Birthdays and Anniversaries As Evangelization Events???

…It Works In Brooklyn!

By Sr. Rita Wenzlick, OP
Director, Office of Planning
Diocese of Lansing

Every parish seeks to be a more welcoming community. At St. Joseph Parish in Brooklyn, the staff has hit on a simple but very effective way to do that… and give the parish's evangelization efforts a boost in the bargain.

According to Diane Dover, pastoral associate at St. Joseph, the practice of calling every parishioner in the month of his/her birthday and anniversary simply to extend best wishes on the "special" event began in the fall of 2006 and has been paying good dividends ever since. The idea came upon the scene during a brainstorming session of the Parish Evangelization Committee members on how to enhance the parish's efforts to be a welcoming community. In addition to a congratulatory phone message, the call brings with it an invitation for the parishioner to attend a special birthday/anniversary party that month at St. Joseph Parish.

Carol Josifovski, who chairs the Evangelization Committee, says this activity has quickly become one of the most popular projects in the parish.

"Those being called are often surprised because the message is not one in which the parish is calling for more financial support or urging more frequent attendance at church services. Our only purposes in making the calls is to wish them well on their 'big' day and to invite them to join us for a special celebration following the 11:00am Mass on the last Sunday of the month," Carol reports.

Each month Carol receives a computer print-out of those parishioners celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. The birthdays usually number about 100 each month and there are between six and 10 couples marking anniversaries during that time frame. Carol has a team of about four volunteers who take on the task of making the calls. The volunteers also help with the party arrangements. (There are more than the four that help with the reception or the making of cakes, etc.)

The festivities begin as the Mass ends on the month's last Sunday. The congregation sings Happy Birthday/Anniversary and all are invited to join in for the celebration in the parish hall. When the guests arrive, there is a hostess to welcome them and give them their name badge. There is a special birthday or anniversary hat for each guest as well. Refreshments are appropriate for the event and include cake, ice cream, juice, coffee and donuts.

The phone calling experience is rewarding for the recipients but it also means something to the volunteers. As Carol explains it, "The volunteers find the calls to be a truly pleasurable way to connect with each registered parishioner. They find the conversations very gratifying and feel good knowing that they are responsible for seeing that each parishioner - including children - receives a personal call at least once during the year."

Even in those instances where the person called chooses not to attend the party, the volunteers feel that reaching out to that person in this way plants a seed and that, at some future date, the individual may return to full participation in the Church, if indeed, they have fallen away.

Sue Harmon, Parish Evangelization Committee member and member of the Parish Welcoming Committee, is one of the volunteers who make the calls. She says that those called often times do not have another celebration planned for their own big event and are particularly appreciative of St. Joseph Parish's efforts to recognize them. She also finds that some invitees choose to attend another weekend Mass in place of the 11:00am service but return to church for the celebration.

As could be expected, the Mass that precedes the celebration each month has noticeably many more participants than do the other Sundays and that extra attendance, in Carol's view, underscores the true value of the project. On one occasion, a gentleman attended who had nott been seen in church for many months. He responded positively to the phoned invitation and found that he was very welcome indeed and has been visible in the parish community ever since. Carol feels it is still a bit too soon to tell for sure, but she senses this initiative is having a positive impact on inactive parishioners.

The celebrations have even provided special opportunities to touch lives outside the parish. One Sunday as people were being greeted and asked what they were there to celebrate, a woman, who was not a parishioner, told how she had come to Brooklyn on the birthday of her daughter who had passed away and was buried in the parish cemetery. She heard of the celebration after Mass on Sunday and attended. She was so pleased because it made her feel that her daughter had not been forgotten. Other gratifying experiences are found when a spouse will come to celebrate on the birthday of a deceased
partner. These occasions made it possible for the parishioners of St. Joseph, Brooklyn, to reach grieving parishioners and others in ways beyond what may ever be known.

There have been 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries celebrated at these parish occasions. One couple even promoted the parish celebration by inviting their family and friends to come to St. Joseph and to celebrate with them! Diane Dover encourages placing special emphasis on long-time anniversaries. "What witness value these festivities have for the young children and teens in the parish! They get to see first hand the results of the many years of loving commitment between these exemplary couples."

Unquestionably, the project creates memorable family events. The parents get just as excited about the celebrations as do the children. It is not surprising then that working with the children to keep the parents involved provides another good evangelizing technique.

According to Fr. Carl Simon, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, "This is an excellent opportunity in which everyone in the parish gets contacted at least once a year and gets invited to participate publicly in something that is personal to them. Parishioners know they have not been forgotten. By inviting them, we show them that we know they are there and that we very much want them to be an active part of our parish."

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Contact Information:

Diane Dover
Pastoral Associate
St. Joseph Parish
Brooklyn, Michigan
Phone: 517-467-2106

Carol Josifovski
Chairperson, Evangelization Committee
St. Joseph Parish
Brooklyn, Michigan
Phone: 517-592-8819