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?
