The latest in a occasional series of book recommendations...
"Fond of beer in swarthy nooks, but happiest among his books!"
Just arrived in my mailbox (actually on my front doorstep) - the hefty BIBLE DICTIONARY, edited by Scott Hahn. Flipping through it last night revealed a treasure-trove of great insight that will be helpful for anyone who is interested in enhancing their Bible reading and study. Dr. Hahn does not write a book each week -it only seems like it! Would make a great gift for yourself, a family member or your favorite priest.
Also, Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor by Brad Gooch. This most Catholic of authors certainly deserved a newer biography of her remarkable life. Her novels and short stories are profound and distinctive, but even more impressive is her great witness to the Faith despite her desperate illness. A powerful role model for those of us who think we're having a bad day when the cell phone drops a call or our DVR cuts off a program before it has ended! Talk about authentic Christian perseverance!
The Death of A Pope by Piers Paul Read The great English novelist has penned another sensational novel. If you haven't read anything by this man (What a name for a writer!) you will benefit by reading any of his works that include non-fiction accounts of Chernobyl, an Andean Mountain airplane crash and novels on many topics.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Summer time and the living is... without church?
One of the dangers of writing a blog is the ubiquitous impulse to vent on one's pet peeves. I have, I believe, successfully dodged this temptation so far but I'll ask your indulgence for this topic, particularly if I humbly offer a suggestion or two along the way.
The issue? Summer church attendance in our parishes! Talk to any priest who's not pastoring a summer resort parish and he'll tell you that attendance drops off significantly in the summer. In fact, the drop begins usually in May after the First Communion class partakes of the sacrament, gains momentum after Memorial Day and surges to its peak after the Fourth of July. They usually stay away in droves until after Labor Day.
While I would not presume to possess any profound theological insight, I have managed to assemble a rather significant personal library containing many Bible translations, books on religion and foundational volumes such as the Catechism, Bible Dictionaries and such. In none of them have I found any dispensation from our Mass attendance requirements! Now perhaps I need to read more extensively and to explore textual analysis more deeply, but I'm guessing there aren't any!
So, why do so many of us stay away in the summer? The reasons I usually hear given are these: travel, heat indexes, the suspension of religious instruction classes (CCD, PSR, etc) and the appeal of being elsewhere on warm, sunny morning or late afternoons. Throw in golf, yard work and your everyday, garden-variety lethargy and there you are.
Most of the time, parishes simply adjust to these realities and decide to live with them. Certainly, just wishing it wasn't so won't make up for lost collections and fewer liturgical volunteers to act as lectors and Eucharistic Ministers. However, might I suggest that we attempt to counter this cultural trend with a little stimulus package of our own?
I would greatly like these humble suggestions to trigger the creative juices among blogreaders to build a stronger package of ideas to keep our people in the pews, but everything has to start somewhere so here I go with my four-point plan:
1. Anticipate the upcoming drop and address it from the pulpit and with bulletins/newsletters beforehand. Most folks think they won't be missed in the summer, so let's make them aware that we can see them in the pews and miss them when they are not there. Explain that the parish is always there when they need it, so it always needs to love and support of her members.
2. Sponsor a Youth Day/Weekend whereby parents and students can meet the teachers they will have in school/CCD in the fall. Perhaps then try to capture the energy by engaging each class in some fun summer project around the parish , particularly at Mass. Why not have the 5th grade students -of both parish school and CCD - hand out bulletins after Masses one weekend? Maybe the eighth graders could lead the rosary before Mass on a certain weekend. Get the kids and you get the parents!
3. Share with the parish a graph showing your monthly income streams juxtaposed alongside monthly expenses. Folks will understand that just because they aren't there in July, doesn't mean the electric company won't be there in July demanding payment! Encourage people to use their envelopes each week even if they are away visiting another parish. Better still, encourage your parishioners to select an electronic giving option so that they can easily have their donations sent to the parish on whatever schedule they like. It's easy and no need to worry if you are away. If you don't mind this shameless plug - the Cunneen Company offers an intentional giving program that makes giving -to the the parish, the diocese, the special collections and campaigns -quite simple. No cost to the parish! How nice is that! (OK, commercial over!)
4. Find them where they are at. Why not energize the copier and produce some inexpensive flyers to give to the parishioners who are there to distribute at the town baseball fields, the senior centers and the like? This would be the time to employ some humor and creativity; I've always wanted to do something like that and have it announce: "Big day this coming Sunday at Saint Mary's Parish! At all the Masses this weekend, you'll be offered --- Holy Communion! (What, you think you need anything else!!!)
Well, there you have it. Why not think of some ideas and share them?
"An atheist is a man with no invisible means of suppport."
Bishop Sheen
The issue? Summer church attendance in our parishes! Talk to any priest who's not pastoring a summer resort parish and he'll tell you that attendance drops off significantly in the summer. In fact, the drop begins usually in May after the First Communion class partakes of the sacrament, gains momentum after Memorial Day and surges to its peak after the Fourth of July. They usually stay away in droves until after Labor Day.
While I would not presume to possess any profound theological insight, I have managed to assemble a rather significant personal library containing many Bible translations, books on religion and foundational volumes such as the Catechism, Bible Dictionaries and such. In none of them have I found any dispensation from our Mass attendance requirements! Now perhaps I need to read more extensively and to explore textual analysis more deeply, but I'm guessing there aren't any!
So, why do so many of us stay away in the summer? The reasons I usually hear given are these: travel, heat indexes, the suspension of religious instruction classes (CCD, PSR, etc) and the appeal of being elsewhere on warm, sunny morning or late afternoons. Throw in golf, yard work and your everyday, garden-variety lethargy and there you are.
Most of the time, parishes simply adjust to these realities and decide to live with them. Certainly, just wishing it wasn't so won't make up for lost collections and fewer liturgical volunteers to act as lectors and Eucharistic Ministers. However, might I suggest that we attempt to counter this cultural trend with a little stimulus package of our own?
I would greatly like these humble suggestions to trigger the creative juices among blogreaders to build a stronger package of ideas to keep our people in the pews, but everything has to start somewhere so here I go with my four-point plan:
1. Anticipate the upcoming drop and address it from the pulpit and with bulletins/newsletters beforehand. Most folks think they won't be missed in the summer, so let's make them aware that we can see them in the pews and miss them when they are not there. Explain that the parish is always there when they need it, so it always needs to love and support of her members.
2. Sponsor a Youth Day/Weekend whereby parents and students can meet the teachers they will have in school/CCD in the fall. Perhaps then try to capture the energy by engaging each class in some fun summer project around the parish , particularly at Mass. Why not have the 5th grade students -of both parish school and CCD - hand out bulletins after Masses one weekend? Maybe the eighth graders could lead the rosary before Mass on a certain weekend. Get the kids and you get the parents!
3. Share with the parish a graph showing your monthly income streams juxtaposed alongside monthly expenses. Folks will understand that just because they aren't there in July, doesn't mean the electric company won't be there in July demanding payment! Encourage people to use their envelopes each week even if they are away visiting another parish. Better still, encourage your parishioners to select an electronic giving option so that they can easily have their donations sent to the parish on whatever schedule they like. It's easy and no need to worry if you are away. If you don't mind this shameless plug - the Cunneen Company offers an intentional giving program that makes giving -to the the parish, the diocese, the special collections and campaigns -quite simple. No cost to the parish! How nice is that! (OK, commercial over!)
4. Find them where they are at. Why not energize the copier and produce some inexpensive flyers to give to the parishioners who are there to distribute at the town baseball fields, the senior centers and the like? This would be the time to employ some humor and creativity; I've always wanted to do something like that and have it announce: "Big day this coming Sunday at Saint Mary's Parish! At all the Masses this weekend, you'll be offered --- Holy Communion! (What, you think you need anything else!!!)
Well, there you have it. Why not think of some ideas and share them?
"An atheist is a man with no invisible means of suppport."
Bishop Sheen
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