In a recent email I received from Twenty-Third Publications, they presented the following statistics: 23.3 The percent of Catholics who normally attend Mass every week or more often. 20.5 The percent of Catholics who attend Mass almost every week. 24.1 The percent who will most likely attend only on Christmas or Easter. 1 The number of opportunities we have at Christmas or Easter (or Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday) to welcome and coach those who attend Mass infrequently. Or as the old saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression! It seems important to think about this on Ash Wednesday, because we are first of all being reflective and looking for ways to change ourselves to become better disciples of our Lord Jesus. Secondly, our Churches tend to see a number of folks at Mass on Ash Wednesday that we probably did not see the previous weekend. Several years ago, I wrote an article for the Catholic Exponent regarding the number of young adults (ages 18 - 30s) who I called "CAPE Catholics" as they consider themselves Catholic, practicing Catholics even, but who may only attend Mass on Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter (was an update on the C&E Catholics of the previous generation as it seemed that the two additional days were of importance to the young adults.) In any event, the point of the story was to encourage parishioners to WELCOME, SMILE AT, and BE GLAD to see the increased numbers of attendees at the Masses those days. {Article posted below.} We have a number of Catholics who feel very connected to God, and who know things about our beliefs, practices, rituals and prayer, but who are disconnected to a faith community because they lack the sense of community! Our young Church members do not see community as people who live nearby or who belong to the same institution....no, they want a deeper sense of community, wherein they feel wanted, treasured, accepted, and known. Therefore, as community members, it is up to us to welcome those with unfamiliar faces. Ask their names and invite them to additional events, activities or to return next weekend for Mass. While the point is not only to increase the numbers you read above, that should happen if more people feel connected to our God through our faith communities. Let is 'build the City of God' and grow the Body of Christ in our parish this Lent. At the 2013 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis, emcee Jesse Manibusan stressed that "Being Catholic means everybody's welcome!" So, let us make sure we welcome them! =============================================== The Catholic Exponent Article from 2007 (similar article ran in 2004 or 2005) Welcome CAPE Catholics Cindee Case Special to the Exponent Did you notice a full Church on Ash Wednesday? It seems for the past several years, more and more people so come to this Mass to receive ashes. The Church was almost as crowded as on Christmas or Easter. As a child, I remember a couple times of the year when my parents would make sure that we were ready for Church earlier than usual. There was worry about getting a good parking place or seats in our regular pew. I found it fascinating to see the Church packed full with standing room only. I later learned that the “extra” people who showed up these couple of times a year were referred to as “C & E Catholics,” in that appeared for Christmas and Easter. As I grew older, I began to notice that Christmas and Easter were easy times for young adults to go to Church since it was usually tied into family time; plans for opening gifts or baskets were often scheduled around Mass. In a 2002 study done by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, it shows that 62 % of pre-Vatican II Catholics (born before 1943) surveyed attend Mass every week or more, while 40% of the Vatican II generation (born 1943-1960) does, and only 26% of Post-Vatican II young adults (born after 1960) do. A large portion of this post-Vatican II group is often called “Generation X.” The CARA report states “members of this generation are relatively less likely to make long-term commitments, are more pragmatic and less ideological, and are relatively more interested in issues of identity and community than those before them.” Generation X makes up about 42% of adult Catholics. Instead of just Christmas and Easter, we now seem young adults on Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday, too. Sure, some cynics joke that they come then to “get something” – the ashes and palms. These outward signs of our faith are important. This is why the Church has “sacramentals” – to be signs of our faith. If the outward signs do not already reflect the inward faith, then they help to develop it. So, I think it is great that so many adults, young and older, take this step on four big celebrations –Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter (thus my term CAPE Catholics.) The problem is then, that too many young adults do not realize all that they “get” at “regular” Masses. There is no understanding that they can “get” a community of faith there to support them and the Body and Blood of Christ transform them. The U.S. Bishops, in their 1997 document Sons and Daughters of the Light list four goals for ministry with young adults, all involving connections:
Our first step is hospitality. Like the theme song of the popular 1980’s TV show “Cheers” said, “You want to go where everybody knows your name,” we all tend to feel more comfortable going to a place we are known and welcomed. If our parishes truly are to be faith communities, we must know one another. Or at least be friendly towards one another. So, please, come Palm Sunday and Easter, smile and greet the new faces you see, or at least do not give them “the look” if they are sitting in “your” pew! Dare to say hello and welcome them to the community, and maybe even to invite them to return next week. After all, these CAPE Catholics help us understand the importance of these Holy Days and scaramentals in our Church. Cindee Case is the diocesan director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry and former Board of Directors President for the National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association.
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*** Note: The Office Blog is now inactive, but posted for continued reference as needed (6/30/21) ***Cindee Case, MPSFormer Director of the Diocese of Youngstown Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (2/2002 - 6/2021) Archives
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