In last weekend’s pastoral article, our attention was directed to ways in which our parish communities are already witnessing to the Gospel. The purpose of this article is to remind us that our efforts to live out our faith as individuals and as parish communities by expressing hospitality need to be on-going.
Some ways of doing this are as follows: In seating ourselves when we come to Mass, we might move to the center section of the pew so that people don’t have to crawl over us to find seating. By sitting in the center area of a pew, we can come across to persons that we welcome them to sit near us. We open ourselves to meet and greet persons with whom we are not familiar if we sit in different sections of the worship area when we come to Mass. It’s hard to express a welcoming, hospitable attitude if we regard a certain spot in church as “my” or as “our” family pew.
A custom that has been started and is on-going in a number of parishes is that of inviting new persons/families who register in our parishes to be introduced to our parishioners at a weekend Mass. Good weekends on which to do this would be those on which light refreshments are offered after Mass. During this post-Mass fellowship, parishioners could make a proactive effort to introduce themselves to the new member(s) who have just been introduced at Mass.
Remaining at Mass until the Mass ministers have exited the worship area expresses our loving respect for all who are present. There are occasions when emergencies arise which would warrant our leaving from Mass early, but hopefully these are few and far between.
A practice that is observed at times but which perhaps needs to be continued on a regular basis is that of providing name tags for persons at parish gatherings. It can be easy for any of us to assume that others know us by name, but this is not always the case, even though we and they have belonged to a parish for several years. Some of us might find it embarrassing to ask another for her/his name. Most of us enjoy being called by name in our conversations with others. I feel kind of awkward with a person(s) who know me by name, but I do not know their name(s).
Providing name tags at parish activities perhaps makes it easier to mingle and to socialize with persons with whom we are not familiar. At gatherings, many of us are inclined to gravitate toward persons with whom we are familiar and with whom we thus feel comfortable. A number of us might feel more at ease in introducing ourselves and in visiting with individuals with whom we are unfamiliar if we all have name tags.
Being sensitive to dietary needs of persons expresses hospitality and acceptance. A number of persons are not supposed to eat foods with sugar. Offering sugar-free foods and beverages and caffeinated and decaffeinated beverages invites all to participate in the nourishing aspect of our gatherings.
In ways such as these, we can do much to promote the kind of warmth and hospitality that make gathering for worship and for other parish activities attractive, both for visitors and for newer members as well as for persons who have belonged to our respective parish communities for a long time.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Nelson Beaver - Pastor