If at first you don’t succeed try, try again - Nov 19, 2011

“If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.” I remember this wise saying from my youth. It is this montra that needs repeating as the Parish Council grappled last night with what to do about the Nayatt Day of Evangelization. Less than half of the families were home on October 29th. When we tried to update our records after all the Masses on the weekend of November 5-6 a grand total of eight (8) families responded. We left packets of material at all the homes on visitation day but few people ever acknowledged receiving the material. What’s a parish council to do? In another effort to reach out we are sending via mail the registration form with feedback questions on the back. Maybe this will get the response we are looking for.

At the meeting I shared a reflection from a talk I heard at a seminar a few years back. The speaker compared the Church to our relationship to the utility company. When Hurricane Irene hit all of a sudden we thought of National Grid. When things are normal we never think of our phones, lights and other utilities. Is this how people think of the Church? When we need you we’ll get in touch with you; otherwise you are off the radar screen. A baby is born, a job is lost, a relative sick, a love one dies, a child reaches 7 years of age – we call the Church. While I certainly hope that people call the Church at important times in their lives, I also hope that the Church can be more a part of the ordinary rhythm of people’s lives. Trying to foster good habits and practices is something I am about as your pastor. “If at first you don’t succeed…” I invite you to join me in devising strategies to make the parish a more vibrant part of people’s lives.
   Fr. Bob Hawkins