3 minute read
Welcome Ministry Makes Important Call to All Parishioners
As the first of the Four Pillars of Parish Stewardship, hospitality holds great importance to our parish community. At the heart of our hospitality efforts is our Welcome Ministry.
“Since its inception, the Welcome Ministry has searched for ways to help individuals and families feel connected,” says Mike David.
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The Welcome Ministry seeks to meet the needs of the parish members, wherever individuals may find themselves. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to the Welcome Ministry’s efforts. And while the Welcome Ministry has been around for a while, it is currently looking to restructure and organize itself to better serve the community.
As Mike and the team hope to rebuild and begin again, they want to hear from our parishioners — what would you like to see the Welcome Ministry do? Mike, along with Jane Hackert, are asking parishioners to let them know how the ministry may continue to foster hospitality and community here at St. Benedict.
“The Welcome Ministry hopes to reflect the demographics and collective personality of St. Ben’s,” Mike says. “We need and value everyone’s input about what we might do to help our parish, and its school, continue to flourish.”
In the past, the Welcome Ministry has hosted a welcome dinner for new parishioners, sent birthday and anniversary cards, served as greeters at Mass, and made a point of welcoming new parishioners to our Lenten Soup Suppers and Knights of Columbus Fish Frys. The ministry has also prepared pamphlets for new parishioners and initiated outreach programs to our schools. It has also developed a church history brochure and began to offer church tours after Mass, all to help people appreciate the beauty and history of our Cathedral.
“Since its inception, the Welcome Ministry has searched for ways to help individuals and families feel connected to St. Ben’s,” Mike says. “We have tried to be intentional in meeting folks wherever they were at on their parish journey, whether it was someone new to the parish, a school family, or a retired person who has attended St. Ben’s since she or he was a child.”
The Welcome Ministry, and more broadly, hospitality as a whole, are key components of our parish’s stewardship efforts.
“Hospitality is the first pillar of stewardship, not accidentally,” Fr. Godfrey says. “If we are to be stewards in any sense, if we seek real discipleship to shape our lives, then we must recognize the gifts we’ve welcomed from God. Every good gift comes from above. And while hospitality is the first pillar in numerical order — prayer, formation, and service follow — hospitality is also the foundation of the other three pillars.”
