Every so often I get a chance to attend Sunday Mass in other places. Here are two good ideas I picked up:
Connection Cards
The first was a card approx A6 in size, which was prepared prior to the Christmas Masses at Holy Spirit, Kincumber. They were available on the pews, and I presume people were invited to fill them out and add it onto the collection plate as it went around.
Connection Cards
The first was a card approx A6 in size, which was prepared prior to the Christmas Masses at Holy Spirit, Kincumber. They were available on the pews, and I presume people were invited to fill them out and add it onto the collection plate as it went around.
It is a very good idea. Hopefully there was a pre-prepared group of volunteers ready to follow up in a timely manner. For myself, unnecessary hyphenation is like fingernails running down a chalk board, so I would be tweaking the layout of the text so a) that didn't happen and b) complete thoughts weren't broken up over two lines. I also suspect that the crucial Name and Phone might be easy to overlook without some '................' beside them.
It is still a very easy way to offer non threatening outreach to a variety of people who often fall through the cracks: new parishioners, seekers in the early stages of their quest for God, those who have questions but don't know who they can go to for answers, and those whose hearts are feeling touched by the graces God pours out at Christmas.
This parish is also very good at doing pre-Christmas and pre-Easter letterbox drops of postcards with Christmas Mass and Easter Mass timetables.
Jubilee Year of Mercy
The second one was the placement of a framed image of the Divine Mercy in front of where the commentator stands at Our Lady of Lourdes, Seven Hills.
It is still a very easy way to offer non threatening outreach to a variety of people who often fall through the cracks: new parishioners, seekers in the early stages of their quest for God, those who have questions but don't know who they can go to for answers, and those whose hearts are feeling touched by the graces God pours out at Christmas.
This parish is also very good at doing pre-Christmas and pre-Easter letterbox drops of postcards with Christmas Mass and Easter Mass timetables.
Jubilee Year of Mercy
The second one was the placement of a framed image of the Divine Mercy in front of where the commentator stands at Our Lady of Lourdes, Seven Hills.
It was a great reminder that we are in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, visible to most people and yet not a distraction from the important liturgical places (altar, ambo/lecturn, presidential chair). Full kudos to them for using an existing image in the Church, so there was no extra cost involved and no need to find space for a huge banner.
t is sad that in many parishes there is no visual reminder at all that we are in the Year of Mercy, and that even those churches fortunate enough to have a Holy Door don't have them noticeably adorned. Sad because without those reminders and adornments so many people are not getting access to the abundant mercies God wishes to pour out on them and their loved ones this Year.
May the Holy Spirit inspire many more great ideas in our parishes to help bring people into closer relationship with God.
Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.
St John Paul the Great, pray for us.
St Faustina, pray for us.
t is sad that in many parishes there is no visual reminder at all that we are in the Year of Mercy, and that even those churches fortunate enough to have a Holy Door don't have them noticeably adorned. Sad because without those reminders and adornments so many people are not getting access to the abundant mercies God wishes to pour out on them and their loved ones this Year.
May the Holy Spirit inspire many more great ideas in our parishes to help bring people into closer relationship with God.
Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.
St John Paul the Great, pray for us.
St Faustina, pray for us.