Some "Simple Actions" To Take

When I look at a lot of the ideas that people have, most strike me as issues to deal with in the long term. However, there is a certain set of ideas that seem like something we can do now, without waiting for goal areas to be defined.

While some ideas require little or no commentary, there are some that I would say that simply fit the idea of "giving advice to the pastor" - something our council is charged with doing.

Please treat this list of ideas as a list of what made an impact on Damian. In some cases, I may choose to give Fr. Mike my own personal opinion, regardless of what the Council would say, and on others, I'm willing to let you shape my opinion. Perhaps you will understand further what I am meaning as I go through the ideas.

Here is a list of ideas that could be implemented with little or no planning:

1. Parish Phone Number - When you dial the parish office number at 741-2800, you currently get a recorded message, regardless of when you call. I agree with one parishioner that this is very impersonal. It is possible to design the phone system so that it is normally answered by a person, but rolls over to a recording if the person can't get to the phone immediately. Another scenario is to have 2 different phone lines. The main phone line which is answered by a person and a second that allows people to dial directly to the person they want to by bypassing the operator. Either of these two scenarios is better than the current situation in my opinion, and would help may the community feel more welcoming than it does today.
2. Vocations - I believe it would be easy to work in prayers about vocations, either as a Prayer of the Faithful, or as a special parish prayer after Communion. I also believe that the pastor or deacon should talk about vocations on some frequency in their homily. I cannot recall the last time I have heard vocations discussed by a priest during Mass - either here or St. Patrick.
3. Church Design - there were a number of references about the design of the church. Many seemed misinformed to me. At my sister-in-law's parish (St. Theresa, Austin, TX), they recently built a new church. When the new church opened, they published a little pamphlet describing why elements of the church were designed as they were. That pamphlet also addressed appropriate dress at church (see below). For some people, it won't matter what church document you followed in designing the church, but for many, it will matter. Without this information, people make their own assumptions, which often are incorrect.
4. Appropriate Dress - again, a number of references to the inappropriate dress and inappropriate behavior they see in church. While I believe that there are more critical issues that need to be addressed in the Catholic Church, I can also understand the concern people have. I think we would all agree that we shouldn't HAVE to tell people to not leave church early, to dress appropriately, to not talk during Mass, etc., the fact of the matter, we all need to be reminded of appropriate behavior now and again. I challenge Fr. Mike to address this issue in some part through his homilies. I think you will win over more people than you offend.
5. Challenging Sermons - while I'm challenging Fr. Mike, I'd like to echo the sentiments that some have indicated in the surveys. I think we will all admit that we all have different gifts, even if we are priests (I'm not, by the way). Fr. Mike, I believe your gift is helping people to be introspective, to look within and analyze their faith. Having said that, you don't challenge people very often. While some in the surveys would say that you need to remind us of how we all sin (and that's one way to challenge people), I'd like to see you challenge us to action - whether it is to become involved in public decisions, help with food pantries, work with a mission, etc. There were things about Fr. Waris that really irritated me, but his gift was in challenging people to action. What a blessing it would be for you to occasionally challenge us in the way he does.
6. The Koran - this was brought up often enough that we ought to address it somehow. I would guess that at least one person on our Council would have a problem referencing the Koran at all. My personal opinion is that we can learn things about our Catholic faith from all religions, but when we have to be careful when we use other resources without any explanation. I think at the least, we will need to make some statement about this issue so that people know we have heard their concern, and perhaps try to address their concern a little bit by providing context for its use.
7. Expanding our Horizons - someone suggested having someone from the Police, City, or other public servant come talk to us about the demographic trends of our area. I think it makes sense to have a discussion like this at some time. It might help us think up some ideas we never considered.
8. Church / Politics - several people were concerned about receiving the letter recommending that parishioners vote for certain people because of their stance on certain issues. The perception was that this was sanctioned by our parish. My understanding of the issue is such that the parish did not sanction or censure it, but I believe the parish provided the mailing list. If I would have been asked about the issue at the time, I probably would have recommended against giving out the mailing list. Again, I think we need to step forward and acknowledge this issue to the parish, and admit we made a mistake (if that is appropriate) or provide the logic behind any decisions made. This was a significant issue raised in the surveys, in my opinion.
9. Ministry Mission - Some people recommend having specialized liturgies to cater to the likes of our community (such as taste in music). There are several like recommendations made in the surveys. People don't realize that some of these suggestions are directly against the core philosophy of the committees that are focusing on these issues. For instance, the Liturgy Committee has a specific philosophy to maintain a similar Mass structure and music through all the liturgies, in order to build a greater sense of community. When there are specialized liturgies, people tend to know few people because they only go to one liturgy. However, since we don't tell everybody about these philosophies or missions, we can't really expect them to know about them. It think it would be worthwhile for the mission statements or goals of each ministry area (if developed) to be published so that people can be aware of them if they choose.
10. Scooting In - two different people mentioned that because people are forced to stand in some liturgies, even though seats are available, we are less welcoming as a community. Some of the comments struck at the core tendencies of some people who won't scoot in because they want to make the quick getaway after Communion. But I think it is easy for the pastor at crowded Masses to request that people scoot in, perhaps noting how it is a welcoming sign to those who are standing. Why not do it?
11. How-to Cards - someone suggested a Reconciliation 'how-to' card. I don't know how big a need this is. But what could it hurt, especially for those that don't go that often?
12. Vision Speak - This is not mentioned so much in the surveys, but I think of it after reading some things tonight. We have a vision statement. We hear a little bit about it during the prayers of the faithful. Other than that, we never hear it. I realize it takes time to learn new behaviors. So I challenge Fr. Mike, Fr. Pat, Deacon Tim, and the staff to talk about the vision statement publicly. If we can't work it into our sermons, or into the groups we are associated with on a regular basis, then perhaps we have the wrong vision statement, or perhaps these people don't believe in it. To make our vision real, we have to talk about it, live it. At least one person in the surveys is having a hard time with the vision statement. I wonder if they would feel the same way if elements of the vision statement were woven into our sermons and our liturgies...

That's enough for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll start on goal areas. Form my view, it may be hard to squeeze them down to fewer than 5. We'll see creative I can be.