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One parish in the Albany Diocese really went all-out recently to attract new or returning members.

Nearly 200 people showed up to an evangelization event at Holy Trinity parish in Cohoes in February. It was advertised in The Evangelist and Troy Record newspapers, the Pennysaver and posters throughout the city that described the parish's effect on the community.

Attendees learned about volunteering, how to plan a liturgy and how to become involved in ministry. The event, called "Come Out of the Cold...and Warm Their Hearts," was designed to reach lonely people or those who feel isolated from the Church because of pain associated with closings, scandal or personal reasons.

Lately, leaders at many parishes in the Diocese have been thinking of ways - such as censuses and invitation letters - to address this issue. Consoli-dations and declining parish memberships prompted them to rethink their efforts.

"If we reach one person, to me that would be a success," said Julie Carrigan, a member of the evangelization committee at Holy Trinity.

There were some new faces at the event - and a few new parishioners for the 1,000-family congregation. "It was just such an overwhelming feeling of community that day," Mrs. Carrigan noted.

Mrs. Carrigan said that a crucial part of evangelizing is refraining from "hitting [people] over the head" with eagerness to reach them. It's about letting people see faith through others' actions, she explained.

Evangelization is sometimes unfamiliar territory to Catholics, said Jeanne Schrempf, director of the diocesan Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Family Life.

"It's a word that's hard for Catholics because we kind of have this set idea that it's something that other denominations do, but we don't do that," Mrs. Schrempf said. "There's a little bit of hesitancy to speak intentionally about [our] faith."

But Catholics need not worry about being Scripture experts or making others uncomfortable. The goal is to live faith with enthusiasm, share that faith with others and encourage Gospel values in society, Mrs. Schrempf said: "When people see that, they think, 'Well, we can do that.'"

Coming up
Staff from the OECFL will visit several parishes in March to encourage the creation of evangelization teams as part of a diocesan-wide initiative (see related story). One meeting will take place at St. Mary's Academy in Hudson, March 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Team leaders will be active, committed Catholics of various ages. The Diocese will help them assess parish needs and identify goals. One way to assess parish needs is through surveys. Parishioners at Our Lady of Grace Church in Ballston Lake responded to a written survey two years ago describing what they liked and didn't like about their parish, as well as what they would change, said Deacon Neil Hook, parish life director.

To reach those inactive Catholics listed as parishoners, six or seven volunteers called about 50 people each this year. Next, they will send letters inviting those who left to return.

Other efforts
Next fall, a team from Our Lady of Grace will also launch Catholics Returning Home, a six-session program that has been used in other parishes and elsewhere in the country. It provides updated information on the basics of Catholicism and stories of Catholics who re-turned to the Church. Laypeople host the sessions.

In Ravena, parish leaders prefer a more personal method: a door-to-door census.

A paper survey at St. Patrick's parish showed membership was down to 500 from 2,000. So a team of 36 volunteers set out to knock on hundreds of doors in Ravena, asking for Catholic members of households. If they weren't attending church, the volunteers asked for contact information. They followed up with Christmas cards to these individuals.

Residents were mostly friendly, said Clayton Sumner, pastoral council chairman. Some wanted to know what the parish offered. A few families who didn't attend Mass, but whose children attended religious education at St. Patrick's, became members.

"We're making our presence known," Mr. Sumner said.

Lost and found
Sometimes the problem isn't that the faithful are falling away, so much as they are being displaced.

St. Mary's Church in Troy is one of 33 parishes closed or closing in the Diocese by the end of 2011. To let parishioners know they have another place to go, the pastor of Christ Sun of Justice parish, located on the campus of Rensselaer Polytech-nic Institute in Troy, wrote a welcoming letter in St. Mary's parish bulletin.

"In these days of 'Called to be Church,' and the changes we are experiencing within the Church, there is much confusion, distress and grief," Rev. Edward Kacerguis wrote.

"Please know that the university parish of Christ Sun of Justice is 'home' - a place where all God's people are welcome without any reservation. On behalf of this parish community, you are invited to experience warm hospitality, loving em-brace, sacramental life (from baptism through burial) and outreach to those less fortunate."

(03/18/10) [[In-content Ad]]

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