Parishes on Fire: Cultivating a Culture of Evangelization
Imagine if our parishioners were so joyful in their faith that they brought home to the church many of their family members and friends who had fallen away; that they returned to full participation in the life of the parish.” ~ Bishop David Ricken, Diocese of Green Bay, WI
More significant than any particular program or strategy of reaching inactive Catholics is the overall culture of the community. Parishes who wish to be effective in re-engaging inactive Catholics will continually ask themselves, “Does our
community reflect a culture of evangelization?”
Identifying marks of a culture of evangelization include:
-Pastor and parish council/leadership recognize a mutual responsibility for outreach to non-Catholics and inactive
Catholics, view all their ministries through an evangelization lens, and orient their conversations, planning, staffing, and
budgeting toward the task of evangelization.
-A parish with a welcoming atmosphere. Parishioners have a vibrant awareness of their role in cultivating a climate of
hospitality, and are actively engaged in welcoming others, both in formal ministries as greeters and informal but
intentional kindness to those sitting near them (see link for hospitality ideas).
-Parish liturgies are led with energy, purpose, and a palpable sense of wonder. Homilies connect the truths of Scripture
and Tradition to the authentic questions and struggles of the laity. Liturgical acclamations and congregational singing
by the laity are robust.
-Opportunities for friendship, spiritual formation, and service are available at all age levels.
Specific steps parishes might take in cultivating a culture of evangelization include:
1. Having an honest parish council conversation assessing what the parish is currently doing in evangelization,
whether to inactive Catholics or non-Catholics. This can include these questions...
a. Considering each of our present parish activities--to what degree are we evangelizing through them, i.e. helping
persons to encounter Jesus Christ and his invitation to be a disciple? Be thorough and specific. Consider
your parish festival, your school (if applicable), your sacramental prep, your fish fry, your formation opportunities,
your service work, your liturgies, your RCIA class--leave no stone unturned?
b. To what degree does our current budget and staffing reflect a priority of evangelization?
c. Does our parish have a "shallow end," i.e. easily accessible portals for persons who might become curious about
the Catholic faith?
2. Regularly mention the work of evangelization at parish liturgies, especially in:
a. Prayers of the Faithful. Examples include:
i. For those members of our parish who do not attend Mass regularly, that we might reach out to them in Christ-
like love and concern, we pray…
ii. For members of our parish who feel alienated from their Church family, that they might be reconciled to their
Catholic community, we pray…
iii. For those in our own families who are no longer active in the life of the parish, we pray…
iv. For those in our neighborhood who don't know Christ or his Church, we pray...
b. Announcements at the end of Mass, which could periodically include statements like this:
"If you’ve noticed recently the absence of someone who used to attend Mass here regularly, please pray
they might return, and, if you know them by name, consider making a phone call to them this week to let them
know they are missed.
c. Occasional brief (2-3 minute) pulpit witness testimonies from formerly inactive parishioners who have
experienced a "reversion" to active participation in the faith.
3. If you don't already have a lay-led parish hospitality ministry, consider one that will include:
a. Regular parish greeters who will welcome persons as they arrive for Mass.
b. Ongoing self-evaluation regarding our "first impression hospitality" as a parish.
c. Periodic Sundays in which donuts, coffee and/or other refreshments are available in a central gathering area.
d. Assigning and training specific parishioners to be responsible for a couple of pews in their section of the
Mass congregation, so that they can greet guests, and observe when persons are absent for an extended period.
4. Regularly self-evaluate: "On a scale of one to ten, with one being cold and ten being warm, what is the overall
climate of hospitality in our parish? How easy is it get involved in the broader community life of our parish?"
"The next time you walk into your own parish imagine being new to the parish, new to the..area., maybe even new to Catholicism. .. If you went to the parish for the first time, what would greet you? Who would meet you? Did anyone even acknowledge you? Is anyone even smiling? Would you be missed if you walked out and never came back? Did anything, or better anyone, really help you notice, understand, and value what is happening around you, naturally and supernaturally? When we put ourselves in the shoes of someone who has not been in our parish ever or for a long while, it is easy to see how everyone in the community is a 'Minister of 1st Impression.'"
~from the Catholics Come Home Boston Parish Evangelization Guide
More significant than any particular program or strategy of reaching inactive Catholics is the overall culture of the community. Parishes who wish to be effective in re-engaging inactive Catholics will continually ask themselves, “Does our
community reflect a culture of evangelization?”
Identifying marks of a culture of evangelization include:
-Pastor and parish council/leadership recognize a mutual responsibility for outreach to non-Catholics and inactive
Catholics, view all their ministries through an evangelization lens, and orient their conversations, planning, staffing, and
budgeting toward the task of evangelization.
-A parish with a welcoming atmosphere. Parishioners have a vibrant awareness of their role in cultivating a climate of
hospitality, and are actively engaged in welcoming others, both in formal ministries as greeters and informal but
intentional kindness to those sitting near them (see link for hospitality ideas).
-Parish liturgies are led with energy, purpose, and a palpable sense of wonder. Homilies connect the truths of Scripture
and Tradition to the authentic questions and struggles of the laity. Liturgical acclamations and congregational singing
by the laity are robust.
-Opportunities for friendship, spiritual formation, and service are available at all age levels.
Specific steps parishes might take in cultivating a culture of evangelization include:
1. Having an honest parish council conversation assessing what the parish is currently doing in evangelization,
whether to inactive Catholics or non-Catholics. This can include these questions...
a. Considering each of our present parish activities--to what degree are we evangelizing through them, i.e. helping
persons to encounter Jesus Christ and his invitation to be a disciple? Be thorough and specific. Consider
your parish festival, your school (if applicable), your sacramental prep, your fish fry, your formation opportunities,
your service work, your liturgies, your RCIA class--leave no stone unturned?
b. To what degree does our current budget and staffing reflect a priority of evangelization?
c. Does our parish have a "shallow end," i.e. easily accessible portals for persons who might become curious about
the Catholic faith?
2. Regularly mention the work of evangelization at parish liturgies, especially in:
a. Prayers of the Faithful. Examples include:
i. For those members of our parish who do not attend Mass regularly, that we might reach out to them in Christ-
like love and concern, we pray…
ii. For members of our parish who feel alienated from their Church family, that they might be reconciled to their
Catholic community, we pray…
iii. For those in our own families who are no longer active in the life of the parish, we pray…
iv. For those in our neighborhood who don't know Christ or his Church, we pray...
b. Announcements at the end of Mass, which could periodically include statements like this:
"If you’ve noticed recently the absence of someone who used to attend Mass here regularly, please pray
they might return, and, if you know them by name, consider making a phone call to them this week to let them
know they are missed.
c. Occasional brief (2-3 minute) pulpit witness testimonies from formerly inactive parishioners who have
experienced a "reversion" to active participation in the faith.
3. If you don't already have a lay-led parish hospitality ministry, consider one that will include:
a. Regular parish greeters who will welcome persons as they arrive for Mass.
b. Ongoing self-evaluation regarding our "first impression hospitality" as a parish.
c. Periodic Sundays in which donuts, coffee and/or other refreshments are available in a central gathering area.
d. Assigning and training specific parishioners to be responsible for a couple of pews in their section of the
Mass congregation, so that they can greet guests, and observe when persons are absent for an extended period.
4. Regularly self-evaluate: "On a scale of one to ten, with one being cold and ten being warm, what is the overall
climate of hospitality in our parish? How easy is it get involved in the broader community life of our parish?"
"The next time you walk into your own parish imagine being new to the parish, new to the..area., maybe even new to Catholicism. .. If you went to the parish for the first time, what would greet you? Who would meet you? Did anyone even acknowledge you? Is anyone even smiling? Would you be missed if you walked out and never came back? Did anything, or better anyone, really help you notice, understand, and value what is happening around you, naturally and supernaturally? When we put ourselves in the shoes of someone who has not been in our parish ever or for a long while, it is easy to see how everyone in the community is a 'Minister of 1st Impression.'"
~from the Catholics Come Home Boston Parish Evangelization Guide
