April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
COMING HOME

How well did parishes welcome holiday visitors?

Post-Christmas is a good time for parishes to measure how their members welcome visitors or infrequent Mass-goers.

The Evangelist canvassed parishes throughout the Albany Diocese, asking: Did pastors make announcements in the weeks leading up to Christmas about etiquette during more-crowded-than-usual liturgies? Did parishioners smile at unfamiliar faces? Did visitors struggle to find spots in pews?

People who went to Mass at St. Paul the Apostle parish in Hancock this year received copies of "The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic," a popular book by Matthew Kelly. The Christmas vigil Mass was full - about 200 people.

"I didn't hear any complaints" about the atmosphere, said Rev. Christopher Welch, pastor. "I didn't see anybody standing. We're not like the suburban parishes where you have Masses in the gym."

St. Paul sees higher attendance in the summer and fall: Hunters and fishers vacation in the area, and there are 35 camps in nearby Wayne County in Pennsylvania with staff members seeking a church to attend while they're in the area.

"I've heard people say they feel the community is welcoming," Father Welch said. "If there's an unfamiliar face, they introduce themselves. I don't say 'stranger.' [I tell them to say], 'It's good to have you here.'

"There's a lot of people who come to church and I say, 'Who's that sitting next to you?'" he continued. "They say, 'I have no idea.' They get into a routine" of sitting in the same spot and not getting acquainted with new people.

Stephen Fiato, an usher at Sacred Heart parish in Lake George, has made similar observations. He chalks people's habitual seating choices up to "human nature," but he doesn't think it turns visitors off: It's "almost like a given in any parish" that some people sit at the end of a pew, he said, "but they don't hog it. They let other people in."

At Christmas and Easter, Mr. Fiato said, the pastor makes an announcement about moving to the center of the pew to make things easier for late arrivers.

"Because our parish is small, that's not a big problem," he said. "But some people are kind of funny: If they get there late, they don't want to sit down."

St. John the Evangelist parish in Schenectady was filled to its 1,700-person capacity at both Christmas Masses this year, so seating etiquette "would be fairly irrelevant, because there's not much room to be welcoming," said Rev. Richard Carlino, pastor.

During the rest of the year, he said, "This is an area we need to work on," although St. John's welcomed the people of nearby St. Anthony's parish for nine months as St. Anthony's recovered from a fire.

St. John's usually adds special touches for visitors to Christmas Masses. Two years ago, the parish gave attendees a scroll with a welcoming message. This year, Father Carlino talked about the 300 phone calls he's made to parishioners on the first anniversaries of their loved ones' deaths.

"It means the world to people," he said. "I'm hoping by sharing that with them, they know it's a caring community. Maybe some of them might come back."

Father Carlino said he's careful about how to address the congregation when it's bigger than normal.

"I always steer clear away of any sarcastic remarks like, 'We wish we saw you more often,'" he remarked. "If you start shaking your fist at people who aren't there all the time, it has a boomerang effect."[[In-content Ad]]

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