Sunday, May 5, 2013

The Youngstown Pilot


The Youngstown Pilot

            As a means for putting evangelization into practice, nine parishes and the chancery offices of the Youngstown Diocese are now involved in a six month pilot process from April through November of 2013.  Starting with a two-week period in April, Frs. Nick Shori and Tom Sweetser, SJ visited each of the ten groups to help them plan creative ways of spreading the Good News.  Using a working definition for Evangelization as: “A radical call to do things differently, in very concrete and practical ways, in order to set people’s hearts on fire!”, each parish and the chancery designed a project that would relate to one or more of the following target groups:  the active parishioners who are involved in parish groups and ministries, those who come to Mass but to nothing else, the inactive parishioners who are on the books but rarely attend Mass, and those who are not registered in any parish but still call themselves Catholic.  


A Common Theme

            Six of the nine parishes have chosen a project that includes some aspect of service to others.  This is meant as a way to entice inactive and non-engaged parishioners to participate.  One example is St. Anthony/All Saints Parish in Canton, Ohio that planned a Service-Mass-Social Day (SMS) on the first Saturday of September.  The process begins with a personal, one-on-one contact with young adults, inviting them to participate in an afternoon service project, such as tutoring the young, helping the elderly, cleaning yards, feeding the homeless.  Afterwards, everyone will gather for an outdoor Mass in a city park, followed by a social, complete with venders and music.  A few other parishes are targeting school and religious education children who have just received either First Communion or Confirmation.  There is usually a drop in attendance at religious formation in the year following these first sacraments.  To offset this trend, Blessed Sacrament in Warren, Ohio is holding a “Reunion Service Day” in October, targeting those who received first sacraments in April and May.  Entire families, parents and children together, will assemble at the parish hall for a send-off of prayer, music and instructions.  Groups of two or three families will then head out into the neighborhood on a three-hour service project, returning to the parish for refreshments and a chance to reflect on their experience of how their hearts were set on fire through their service of others. 


Answering Questions

            A few other parishes are using a “Curious Catholics” approach developed by Dr. Kate DeVries and Fr. John Cusick at the Young Adult Ministry Office in the Chicago Archdiocese.  St. Edward’s Parish, for example, is sponsoring an evening gathering on July 31st for people, especially inactive and unaffiliated Catholics, to share their questions about the Church.  Each person will have the opportunity to write down a question or concern on an index card and give it to the two well-trained people running the one-hour session.  What follows will hopefully be a lively discussion about issues related to the Church, from the new pope to the saints in the church windows.  A second session is planned a few months later for unanswered questions.

 

Renewal of Spirit and Joy Week

            One ambitious parish, Our Lady of the Lakes in North Jackson, Ohio, is planning a full week of events, including a Saturday evening cookout and bonfire, a Tuesday dedication of a new meditation walk, a Wednesday “Curious Catholics” night from questions collected at the weekend Masses, a “Blessing of the Animals” the Saturday after the Feast of St. Francis, a “Coffee House” for informal sharing at various times throughout the week, and culminating with a combined Sunday morning Mass, followed by an Appreciation Brunch and a special Talent Show put on by the children.   This is one of many ways “to do things differently” to celebrate our faith and share it with others.

                                                                                                Tom Sweetser, SJ and the PEP Team

                                                                                                www.pepparish.org – pep@pitnet.net

Friday, March 15, 2013

are you listening?

http://youtu.be/oi1XlrIgRjs
Very good video to remind you WHY we are called to Evangelize.

Today's Parish | Ideas and Inspiration for Pastors, Parish Ministers, and Leaders

Today's Parish | Ideas and Inspiration for Pastors, Parish Ministers, and Leaders
A very good article with several ideas.  Section titles are Going beyond the front door, Who is not here?, Make it personal, Welcome those who come to the parish and Look beyond the parish.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Are there signs today that Jesus is still working?


“C4” Yourself!
 
The next “C4: Ignite Your Catholic Faith” video on March 8 asks the question, “What do Catholics believe about Creation?”

Visit http://www.archmil.org/Year-of-Faith.htm to view past and present videos, as well as to subscribe to the RSS feed to effortlessly follow this series throughout the Year of Faith.

C4 YOURSELF - what everyone is
talking about from the Archdiocese of
Milwaukee and Bishop Don Hying.
WATCH THE C4: IGNITE YOUR
CATHOLIC FAITH VIDEO SERIES.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Good resource

Catholic Company is a very good resource to a good inventory of Catholic resources.  Join The Catholic Company Email List  and Get 15% Off First Order.  Click Here.