August 24: Evangelization
Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Divine Providence,
In our Gospel this weekend, Jesus emphasizes the urgency of the need for evangelization. Even many of those who thought they were serving Him will not enter into the Kingdom. Only those whom Jesus knows, that is, those who spend time with Him and develop a real relationship with Him, will enter into the Kingdom. Appearances matter less than the real relationship.
Statistics tell us that 9 out of 10 cradle Catholics stop practicing their faith. On average, our parishes have lost 70% of their attendees over the past 20 years. Thankfully, we are now beginning to reverse this trend. Our family of parishes are beginning a faith formation program that will help families hand on the faith to their children in a way that studies show to be effective. This happens naturally under normal circumstances, but unfortunately most families today do not really understand and practice the fullness of the faith, and many societal and cultural influences make it easy to put off journeying down the straight and narrow way. So our goal will be to build community and form disciples with our Sunday evening religious education program for all ages.
Please consider registering for the Catholic LIFE program, which is a seminary taught lay ministry formation class for lay participation in the Church. It counts as credit at the seminary for a lay ministry degree, so you can try this class out to see if that might be something for you. Registration options are in the bulletin and by the doors of the churches.
As you know from my previous columns, we are using better business practices to run the business side of the church to make our stewardship more transparent and responsible. As a reminder, some of our parish offices are closing or have closed to the public. We are pooling our resources at St. Vivian and St. Bartholomew Parishes. Someone will be at the desk at the St. Vivian office from 8am-4pm Monday through Friday. Phone calls and mail will be forwarded to the St. Vivian office. Staff will remain at the St. Bartholomew office, but the front door will not be open to the public. Any in-person needs can be addressed at the St. Vivian office. This only affects the business side of parish operations; Mass schedule and church events are not affected.
Lots of developments and improvements are in the works! We will be combining bulletins and websites. We are also working on developing a logo and branding for our family of parishes. In the new combined bulletin, starting in October, we will focus on financial transparency and communication as a big part of stewardship. In order to foster greater participation in stewardship, I know that it is important that people see what is going on and how funds are being raised, allocated, and used.
Lastly, let us make a concerted effort to invite and welcome more folks on September 14, Together Sunday. Be intentional about making our churches more welcoming. Park farther away, to leave closer spots for others. Sit in the center of the pew, to leave the end seats open for latecomers. Say hello to someone after Mass that you don’t normally talk to. Linger outside the church a few minutes longer to build more connections. We are stronger together, and together we can build a vibrant community.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Henry
