If phone rings in Rotterdam, it's probably Melissa calling

By August, when the annual Festa is held at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Rotterdam, Melissa Lape hopes to have had a conversation with each family that attends.

In March, she embarked on an ambitious plan to help her parish keep in touch with its members: to call every family listed in the parish census.

The idea originated with Rev. Joseph Cebula, pastor, and is a ministry of evangelization, invitation and simple communication.

On the line

"Father Joe is big on inviting people," said Mrs. Lape. "He approached me about being willing to reach out to parishioners in this way."

She estimates that she spends five to ten hours per week on the phone with members of OLA's 1,000-plus registered families. She varies her hours, calling weekday mornings and evenings as well as after weekend Masses.

"I'm a stay-at-home mom, and I can work it in any time I want to," she noted. She calls the conversations "an opportunity to let people know the Church cares about them and make sure everything's going well."

Called, literally

For some Catholics, the calls are a chance to be updated on the progress of Called to be Church.

Mrs. Lape said she lets them know that "there's a lot of things happening, and things are going to change," both in the Diocese and in the parish, and that parishioners are meeting to address those changes. She also takes questions to pass on to the planning group.

"We want everybody to know, so that people feel like they're a part of it," she explained. "It's another way that we make sure people know that Called to Be Church is happening, and they can have input."

Updates

While on the phone, Mrs. Lape tells people of upcoming events at the church, like speakers, festivals and prayer services. The calls are also a way to remind parishioners about the Festa, one of the year's biggest events, and invite them to experience parish community there.

"We're interested in those who have fallen away a little bit or haven't come regularly," she said. "We're interested in having them be part of our church family.

"Families are important to us, and we want them to know that we would love to have entire families in church, from wee, tiny babies to high schoolers. We're interested in them and want to share the Gospel with them."

On other end

Feedback from the calls has generally been positive, Mrs. Lape said.

"People are surprised sometimes, because this hasn't happened before," she noted. "For the most part, people are friendly and at least wanting to hear what I have to say."

She enjoys her phone ministry as a way to keep connected to parishioners.

"Being a stay-at-home-mom can be a little isolating sometimes," she said, "so it keeps me connected to the community and gives me an opportunity to do some kind of ministry. We don't want people to feel that things are happening in the parish and the larger Church, and they don't know about it. We want them to feel that they can be a part of it."

(5/17/07) [[In-content Ad]]