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Anthony,

No I had not seen that. It looks intriging. I will look at it for fully tonight.

Dan L

Anthony, this document makes some very good points, and I have had occasion to consult it several times. His key point is there has to be a "growth program", and he outlines some ideas to plan and implement one.

I don't know if in a small mission all of the structure is necessary in terms of the "officers", but some good points are certainly made about working towards longer-term growth.

This may seem incredibly basic but if ignored can be disastrous.

Some good ideas have been shared here. Smar just notified me that the Dayton Church is now being closed.

Combine that fact with the recent pilgrimages on the Parma Eparchy and the ideas that have been shared the Holy Spirit may well be breathing upon us.

What if we could expand the idea of the pilgrimages to an apostolate of lay mission to other Churches? For full effect I should think the Church being visited would need to indicate that they wanted a mission to come to their Church. The welcoming Church would need to pray and prepare for the mission. The mission itself could include a Cantor, some lay people willing to do neighborhood canvassing and to meet with some of the local members. The mission would include times of matins and vespers and, if a priest is available, Divine Liturgy. Teaching and Preaching would clearly be included. Much of the teaching could be handled by members of the lay team with approval of the bishop and the welcoming priest.

Does this have merit?

Dan L

Dan,

I really think that the idea of organizing missions to parishes has a lot of merit. Historically, much of the growth in Roman Catholicism in its early days in this country can be attributed to the success of parish missions.

When you get the chance, read the fascinating book "Catholic Revivalism" by Jay P. Dolan. It's all about how parish missions were used to bring about rapid growth in America. You can order a used copy of it pretty inexpensively from Amazon at the following link:

Catholic Revivalism [amazon.com]

Anthony

From my RC perspective of parish missions I think Dan L has a good handle on the structure of a mission, including Eastern Tradition and spirituality.

Having a priest/deacon preacher or dynamic orthodox lay evangelist come in from outside the parish is a good thing. While our own priest is good, we humans start to tune out a speaker that we have heard for a while.

A new voice can enkindle new energy to the faith. Following a parish mission the Spirit can bring growth to the parish in ways that we can't even imagine now.

Christ is our peace.

Paul

Anthony, the Orthodox have taken the approach of a mother parish/daughter mission for years with success, as has some Greek Catholic missions in Canada.

The Russian Catholic parish in Los Angeles had a "support network" with the Melkites, and the mission/parish in Australia has a similar relationship with the Melkites. It certainly can work.

While the exterior mission is certainly vitally important, it cannot ever override the interior one of unity of faith and purpose that we all must have within our own families first.

Seeing is believing.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating. You have to live your faith in such a way that it shows in your demeanor without having to say a word. Then folks will come to you and want what you have-"that paeace that passeth understanding".

It is the only surefire way to attract and keep folks. especially the young and those that aren't convinced or don't care about doctrinal differences and points.

In bible Belt ,USA everybody and his mama is trying to get folks into church. Words won't cut it.

You have to become a saint, I'm telling you, that'll do it like nothing else.

Peace

You are right about that radiant, inexplicable peace that attracts others. People are looking for that desperately, but many are unfortunately not looking in the right places.

Again, you speak the truth. Some of the evangelical churches are trying every possible gimmick to attract people. I think many are getting wise to the gimmicks, the catchy tunes, and the encounter groups. People are looking for the real faith, the real Christ, the real peace that only Christ can give.

Dear indigo,

While I wouldn't dismiss "techniques" altogether. You are right about living the Gospel.

Mother Teresa said, "The world needs your good example and your prayers."

God bless you,

Paul

Paul, You're right, techniques are helpful though living the Gospel is the most powerful draw.

Has anyone had any contact with the Byzantine Benedictines in Pa? Why not invite them to parishes to speak and invite the public? Many folks are interested in Benedictine spirituality and this would be an intriguing slant. Monasticism is a pretty hot subject now.Not only that but if they are not supported I imagine it is only a matter of time before it closes too.

Eastern "Right"(that's for your ByzanTn)needs a writer like Frederica Matthewes-Green or Bishop Ware to help get the word out. Folks should be able to browse in bookstores and libraries and find books on Eastern Rite Catholicism. That could generate interest, lectures etc.

Surveys could be done to find out what attracted non-Catholic converts to EC. For what reason have people left EC? If cradle-born EC's no longer attend, why not? What would have to happen to bring them back?

Whatever makes EC different from OC and RC needs to be highlighted , though that's tricky because of course there's no desire in putting down either RC or OC.

Therein lies the problem. What is unique about EC that would convince a non-OC or RC to consider this instead of OC or RC? Which also leads to the following thought: What happens to EC once the OC and RC churches unite?by no means an original thought, but one folks will ask when asked to consider EC. Oh, boy this is beginning to sound like a competition and that is truly not the point!

Help me out y'all!!

Peace

IMHO Bringing Orthodox preachers to EC parishes would be dynamite.

Paul