Tell U.S. Catholic how hospitable your parish is

This month's U.S. Catholic Sounding Board article focuses on hospitality. Even if you don't think St. Thomas is great, (and I'll pretend not to be hurt by that) please take the time to read this article and respond to the survey at the end.

Let’s give a warm welcome
If parishes lose the Catholic tradition of hospitality, they risk losing members.

By Heather Grennan Gary

One place we can and should be reminded of what true hospitality is--and given a chance to practice it--is in our parish.

I learned this lesson the hard way when my husband and I moved with our young family to a new town several years back. While we were sad to say goodbye to our parish and the community we'd built, we were eager to move. And when we met people in our new town, one of the first questions they'd ask was, "Have you found a church yet?" Our answer was pretty straightforward: We were Catholics, and there was one Catholic parish in town, so that was that.

During our first year there, we attended the big Sunday morning Mass, the bilingual Mass, and the Saturday vigil. We volunteered to be lectors, to teach English to Spanish-speaking parishioners, and to help with the parish website. We took part in a reading group and bought SCRIP. Our daughter was too young for the regular religious ed program, but she made the age cutoff for Vacation Bible School, so she went. read the whole article here.

What kind of space do we offer?

Making space literally means what it implies. We have to make room for others in our lives both physically and attitudinally. Just as we make room for a spouse, our children or a sibling to enter our lives, so too do we need to make space for others in our places of worship, and we need to be present to them in that space.

Our "presence" refers to "being" with one another; being truly attentive to them. There is great comfort in sharing our own stories and listening to the stories of others. Making space in our busy lives to "be" with others is what true presence is all about.

Presence comes from an inner attitude that recognizes the depth of the connection between humans, and the connection between humans and God. This attitude must be nurtured constantly in prayer and practice. With this inner attitude of presence, true hospitality becomes a way of life, in every moment of every day. It exemplifies the meaning of the word Stewardship.

In the words of Henry Nouwen, we can provide our guests with “a friendly space, where they may feel free to come and go, to be close and distant, to eat and to fast”.

Are we good stewards of our space?

Reverend Fun - Nice Visit

Reverend Fun - Nice Visit