As I’ve been mentioning for the last few weeks, we have our big Open House coming up next Sunday (December 8th, 1:30pm to 3:30pm) in the new narthex. It will be a great chance to enjoy this new space and share it with our community.
As I’ve mentioned, we decided to have a separate Open House, even after we already celebrated the Narthex Blessing and Dedication last weekend, because this new space gives us a unique opportunity to evangelize. After all, people all over the community have been noticing the construction going on here for the last year or so. Since many people are curious, it seems like a great chance to invite them in!
This is where I have issued a challenge to each of you. As I mentioned in last week’s column, I’m asking every parishioner to think of one person whom you’d like to invite to the Open House, and to pray and fast for that person. It could be a fallen-away Catholic, a co-worker or neighbor who’s never practiced any faith, or someone who has simply drifted away. If you have a person in mind, here are the next steps:
1. Invite. As this person if they’d like to come and see the new narthex with you. It’s a low-risk task. It can be as simple as stopping by the Open House for 5 minutes on your way to somewhere else with them. We’ve included a postcard in today’s bulletin that you could use as an invitation.
2. Accompany. Be sure that you don’t just invite them, but that you come with them. That will create a natural opportunity for conversations related to the Church and faith.
3. Ask. There are many gentle, non-threatening ways to ask people where they are in the practice of their faith. Simply invite them to share where they’re at to the extent that they’re comfortable.
4. Listen. This is the most important step in evangelization. So often when people make tentative steps towards opening up to us, we jump in and cut them off. That usually doesn’t lead people to the Church. Instead, simply listen attentively, ask questions to help you understand where they’re coming from, and make sure you let them know that you hear them and understand.
5. Leave the Door Open. One conversation will not bring someone back to the Church. It’s a long, relationship-based process. You simply want to leave the door open to future conversations about faith so that they know they can open up to you without judgment or criticism. Then you can continue to pray for that person, while looking for opportunities to initiate follow-up conversations.
I am confident that if we all do this, the Holy Spirit will be at work. Our job is simply to share our faith with others in a way that attracts them to Christ. That won’t all happen in the space of one Open House, but it’s a start!
For more information on learning how to lead people to the Faith (specifically, children who have fallen away from the Catholic Church), check out the book Return by Brandon Vogt.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the Open House next Sunday!
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