Proclaim Conference, 21 to 23 August 2014

Authentic Welcoming Communities

How do we “take on the smell of the sheep?”

The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.[51] … Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse;

it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems. (47b, Evangelii Gaudium)

Presenter: Richard McMahon, Director of Parish Services, Wollongong

richard.mcmahon@dow.org.au

Our God of Welcome;

Our Church of Welcome?

Welcoming – not an optional extra…

God is the Great Host – Welcome to his birth,

attitude at his Baptism, welcoming little children,

woman with haemorrhage, welcome to his last

supper, welcome to his passion and death, parables

of welcome – highways and byways. When I was

hungry…

Eucharist is source and summit of our Christian Life

– so is source and summit of our welcome – the

highpoint of welcome.

Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel

48. If the whole Church takes up this missionary impulse, she has to go forth to everyone without exception. But to whom should she go first? When we read the Gospel we find a clear indication: not so much our friends and wealthy neighbours, but above all the poor and the sick, those who are usually despised and overlooked, “those who cannot repay you” (Lk 14:14). There can be no room for doubt or for explanations which weaken so clear a message. Today and always, “the poor are the privileged recipients of the Gospel”,[52] and the fact that it is freely preached to them is a sign of the kingdom that Jesus came to establish. We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon them.

49. Let us go forth, then, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ. ..: I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat” (Mk 6:37).

Reflection: What questions do we bring to the conversation about welcoming?

The Parable of the Welcoming Church

The Parish Pastoral Council of the Church of Ananias

and Sapphira decided before Christmas to put extra

effort into welcome. They adopted the following

strategies:

Bulletin and Website with Welcome Message

A Sign at back of the church with forms for new

parishioners

A List of ministries with invitation to join

A welcome tea and biscuits offered quarterly

after all the Masses

Father asking people to say hello and introduce

yourself after Mass

A prayer of the faithful asking those who have turned away from God may see the light and come back to

church.

The parish pastoral council asked the parishioners how they found the welcome initiative at Christmas

Mass with all the extra people. Here are their findings:

They came late and it was so noisy and they took my favourite spot

People were speaking during Mass or didn’t know the responses.

They weren’t reverent around the tabernacle

I noticed someone receive communion the wrong way

I couldn’t even get a seat and the bulletins ran out.

Despite Father asking people not to, some still clapped after the sacred liturgical movement

All those crying babies. I glared at one mother and told them to keep baby quiet but it didn’t help

Some people left early. Why do they bother c coming?

I think one fellow is divorced or had been in prison – what’s he doing there?

There wasn’t enough to eat and drink afterwards because of the extra people – had to get in quick

I saw some standing all by themselves and not bothering to talk to anyone

Some young guy was wearing one of those funny nose rings – disgusting! And there was a family that

couldn’t even speak English.

A guy in a wheelchair was taking up too much space

Only good thing is that Father said he was happy to see all the extras but why can’t they make more of an

effort during the year

The parish pastoral council were put out by this negative feedback. But they decided to persevere until the

end of Easter. Again, complaints rolled in.

There is a lot of cost and effort for little result

The welcome message takes up too much space in bulletin

people aren’t letting us know if they are new

people are not joining ministries, even when we tell them we are desperate. Annoyingly, some wanted to join

ministries which were already filled by regulars.

Only regulars turned up at the tea and coffee and the newcomers won’t approach to talk.

Worse still, Father even approached a few new families that had joined the school and asked them to join

cleaning roster and be catechist and they said “no” – can you believe it?

A few of the regulars are offended by all this talk of welcome because apparently they are doing it tough and

are feeling ignored in favour of the new outreach. But they are always complaining, so…

It was concluded to scrap the initiative. If people won’t make the effort to connect then they can’t be too

interested. Let them come when they are ready.

Reflection: What are some of the difficulties with welcoming?

Some observations

1. Building-centric – come to us

2. Passive – forced the one being welcomed to take

initiative

3. Attitude of entitlement among the parishioners:

Don’t touch the furniture, Shape up or ship out, You

are here under sufferance, You are not welcome

4. Attitude of “lepers” taken towards those that come

(eg prayer of the faithful)

Changing the Attitude to Welcome

Most important point. Welcome is not one person’s task, or one ministry group, it is every Baptised

person’s mission. We are all called to evangelise as our primary task.

1. Offering an authentic welcome. Compare our approach to if we were hosting a Dinner

Party. There are several steps in inviting a guest to a dinner. Do we consider all these steps when

considering our welcome of others? If we are going to prioritise welcome – is this reflected in our

budget?

Prepare – physical preparations, but also preparing our family/group.

Invite – where are the people we wish to welcome? How will we connect?

Welcome – when they arrive, how are they received?

Introduce – How do we connect them with others?

Engage – How do we move them from recipient to participant?

2. Prepare: How do we change the attitude to welcome?

a. Start with leadership, and establish a welcome committee early to oversee how the whole

community engages. Such a group should not let the leadership off the hook. They still

have primary responsibility.

b. Ensure any committee/planning team is aligned with existing structures and roles (eg

parish pastoral council, parish staff) to prevent tensions.

c. Breaking bread with our leaders – walking the talk. Early on, engage in meal and fellowship

with key welcoming committee members and parish leadership. Develop fellowship from

within so it becomes “contagious”.

d. Stewardship is a prime way to change attitude – it involves a movement away from

ownership to gratefulness and openness.

e. Ensure group coordinators are fully informed and formed in welcome. Are they excited

about welcoming newcomers? Will they be able to support them? Can rosters be opened

up? Again, are they breaking bread together, witnessing to welcome.

f. Engage whole assembly. A time to chat before Mass? After Mass?

g. Whole community formation sessions. Role plays work well (showing people ways of

inviting and engaging with strangers). Videos, and parables such as the one above,

homilies, bulletin notes and Lenten focus are all necessary. To change a culture takes more

than one bulletin notice. It may require several months of consistent formation and shared

messages from leadership.

3. Invite: Offering many, many doors of welcome

a. Saying hi to people at Mass and after Mass – engaging with those in our midst.

b. Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

c. Sacramental preparation – baptism, reconciliation, first communion, confirmation,

marriage, anointing of the sick

d. Funeral ministry - bereavement

e. Kinder orientation

f. High school orientation

g. Catholics Returning Home

h. Parents and Friends; Parent Advisory Committee

i. Open Days

j. Picnic

k. Stall at the local market

l. Table outside Mass – staffed!

m. Website – bulletin – signs in shops, libraries, hotels…

n. Letter box drops

o. Door knocks

p. Local newspaper…

4. Welcome! Offering many, many ways to depth welcome – follow up etc a. Welcome of all the community!

i. Ministers

ii. When approaching or leaving church (or other event)

iii. At the end of the phone

iv. The response in an email

v. The way a bulletin notice reads

vi. How people respond at events

b. Welcome Pack and strategies (hand out)

i. Lollies

ii. Small cross, rosary beads, candle

iii. Prayer card

iv. Business card

v. Pen

vi. Registration form

vii. Welcome letter

viii. Welcome brochure

ix. Recent bulletin or newsletter

x. Upcoming events

xi. List of how to get around in parish and who is who… (may be different from

welcome brochure – maybe more of a ministry guide)

5. Engage: What’s at the heart of our welcome? Are we sincere? a. Do we welcome THEIR group into OUR GROUP of privilege?

b. Or Introduce Church to the ONE AND THE SAME GROUP of which we are all a part

c. In other words, are we interested in the newcomer, the stranger, for their sake? Are we

prepared to hear their wisdom, to be challenged, transformed by them?

Levels of Engagement

Below are two diagrams offering ways of considering the mix of people we are seeking to welcome.

For each group listed in the second diagram there are a variety of approaches we can take to

engagement. The Faith Formation 2020 website offers many such strategies.

The Active Engaged, Disengaged and Actively Disengaged – Leisa Anslinger

Don’t worry about actively disengaged – focus on actively engaged and those on the “cusp”.

Meeting Members' Needs: Hierarchy of Belonging

by Albert L. Winseman, D. Min., Religion and Social Trends Editor http://www.gallup.com/poll/7048/Meeting-Members-Needs-Hierarchy-Belonging.aspx

What do I get? This is an elementary need -- the need to receive something of value -- that forms the foundation of any organization to which an individual commits. Engaged members believe they receive something valuable from belonging to their faith communities.

What can I give? Human beings have an innate need to give of themselves. Congregations are ideally suited to meet this need, and engaged members feel that they make a valuable contribution to the success and effectiveness of their faith communities.

Do I belong? People naturally want to fit in with the others in the groups to which they belong. Another way to ask this question is, "Am I valued?" Engaged members feel that they belong in their congregations and they also feel valued by them.

How can we grow? The human desire to learn and grow --intellectually, spiritually and emotionally -- is a need that individuals expect to meet in their congregations. Standing still is not an option; engaged members believe that they have grown by being part of their faith communities.

The resolution of each of these "belonging" questions is necessary in order to move on to the following one – thus, the set can be viewed as a pyramid, with each level building upon the other and creating a "hierarchy of engagement."

Key Points

When new members join a faith community, they first ask, "What do I get?" in an attempt to decide if belonging to this organisation is worth their investment of time, effort and self. If they determine that they will receive enough value from joining, they will then ask, "What can I give?" and look for ways that their unique talents can contribute to the congregation. From there they will ask, "Do I belong?" as they look for signs that they are valued. When they know that they receive something of value from belonging, that they make a meaningful contribution to the life of the congregation, and that they are valued, they will then look for signs that the organization's members are growing in their faith. Recognizing this process is vitally important for congregation leaders intent upon improving engagement levels among their members.

The Welcome of the Highways and Byways

Entering into the landscape of school, playgroup, university, prison, hospitals, shopping centre…

Ali Jafari, 34, from Iran plays Soccer with other Asylum seekers every Saturday morning. Picture: Dave CroninSource: News Limited

During the eight desperate months Ali Jafari spent in detention on Christmas Island, there was one saving grace. Every other Sunday, asylum seekers were taken out to play soccer in the dirt. They didn’t have the right shoes or equipment, but to Ali, who arrived from Iran with just one backpack of possessions, it didn’t matter.

“In those two to three hours we were in heaven,” he says. “There was no thinking about our families or memories, or how terrible it was there. It was the closest thing to freedom.”

Ali was granted a permanent visa in 2011 and is now the co-director of the South Australian branch of refugee support network Welcome to Australia. The 34 year old Kurdish refugee has organised a weekly soccer match for asylum seekers on bridging visas. Every Saturday, rain, hail or shine, up to 40 people meet in the Adelaide parklands, near the corner of Medindie Rd and Robe Tce, for a friendly game of soccer. While the men play, women and children stand on the sidelines to support, cheer, chat and eat slices of orange. It’s the latest initiative of Welcome to Australia’s Bowden-based support group The Welcome Centre.

The group provides support to asylum seekers, refugees and new arrivals through English classes, volunteer opportunities, emergency relief and friendship. Welcome to Australia’s national director Brad Chilcott says there is a groundswell of people wanting to welcome new arrivals to the community.

“Something small like this can show them that not all Australians are against them,” he says. “That there is compassion and community in this country.”

The centre is asking people to donate new soccer boots through their program Asylum Sneakers. Volunteer Antony Cole, 30, goes for a game every Saturday to learn more about the asylum seeker issue.

“This is a practical way for me to be able to help,” he says. “And the best part is seeing all these people so happy. They’re also damn good at soccer.”

For more information on Asylum Sneakers, go to www.asylumsneakers.org.au

Monique Bowley ; From: The City ;July 30, 2014; 6:00PM