be collected and placed near the Altar, in the same way we do for the Holy Souls in the month of November. Throughout the year, Masses will be offered for these souls who have drifted.
• Reflect on Personal Testimony – During Lent each Parishioner who has agreed will be asked to write a letter of testimony and thanksgiving to the Lord thanking him for the gift of their faith, for the Church and for the Sacraments and to say something of why they are glad to be a Catholic all while telling  how the Lord has blessed them in their practice of their faith. These letters will be presented as a gift of thanksgiving to God on Easter Sunday (April 8, 2012.) Writing these letters will also help the faithful to hone their own testimony which they can later share with the soul they are shepherding, if they desire.
• Ongoing Parish Formation – During the period after Easter and through the Feast of Corpus Christi (June 10, 2012) opportunities will be made available in the parish to give guidance to people on how to lovingly converse with the person they are leading back. There are many “meeting stories” in the Bible (e.g. Jesus with the woman at the well, Nicodemus, Peter and Andrew and so forth). These passages and other resources will be given the parishioners to help them engage in a kind of friendship evangelization. The first step in friendship evangelization is friendship. And these reflections will help equip parishioners to draw close to the person they are praying to lead back in a way that is not manipulative or secret, but which is also not filled with pressures.
• Relate and Befriend – Over the period of this coming year, make it a habit to contact and speak with the person. Talk with them. Listen to their stories and ideas. Find out where they hurt and where they find joy. Find out how they drifted from Church or why they have never gone in the first place. Perhaps they have felt hurt or betrayed by the Church. Maybe they are not used to considering the real meaning of their life and have never taken time to consider that this life will end. There is a real power in listening to people in a respectful and loving way. In this stage we also tell our own stories and how the Lord has blessed us and what the Church, the Sacraments, the Word of God and the Parish have done for us.
• Invite – Without lots of pressure, invite them to Church functions. They may not be ready to sit in a pew on Sunday for Mass. But we will have presentations, Bible Studies, movies, our Lenten Fish Fry, Bingo, the Parish Festival, and a myriad of other Parish functions that do not involve attendance at Mass.
• Pray and Fast – Continue to pray, as will the Parish. Consider some fasting, and abstinence, or take up a spiritual practice such as the Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet, devotional reading etc. and offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord for the return to the faith of the person you are shepherding.
• Invite – As the relationship deepens, let the Lord help you to know when and how it is best to explicitly ask this person to either resume the regular practice of their faith or to begin to come regularly on weekends with you. If it does not naturally occur earlier, a good time to aim for this is as summer is coming to a close and when RCIA classes resume.  You would do well to invite them to learn more about the Catholic faith through the RCIA classes, AND . . . to attend with them if at all possible so that you have a common ground for ongoing discussion and conversion/transformation.
• Assess – As the year draws to a close on the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, January 1, 2013, we might well see if our numbers have increased, if not doubled!

There is an acronym for projects like these that have been undertaken: S.M.A.R.T. We believe this good work of mercy meets the criteria:

• Specific – Each one, reach one
• Measurable – Double the size of weekend Mass attendance
• Achievable – It is quite possible for every parishioner to take up this challenge and, over a year meet many, if not all, the milestones.
• Realistic – To double our Weekend Attendance is challenging but not unrealistic if everyone does their part and we remember that the Lord always helps us in His good works.  He provides, when necessary!
• Time Based – 1 year, with specific milestones along the way

Simply increasing numbers is not the only or even most important goal.

Rather, that we should authentically evangelize and draw souls to Christ; to His Sacraments; to His Word and to the camaraderie of His Catholic Church. At the heart of Evangelization is relationship: meeting Christ in others and allowing them to meet Christ in us. This is what Jesus Himself did!  He went out and met others and summoned them to the Kingdom by stages and through relationships. He tells us to do the same also: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And Lo I am with you always, until the end of the world. (Matt 28:19)

Are we crazy? 

Perhaps, but at least call us fools for Christ! We are going to aim high, to double our Weekend attendance, not just for the sake of increasing our numbers, but rather for what this represents, souls coming back to God’s Church, to be nourished at the Altar of the Word and Eucharist and to be more deeply immersed in Christ. How about you? Will you be crazy too with us? Are you willing to join us in being fools for Christ? Let’s get started, for there is a lot of work to do!!!  On our own, we cannot accomplish this, but with God’s help and assistance, all is possible!