Ideas forParish

Evangelization Advent/Christmas

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All of parish life can seem very busy. But two of the busiest times of the year are Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. The ideas offered here are simple ways that your parish can INVITE and WELCOME people to participate in the Advent/Christmas Seasons. [Many more will come for Lent/Easter.]

The ideas are offered as a supplement to what you already have planned. There may be more ideas here than you can use. That’s OK. Pick what might work for you now. Perhaps an idea or thought will spark another idea. Great!

Look at all the ways that people are gathering now in your parish [fairs, concerts, plays, special services]. All of these can occasions to offer a simple word of invitation, to leave a flyer, to offer a welcome, to enter into some conversation over refreshments.

Table of Contents………………………………………………….. 1

INVITATIONEmail Blast………………………………………………………2

AttachmentsTelephone Message…………………………………………. 3

WELCOMEAnswering the Telephone………………………………… 3 Parking Lot…………………………………………………… 4Pew……………………………………………………………… 4 Pulpit

Advent ………………………………………………….. 5Christmas ……………………………………………… 6

Greeters………………………………………………………. 6Bulletin……………………………………………………….. 7

REFLECTIONS ABOUT CHRISTMAS……………………….. 7-10

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INVITATIONEmail Blast

Many parishes have collected email addresses for its members. Whether it was at the time of registering in the parish, or signing up children for religious education, or enrolling in the school associated with the parish, we have another way of contacting people who are members of the parish.

In the remaining weeks of Advent, and into the Christmas Season, we have an opportunity to invite people to join in the parish’s worship at Mass, and to alert people to any special program we are having.

If you send out an email, or simply include information about Mass times in your bulletin, say something about each of the Masses. This information might help people make a decision about what Mass to attend.

For example, you might say, “The Mass at 4:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve has had the most people attending. In fact, we have often found that by 3:30, the church is entirely full. Please, plan on arriving early.” Or, “People tell us that they are really touched by the Mass at 8:00 p.m. The choir provides beautiful singing even before Mass begins and there is a very reflective tone. It is a place of peace in the midst of very hectic days.”

In sending out an email, add a note about how wonderful it is to see such a great “family gathering” at Christmas Mass. Some ways of speaking about this season are offered in the section, Lines, Lights, Waiting and Gathering.

AttachmentsIf you create a flyer, these can be sent as attachments with the email. If you send it out as an attachment, it is possible to have a lot of color in the flyer, versus simply copying black text/images on colored paper.

Regardless of the program used to create the flyer, it is recommended that you convert it to a PDF file, when you send as an attachment.This is easy to do from Microsoft Publisher or Microsoft WORD.

A flyer can also be sent home with every child in your religious education program or the Catholic school. Children in Catholic schools usually come from a number of parishes. You can adapt the flyer to reflect that.

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Telephone Message

Catholic schools often have a way of making automatic telephone calls to families for special notifications, especially about school closures because of weather. This same system can be used to make a brief invitation to Christmas Mass. A message from the pastor or the principal is another way to share your joy about the Birth of Jesus, about the great difference that Jesus’ coming among us makes for the world and for you personally. The message can also be an invitation to participate with the Parish Family as we gather to give thanks to God for so great a gift.

Again, a brief word about anything special at the Christmas Masses might help people to decide what Mass to attend.

WELCOMEAnswering the Telephone

Despite publishing the Christmas Mass times in as many places as you think possible, every parish office/rectory receives a multitude of telephone calls asking for the Mass times. Sometimes we can become impatient with these calls.

Before answering the phone in the hectic day/days before Christmas, recall this: Those who are calling probably have not seen our announcements, many because they are not frequent participants at Mass. These “guests” to our family’s Eucharistic Table need to be welcomed in a particular way.

If someone calls and asks, “Could you tell me your Mass times for Christmas?” perhaps the first response could be, “I’m so glad you called. We have a number of Masses. [You may add a phrase or two as you give the times – “Please know that the Church is usually entirely full at 3:30 for Mass that begins at 4 p.m.]. And, end with, “We are so looking forward to welcoming you to the celebration of the Birth of Jesus.”

Since Christmas this year falls on a Saturday, many parish offices will be closed. This means many parishes will use recorded messages. Begin these messages with a note of welcome, “If you are calling for the times of Christmas Mass, we are so glad that you called. We will celebrate Mass at …. [Again, any phrases to describe the Mass].” And, end with a note of welcome, “We so look forward to welcoming you to our celebration of the Birth of Jesus. He truly is the Prince of Peace who brings new life to everyone everywhere.”

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Parking Lot

Because people form a first impression of others within 3-5 seconds of meeting them, it is important that your parish consider what happens within the first 3-5 minutes of people arriving at your parish. This begins with people arriving at your parking lot. Two parking lot ideas can easily be implemented.

1. Ask regular parishioners to leave the best parking spaces (up front and close to the entrances) for guests and to park further back in the church lot. Ask them by making announcements at Mass and in the bulletins.

2. Create a “parking lot ministry” for Christmas. Many parishes already do this because of the greater numbers of people attending Mass. For this ministry, people should be located at each parking lot driveway, much like crossing guards are placed at intersections near schools. As people enter the parking lot, these people can smile, wave and welcome people into the parking lot. A few people can also be located in the parking lot itself so they may greet guests and help elderly parishioners who park in the spaces up front and then accompany them inside.

If your parish does not have a parking lot or has a small parking lot, have people on the sidewalk and at all entrances to the Church, smiling, waving and welcoming people.

We sing Joy to the World at this time of the year to acknowledge the coming of the Lord into our midst. He is still present and we can spread this joy by our greeting.

Pew

We all have our favorite seats at the dining room or kitchen table. We often have to shift our seats when we sit down to Christmas dinner because there are more people. Some of these people we haven’t seen for some time. Some are brand new to our table. Maybe a co-worker or school friend of one of our children who couldn’t get home for Christmas will join us. It might be a neighbor who is alone for Christmas.We all have been flexible for the feast. And, we go out of our way to try to make the person feel as welcome as we can.

All of us can be encouraged to be flexible when we come to Christmas Mass. Many of our brothers and sisters in the Catholic Family whom we have not seen for some time will be with us for the celebration. There may be some who have never been with us in our parish.

Encourage those who regularly attend Mass to move as far to the center of the pew when they come on Christmas. Their usual seat may be right on the aisle, but for the sake of “company,” encourage these seats to be the last ones filled.

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Also, encourage those who are regular participants to acknowledge others as they themselves enter the pew and as other people enter the pew. A smile and a simple, “Merry Christmas” or “Blessed Christmas” can “warm up” the congregation.Encourage a greeting to “pew-mates” as they leave at the end of Mass.

Pulpit

Every Sunday’s Scriptures offer rich opportunities for preaching to connect the Word to daily life in our secular, American culture. Advent and Christmas are no exceptions. Here are a few ideas in the spirit of the new evangelization that may be beneficial for those who preach during these sacred seasons:

For Advent, the Season of Waiting

• (In)active Catholics do not know that the longing and emptiness they feel at various points in their lives is a longing for God. They do not understand the great line from Augustine, “Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in you.” They do not understand/appreciate how and why the catechism and every great spiritual writer begin with the longing inside us. They do not know that this longing may be a large part of what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God.

• (In)active Catholics do not know that Advent is a season to sit with the tension of one’s waiting, one’s longing. They do not know that feelings of “there must be more to the Christmas season than this” is actually a longing for God. They do not know that desires for closer relationships with family and friends means they are actually doing and living Advent well!

• (In) active Catholics do not know how to connect the Advent images of the promise of the second coming and the need for repentance/conversion/preparation with the flurry of daily life that we all live from Thanksgiving to New Years. They believe those images mean they should not be busy, but since that will not change in any significant way, they leave them behind. They simply don’t know how to incorporate the Advent images into their busy flurry of life.

• (In)active Catholics aren’t really sure what to do with Gaudete Sunday. They appreciate that they are to be rejoicing in the midst of their Christmas preparation. But, by this time of the month (Dec. 12 for 2010) they are simply overwhelmed with Christmas parties and preparations and their own emptiness and longing. They need help connecting Gaudete Sunday to any of the first three points above.

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For Christmas, the Season of the Mystery of the Incarnation

• (In)active Catholics need help exploring the mystery of the incarnation. For example, they do not get that a helpless newborn baby was fully divine. They do not understand how with the incarnation, humanity enters more fully into the sacred. They do not get the connection between Catholics preferential option for the poor with Jesus’ birth and incarnation.

• (In)active Catholics do not know how the incarnation is the basis for our sacramental theology. Indeed, they do not even know that we have a sacramental theology. They do not understand that because of the Incarnation and Genesis 1:26-7 that Catholics believe that human nature is in its essence good. They do not understand how because of the incarnation that Catholic Christians believe that God continues speaking to us through our flesh, through our five senses. And they do not understand that God does this not just in the sacraments, but in sacramentals, in the sacredness of all the rest of creation.

• (In)active Catholics do not know that Catholics believe that God continues the mystery of incarnation in the Eucharist and in the body of believers. This one is huge because this means they do not know why they need to go to Mass regularly, why they need to belong to a community of believers. With the latest research showing that less than 50% of Catholics know about and/or believe in the Real Presence, there is no doubt that they see no connection between Christmas and the Eucharist and the need to be a disciple within the context of a faith community.

Greeters

Most parishes have extra greeters and ushers for the Christmas Masses. Consider recruiting whole families to be greeters. It’s a fun, easy thing to do. And, there is no long-term time commitment. This is a way to involve children who sometimes find it hard to sit still for a long time, particularly if they are arriving early for these often- crowded Masses.

Make sure greeters look people in the eye, smile, say “hello” and “welcome” to every single person who comes through the door.

Have a few spaces in the church reserved for the Greeters. Especially if they are families with younger children, try to have this place closer to the front.

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Bulletin

Have a larger than usual number of bulletins printed. Pass out bulletins as people come into Mass for Christmas. This is the day, especially on Christmas Eve, when people arrive very early for Mass. Give them something to look through. And, if you have special greeters for the Christmas Masses, these greeters now have a specific reason to approach each person coming into Mass.

Fill the pages with news, information, words of welcome that might not have in your usual weekly bulletin. There are many reading the bulletin who might not see your message otherwise.

Reflections about Christmas: Lines, Lights, Waiting and Gathering

These thoughts are offered as ways to speak about the great celebration of Christmas. They may spark ideas for the bulletin, for email/telephone messages, for greetings to people at Christmas Mass.

Lines

A.Hasn’t this been a time of lines? We have been sitting in lines in our car. We

have been waiting in lines in stores to purchase gifts for others, or to pay for the food for our Christmas dinners. And, after this day and our exchange of gifts, some of us are going to get back in line to return gifts. Lines can be so frustrating. We wonder, sometimes with great annoyance: Am I ever going to get there? Why are there so many cars, so many people here? What’s the problem up ahead? Why do I always pick the wrong line? I have so much to do, I can’t stand being in this line!

Even here at Parish we have lines. It may have a taken a little while to get into the parking lot, to come into the Church. In a few minutes we will be invited to stand in line – to meet Jesus and receive him in Holy Communion. This is really the greatest of all lines to be in. Jesus is THE Christmas gift. Jesus is the gift from our Father so that we can be fully alive, so that we can be strengthened, so that we can at peace with God and with each other.

I am glad that the traffic lines and the store lines will soon be just a memory. But I rejoice even more that the line to Jesus will never be gone. Each Sunday as this parish gathers at Mass, the Communion line to meet Jesus is formed again.And, once again, Jesus who is truly and really present for us in Communion, offers

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himself to us. In this Communion, Jesus whom we celebrate as Prince of Peace this day, will offer peace for our hearts. Jesus whom we celebrate as the Word made flesh, will speak to us his words of comfort. Jesus whom we celebrate as Son of God and Son of Mary, will stand with us as our brother. In this communion, Jesus whom we celebrate as Emmanuel, God-with-us, will live within us. I hope you will never get tired of standing in this line.

B.This is the time of the year when many people have been in all kinds of lines:

traffic lines, lines in stores, lines to see Santa Claus. Recently a friend sent me an email. It briefly told Becky Kelley’s story about the origins of a song, Where’s The Line to See Jesus? In part the story is this: While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, "where's the line to see Jesus"? My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. Well, the song has gone through a few revisions and a professional recording. Just search online for its title, Where’s The Line to See Jesus?, and you can hear it. Becky Kelley ends her story with these words: Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults cannot understand. Hopefully Spencer's observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him.

Today, in this place, there is a line not just to see Jesus but to receive Jesus. It is the communion line that is formed at every celebration of Mass, everywhere. It is a line that is formed every day of the year all over the world. It is the line I don’t ever mind being in. In this line I receive the greatest Christmas gift possible. I receive the one whose love is never ending because he is Love. I receive the one who can calm me because he is the Prince of Peace. I receive the one who can strengthen me because he is the one through whom all things were made. I receive him who can guide me when I am lost or confused because he is Wisdom.

Please know you are always welcome in this place, in this parish. Together let’s stand in this wonderful line!

Lights

[If ideas like this are shared orally, have a string of Christmas lights as an illustration tool.]

This is the time of the year for lights. They are on Christmas trees, on the outside of homes, hanging along streets and town squares. There are parks and shrines that have hundreds of thousands of lights! There is a thrill with these lights. Maybe you’ve been someplace when they first switch on the lights. It takes your breath away.

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We like to sit in the room where our Christmas tree is and just bask in the light. We like to be awed by gigantic outdoor trees and all the colors of the lights in their boughs. At a time of the year when the daylight is shorter and shorter, these lights give great joy. They seem to assure us that we don’t need to fumble our way around in the dark, that the darkness can be overcome. For these lights to thrill us, to awe us, to give us that joy, to assure us that darkness can be defeated, they have to be plugged into a source of power. Without that power, you can still see that the lights have some color, but the color is rather dull and the lights have fulfilled their purpose.

Our lives, not plugged into power can be rather dull. We are meant to shine, to have vibrancy, to help remove darkness in our world. At Christmas we celebrate the one who is Power for our lives, Jesus. Jesus is the source for life and love, for joy and peace, for truth and goodness. Jesus, the Father’s gift at Christmas and every day, desires nothing more than to share his whole life with us, share his love and joy and peace. But to have a share we have to be “plugged in.” That happens by ourBaptism and by living that Baptism with each other. That happens by our turning to and relying on Jesus.

At this Mass we are able to attach our lives to Jesus. We “plug into” him as we hear the Scripture, as we sing and pray, as we receive Communion. In this parish, through Mass every Sunday and through all our activities through all the year, we again and again bring our lives into contact with the one who is power for living. In this parish, we help one another to find ~ and to find again and again ~ ways to attach our lives to Jesus. And, by God’s power working within us and through us, we can shine so others can be brought from the darkness of fear and isolation and pain and sorrow.

I know I do not have the power on my own. I am so glad that Jesus is so close that I can enter into his life today and every day. I am so glad that there are others – my brothers and sisters in the Church, in this parish – who help me to stay connected, who help me to re-connect to Jesus, an endless source of life.

Waiting

Christmas celebrates an end to waiting. The long-promised one is born. The Messiah for the world is in our midst. The one who is the Way, The Truth, The Life has come among us. Jesus is here! And, Jesus will always be with us!

St. Augustine wrote, “Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in you.” We do have restless hearts. We are worried and searching and stressed. We ask ourselves all kinds of questions, “Is that all there is? Is life worth living? Is anyone there? Does anyone care?” And, we can go looking – in many places – for answers.

This great feast of Christmas tells us in unmistakable ways that God is here and that God cares. God has drawn close to us, Jesus being born in our midst,

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divine and human. God hears and knows all of our concerns. God welcomes all of us to end any frantic searching, to bring all that we are and find in Jesus the place where we can rest, the place where we can know peace, to know a full and lasting life.

Today, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the place of rest for our restless hearts.But, this is not a one day celebration in this parish. Day-in and day-out we keep pointing to Jesus as the one who is rest for the weary, hope for the hopeless, strength for the weak. And all of us together, as brothers and sisters of Jesus in this parish family, day-in and day-out, help one another to keep discovering Jesus, to keep entering into his life. Into this life with Jesus and with one another you are always most welcome.

Family Gatherings

There are so many gatherings of the family at this time of the year. They started at Thanksgiving, continue through December and, of course, Christmas, and go on through New Year’s.

At all of these events people gather who have not been together for a long time. We are a little squeezed in when we sit for the meal. No problem. And, we have to be a little imaginative to find a place for everyone to park. No problem. The noise level increases when we celebrate. No problem. No problem because we wouldn’t miss getting together with the family. It’s a celebration and being together is so good.When the family gathers in this way, don’t we really miss those who not able to be with us? And, don’t we really miss it when we are not able – for whatever reason – to join with this family?

Parish is a family. And, this great gathering at Christmas Mass is so good. It is a delight to see everyone. Just like our own families at Christmas, we gather as a parish family to tell stories, the stories of our faith from Scripture. Like our family stories these stories of faith help us to be better connected to each other. and they connect us to God. Just like our own families at Christmas, we gather as a parish family to support one another, to rejoice with each other’s joys and to share each other’s burdens. Just like our own families at Christmas, this parish family is always ready to make room at the Table of the Lord. Just like our own families at Christmas, we miss any brother and sister in Christ, when they are not able to come.

Know that you are always welcome as the family at Parish gathers each week at the Table of the Lord.

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