Window Dressing

As I reflect on the purpose of institutions of belief, I wonder if they are all to frequently an impediment to what they are trying to do rather than a solution.  It would seem to me that these institutions should abet the formation of one’s character such that they would willingly adhere to the tenets and would live joyfully because of it.  Do they?

Take a look around, how many people would you assess to be at peace because they are secure in the knowledge that greater things lie ahead for them?  Most people would describe themselves as part of some religion or believing in some sort of super-natural force and yet by varying degrees, anxiety consumes their existence.  Isn’t religion or belief supposed to be a way to alleviate anxiety?  Aren’t we supposed to believe we are loved and saved and going to spend the hereafter in bliss?  Shouldn’t religion focus more on helping people keep their worldly concerns in perspective?

Anxiety rules supreme in our culture and for many it’s not about where their next meal is coming from or where they are going to sleep (which would be very legitimate causes for concern).  We spend too much of our lives focused on our health and wealth and to the extent they do, they prove the token influence of religion.

I don’t have a prescription for what ails us.  I do think if people used the practice of religion as a means to regain the potential peace life has to offer it would help.  Too many, in my opinion, leave Sunday’s lessons in the church parking lot and Monday has them traversing a familiar path of anxiously acquiring enough resources to take care of largely manufactured obligations.  I suspect religions are sometimes guilty of reinforcing this problem by trying to get more people to attend and participate for the sake of having more people attend and participate.  Perhaps the focus should be on creating expectations and modeling the benefits from the expectations.  If the religious institutions are anxiously concerned with finances, growth and participation, what hope is there for the members?

 

Hell if I know

A couple weeks back there was the Gospel parable of about the rich guy who goes to hell and sees the poor guy, Lazarus, living the life of Reilly. I was thinking about this and wondering a) if we haven’t seriously gone astray b) whether anyone really dwells on the notion of hell any more. With this parable and many other ways in the Gospel, Jesus makes it pretty clear that rich guys might have a little bit of a surprise come judgment day. I would contend that many, many American folk would fall into the rich guy category (relative to the rest of the world’s population) and so Christians are either rationalizing to justify our accumulation of wealth or we believe that God grades on a very easy curve.

The other possibility of course is a) we don’t buy into the notion of extremes in the afterlife or b) we don’t really believe. Do we really believe in the notion that hell is this fiery place where our soul will spend eternity? I guess I don’t think many of us think about too long or too often. I also wonder if this is unfortunate in a way. On the one hand you want to use a carrot to help people live lives of virtue but on the other hand, if more people dwelt on spending every day for eternity in the worst imaginable manner possible, I wonder if our behavior wouldn’t improve.

I am advocating that we all think about the worst possible scenario in our lives and having that scenario be our reality for eternity. What if hell is living with the knowledge you harmed/killed a loved one? Or maybe it’s based on your fear and you have to spend every day in a pit of snakes always afraid of being bit. One thought occurred to me about hell that maybe should be reconsidered by Minnesotans – hell is always portrayed as firing hot, but what if it’s cold instead. Imagine you are stuck out in the cold naked and helpless looking into your home as someone is about to kill your family. You live this scenario out all day, every day for all of time. It would seem to me if we take our faith seriously and think hell is going to be, well, hell, then we might be motivated to fly right.

Some commentaries on this Gospel also use it to differentiate Christian expectations from those prominent at the time. Many then and even today would regard being morally sound as obeying the law and being fair. However, one might interpret that parable to mean that if you are Christian, you have to differentiate your behavior by helping the poor and least fortunate.

Maybe we all should contemplate the reality of hell and use our imaginations a little to assess how bad hell could be. Once we wrap our head around this reality and our obvious desire to avoid this fate, we might find giving a little time and money to those in need a much more rewarding endeavor.

The bottom line is it’s about the top line

Top line

We made budget plans for last year and we assumed the worst. For the first five months of the year, the assumptions were way off in a good way – we were better than budget. The last seven months of the year were disappointing to say the least.

In that you have to plan well in advance particularly with personnel decisions, we based our plans more on the first five months of last year and less on the last seven. The bottom line is that we are facing a very tough row to hoe. Based on current expense assumptions we will have to realize an 8% increase in giving this year. To put this in perspective, the greatest increase in the last 10 years was just under 4%.

The thing I can control is the expenses. I can work with others in the parish and identify which staff can be cut back (the non-personnel expenses are pretty small relatively speaking and so to make changes the only real option is with personnel). It is demoralizing work. I have resolved to focus on the “top line” or the income.

Top line increases are typically tied to an improved product, better marketing or circumstances that abet the need for the product (think umbrellas on a rainy day). In the church world, there are a lot of parts to our product but 90% of the people weight the worship services as 90% of the product. The ordained employees and by extension the Church hierarchy largely determine the contents/quality/value of this (at least in the eyes of the attendees and would-be attendees). The net of it is there is minimal influence that can be exerted to change the contents or atmosphere of the product. Therefore the context of need to increase contributions is trying to do without significant changes in the perceived product.

On one level, the product should not need any promotion – we believe that what we are selling it eternal bliss and that should be sufficient to motivate participation and support. The trouble would seem to be the eternal bliss angle is too abstract for more and more people and whose focus is on the immediate sensation rather than the very long term.

With that as an extremely long introduction, my question is what do I do? The top line needs to increase and it needs to increase dramatically – the options, as I see them, is to increase awareness the intrinsic value of the product (emphasize what an eternal existence in hell would be like?) or to work to develop participation in the valuation of the activities that are more easily modified.

Any suggestions on what to do?

Let the Son shine

In anticipation of Pentecost, we had several discussions on times when we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. My contribution to the discussion was the experience of getting together with relatively small groups to try to make things better. At times the discussions build to a point where it becomes clear that ideas being shared are divinely inspired. There is often a “wow” how did we get to such a height given are marginal intelligence and limited perspective. It is a great feeling and it makes it rewarding to work in the Church.

With every mountain, there is also a valley. The sensation after experiencing an activity or behavior is completely inconsistent with the behavior a Christian community is committed to develop leaves one with such a demoralizing feeling. There is a real sense of failure and purposelessness when members steal something or lie or seek to inappropriately demean others. The questions quickly spring up: What am I doing here? Are we making any real difference? Maybe the net of all we do is make people feel a little better about not doing the right thing all the time rather than doing the right thing?

I am not sure what the point in all this is but perhaps it’s a request for all of us to work a little harder at practicing what we profess to believe in. Our decisions and our behavior for better or worse can be amplified many times and have either a much greater impact than would have been imagined. I am not suggesting that we cannot disagree with past actions or future plans but let us do so constructively, honestly and fully aware of our context.

At the end of the day, there is way too much to be thankful for nearly all of us and behavior that doesn’t reflect our mutual belief in Christ can shred the fabric of our community and eliminate the persistent expression of gratitude we should all have. I am hopeful we can constructively and collectively hold each other in mutual account of our behavior.

Leading indicators lagging

I was reading a book recently that attributed the decline in church participation (attendance, giving, volunteering) to the lack of differentiated behavior by those who do attend. In other words, the non-involved didn’t perceive that participation improved the lives of those who attended and so it must not have value. The book also suggested that a culture reflects what it truly values in through celebrations. The author believes our culture celebrates values that run contrary to those of the Catholic Christian faith which is yet another reason why active participation is ebbing downward.

I do believe there are clearly societal forces working against the importance and value of actively and consistently participating in a faith community. I also believe that the active members are not evangelizing by consistently and tangibly reflecting a deep seated belief that God loves them and this allows them to confront challenges with a sense of peace and the vast majority of their life with a sense of gratitude. I am not certain the implications of this situation at Holy Name at this point in its very long life.

We have been tracking church attendance for a little over a year and on balance attendance is down. A glance at the contribution numbers also indicate that parishioners are not contributing as much either. There are many great things that happen here on a daily basis and there is an increased participation in ministry areas. Nevertheless, we must confront the decline in attendance and contributions and determine what is possible given the constraints.

Where would you begin? You have to keep in mind that between Rome and the Archdiocese, there are many decisions that are out of our control. If we started an evangelization program based on “acting like a Christian.” The essence of the campaign is that you would encourage people to act better morally and with a sense of peace when confronted by challenges. Isn’t that what we should be doing? Do you think we are already doing this?

 

 

 

Tomorrow works better for me

Have you ever found yourself waking up and just hoping to get through the day? It might be a busy day or a day that you know will contain tense or unpleasant situations. It might also be a day that is followed by a better or easier day (like Friday or the day before a vacation). I have found myself in this situation too often lately. On the one hand, it’s the reality of human existence – sometimes the grass is greener on the other side. On the other hand, wishing a day away is probably and indication that something needs changing (like one’s attitude toward things).

It would seem to me that certain days and situations are going to be a drag regardless of the mental calisthenics you use. However, there are many situations that can be improved by approaching them with a different mindset. I doubt there isn’t an on-size-fits-all solution because the prescription must fit the patient and the ailment.

In my life many of the situations I dislike are ones that involve spending longer periods of time with groups of people particularly groups of people I don’t know too well. The worst situation is attending a conference where you probably won’t know anyone. This scenario for me (and probably many on my list) could probably be significantly improved by doing the opposite of what I think I should do (ala George Costanza). My inclination is to keep to myself, keep my head down and look busy. However, as I think about the situations where I initially loathed them and then left liking them, I would go out of my way to meet strangers or acquaintances. The reality is there is nothing to lose when you are with people you will rarely or never see again. Why not take a chance?

I think the above scenario for me can be applied to many things on my, “I am not looking forward to that list.” Doing the opposite or at least something different than what my instincts tell me to do. Digging a little deeper, for me, my instincts seem to guide me to appear or to be least vulnerable. Perhaps if I focus on enjoying taking more risks, my list of un-enjoyable things will get shorter.

Am I representative of others? Does anyone out there either not have days they want to get over and/or a proven mechanism to cope with the least pleasant days and events of life? Would you agree that wishing days away is a situation that indicates there is a problem?

Value shopping for God

The theme for this year at Holy Name is, “Come be fed, go feed others.” As the parish administrator, I have tried to assess the theme from a strategic planning and parish vision perspective. Is the parish giving its members adequate spiritual sustenance? If we are shouldn’t our members be serving (feeding) others? Are the members serving/feeding others?

Absolutely, many of our members participate in the activities at the parish and are energized to become better Catholic Christians and so there is definitely some success. However the parish leadership spends a lot of time and effort trying to tweak our operations and ministry offerings to motive the majority of our members who are not yet inspired to participate and who attend Mass far less frequently.

I think part of the problem is that many of us approach the question of participation from a consumer mentality. We approach our lives and how we spend our time with trying to get the perceived greatest return on investment. I don’t go to Mass because I don’t get anything out of it. I don’t participate in activities because there is a charge for them and it’s not worth it. I don’t give to the church because I don’t cost them anything and they don’t do anything for me.

This is a problem. I would hope that we try to see our life and all we have as a gift. We are given the gift of life and many other individual gifts uniquely combined to create a God-containing being. Once one comes to fully understand fullness of this truth, then coming to Mass and participating in the life of the parish is a vital opportunity to share your gifts with others. It is what you bring and give to others by being here as much as it is what you take away.

Maybe the homilies don’t always inspire you and maybe your life is busy with children and sports and with just keeping your head above water. Even with these challenges and maybe because of them, we all need to come and share our presents (gifts) and presents (attending something) with others in our community. We all need to understand that we have been given so much and we will have more joyous and peace-filled lives if we make it a habit of acknowledging and sharing these gifts.

So for all of you who are not attending or participating in the life of the parish, I would strongly encourage you to habitually bring your very gifted being to share with others. Make a point to come and be fed during this Lenten season and feed others both here and in our community with the gift of you.

 

Waisted Resolutions

January 1^st is just another day when you think about it. While many have affixed the opportunity to change their behavior on this day, each day provides the same opportunity in reality. Nevertheless, I would support picking out something in your life you would like to improve and doing something about it. If it’s January 1^st, great, if it’s a couple of weeks from later, that will work too.

I wonder what would be the most common thing people want to change about themselves. I would have to guess their weight or physical condition followed closely by some habitual unhealthy behavior (drinking, smoking, shopping, losing their temper, etc). Do you think many people really would have becoming more religiously engaged near the top of their list? Do a lot people want to deepen their faith or pray more or come to Mass more often? I guess I don’t think there are too many out there in this category or at least who would put these things on the top of their self-improvement list. It’s not as if they don’t want to become more spiritually fulfilled and at peace with their existence through religion, it’s just that losing ten pounds or being more disciplined in some way seems to cloud out many other things.

The way I see it, there is a little bit of a chicken and egg situation with self-improvement projects and religion/faith. I think a deeper faith in Christ and committing yourself to the message of the Gospel would certainly make everyone more at peace with themselves (overlook or even appreciate some of their blemishes) and better equipped to make changes if they want to.

If you buy-into my perspective as laid out above, do you think the parish should take a more holistic approach of the human condition and provide opportunities to meet some non-religious needs? The strategy would be to help people address the top self-improvement projects so they could get to the spiritual improvement projects or, better yet, to improve their whole being simultaneously. Maybe we should convert some space to an exercise area, offer painting classes and help families assess their resource use based on their priorities. Would this help?

As our parish begins the planning efforts for the next fiscal year (July to June), we are always interested in hearing from you and what you would like to see happen. Our overall goal is to provide a number of faith-based opportunities to learn, worship and serve (Know, See, Be). At the same time, we want you to be at peace with yourself and well in all facets of your life. As the new calendar year begins maybe your self-assessment has made you realize the parish can play a bigger role in meeting your needs or helping you become a healthier person. Please let us know if you have any suggestions.

May you all come to know peace and joy in this year.

 

faith developing opportunities for parishioners in a many different situations.

 

There are surveys and studies that indicate main line religions are losing members and the members who remain are less likely to be active. In this context, the Catholic Church would appear to be emphasizing long-held principals which may offend or deter people with sympathy for homosexuals, women’s equality, married priests, birth control, etc. As a result the potential active membership in the Church is becoming smaller both by sociological trends and by growing differences between cultural and Church norms.

How are we to combat these trends? Should we as a church seek to meet more non-religious needs of people?

 

The Hunt for Santa Jesus

Is there an easy way to reconcile our behavior and our beliefs at this time of year? How would Jesus want us to celebrate His coming into the world? I look at my life and wonder whether the time, money and effort I spend on Christmas the holiday reflects that I don’t sufficiently acknowledge the importance of Christmas the Holy Day. Is there an appropriate balance where Santa (representing the secular holiday) can co-exist with the Holy Day of Jesus’ coming?

I fear that in my life and in our American culture, Santa has just about completely crowded out Jesus. As administrator of a Catholic parish, I try to facilitate using the resources to bringing people closer to Jesus. In a way it’s a little like a factory where we try to bring people in and convert them in a way where they deepen their love of Jesus (a conversion) and live a life that reflects both the peace and challenges that result from this relationship.

A key opportunity for a conversion to take place is during the weeks leading up to our celebration of the Christmas. In the days before Santa took over Christmas, I can imagine the faithful having more idle time during this period of year since the harvest was in and planting was a ways off. The Church no doubt thought saw this as the perfect time for everyone to undergo a period of introspection and faith enrichment as the celebration of Jesus’ birth approached. For some reason, customs changed, people filled their calendars with activity and for many this important opportunity for conversion is largely gone.

Can we turn back the clock and reclaim this time as a period of faith enrichment? Can we mix the largely secular cultural expectations of Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas parties, Christmas presents and Santa with making this a holy time? Perhaps the best option is to have people of faith euthanize Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and shun the secular customs so as to focus on the significance of God becoming manifest in the world. Must we continue to make the focus of our time on magi bringing their gifts to the manger or can we conscientiously push back a little and make room for acknowledging the religious importance of Christ’s coming?

I have decided to push back and I am throwing it out there for your suggestions and participation. My goal would be to find a balance that doesn’t completely shun the cultural expectations but gives testament to the fact that I think Advent and Christmas are important opportunities to enrich my faith. One thing I am going to change is the language I use to greet others this time of year. The current practices for nearly all are ‘Happy Holidays’ and ‘Merry Christmas.’ I don’t think either of them leads to any true sense that this is a holy time so I am thinking about avoiding them and going with something like “Joy and peace,” “Peace be with you,” “Christ’s peace and joy be with you.” These would seem to communicate more directly most people’s true feelings anyway and may get people reacquainted with the religious importance of this time of year.

Another thing I been thinking about is making all my gifts to Jesus. For the gifts I give out, I’ll fill in the “To:” section with some like, “To: Jesus who dwells within Tiny Tim (or whoever the gift is for). From: Dan (who sees Jesus within you). The idea is that you would remind the recipient that this is a special time and that Christ did come to the world and is in all of us.

I think another great idea to add holy into our Christmas observations is provided by my parents. The larger Garry family has some great Christmas traditions which have evolved over the years so as to minimize gift giving and focus on being together in a spirit of love and thanksgiving. An example of this is with my mom who now has a tradition of giving all the kids (eight), in-laws (six) and grandkids who can read (9 of 15) cards with lengthy notes telling that person what their personal gifts and attributes are and how proud she is of them. My dad also adds to the holiness of the day by saying a prayer and a poem in thanksgiving for all the gifts he has been given. He emotionally acknowledges how good God has been to him by giving him such a great family and friends. Their actions to me are an example of a way to honor the Holy Day in the midst of celebrating the holiday.

I know that many of you do a wonderful job of acknowledging the holiness of this time of year by helping those in need as Christ asks us to do. I think giving your resources of time and money to those in need at this time of year is an outstanding way to celebrate the importance of Christ coming to be with us. However, I also know that many get lured in by Santa and need to be reminded to intentionally and conscientiously seek to deepen our faith in the midst of increasingly secular cultural norms. I would hope that each of us can carve out some time to reflect on the meaning of the coming of Jesus into our lives. I also think it’s important we push back a little against our culture and through our behavior and interaction give witness that we believe this is still a holy time.

Written by Dan Garry

Christian behavior recipe

As I think about what a church should do with its resources, I started wondering about the amount of resources that would ideally be spent on the practice of religion compared to living the religion.

My assumption is that practicing religion is a means to live the religion. You go to church on Sunday not for the exclusively to worship God but to equip or fortify yourself to live out the tenants of your faith. God doesn’t need to be worshipped, we need to worship God to do what is right, just and compassionate.

How would this concept be implemented in the activity of a church? I guess I think too many resources can be allocated for practicing religion (particularly in the time and energy of many in the upper heirarchies) and not providing opportunities to live the faith.  Helping the least of our brothers, making peacemakers (they are blessed) encouraging all to give up their things and follow their faith-isn’t that what a church should do?

The church should provide opportunities to enrich one’s faith but the enrichment should lead to action, lifestyle changes and good deeds.  In that the fruition of faith development is action, should not the a sizable portion of the life of the parish be directed to providing opportunities of charity?  Also, if these charitable acts might be considered as successfully developing the faith of the members, shouldn’t the implicit intent of all other activities be getting to the point where one does good deeds with compassion?

I guess my fear is that churches get overly caught up in the ritutals of the faith and lose sight of why they do the rituals in the first place.  There is a new set of rules being put forth (or I guess more stringently enforced is more accurate) that would seem to reflect that a major priority for the larger church is concentrate on the rituals of faith rather than living the faith.