Plans under way to help welcome young adults back to church
ASHWAUBENON — If the conservative estimate of 10 percent of those Catholics in the Diocese of Green Bay who do not attend Mass return as a result of the Catholics Come Home campaign, more than 25,000 people will find their way back to the church. Considering that studies show that only 24 percent of young Catholics believe it is important to attend Mass, the young adult community is a prime target of the campaign.
"We know we have a problem in our church when we look around," said Julianne Donlon, diocesan adult faith formation director. "Think about your parish and being at Mass. The piece that is missing in many of our parishes is young adults."
Julianne Donlon, director of adult faith formation for the Green Bay Diocese, told attendees at a gathering Jan. 21 that Catholics Come Home, which kicks off next month with commercials aired on television, will likely bring young adults back to the church. She hopes young adult ambassadors will be present in parishes to welcome them. (Rick Evans | For The Compass)
"You don't have to be a young adult (defined as ages 18-39) to be a young adult ambassador," said Donlon. "You just have to be young adult friendly. We've got an opportunity in this diocese to really impact our young people."
Donlon expects the campaign response to be greater than 10 percent. The diocese is the third in the country to utilize Catholics Come Home as an evangelization tool. The Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, showed a nearly 18 percent increase in Mass attendance as a result of its campaign. Mass attendance in the Diocese of Phoenix increased by 12 percent.
"If that 10 percent doubles, we have 50,000 people coming back to the church," said Donlon. "Are we ready?"
Young adult ambassadors will serve as a link between returning Catholics and the parish. Starting on Ash Wednesday, they will be present after Masses at all parishes to meet with returning young adult Catholics, answer questions or help find answers to questions, air the Catholics Come Home commercials and gather contact information on postcards. The engagement process will extend to meeting with young adults after weekend Masses during the six weeks of Lent.
"We are giving (young adult ambassadors) loud shirts to wear so everyone knows that's the person I need to see," said Donlon. "We want to welcome, invite, include."
The commercials are a major component of the Catholics Come Home campaign. Based on statistics from the Diocese of Phoenix, for every $1.63 invested in television media, a person comes back to the Catholic Church. The three television spots were shown at the gathering and discussed in small groups.
Carrie Miller, youth minister at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, De Pere, and a diocesan young adult representative, said she was moved by the commercials, which in turn, fueled her excitement about the campaign.
"People are going to see these commercials in Green Bay 20 times," she said. "This is such a big opportunity for us to reach out to friends we know.
"People will come back," she added. "When they do, they need to be welcomed, they need to be befriended, their questions need to be answered and that's why we need more people" (as ambassadors).
Donlon discussed the need for more Catholic messages on billboards and social media of which the average young person uses 52 hours per week.
"We have all driven Highway 41 between Green Bay and Appleton," she said. "How many (billboard) images are Catholic? There is only one for Silver Lake College.
"If MySpace were a country, it would be the fifth largest in population in the world," she added. "Our ministry has to change."
A kickoff for young adult ambassadors is planned for Feb. 4. Resources, including a document featuring the "Top 10 Reasons to be Catholic" will be provided for distribution to returning young adults. Donlon emphasized that volunteers do not need to have all the answers about Catholic teachings, but rather just need to provide a presence. This may include inviting returnees to parish functions or socials outside the church. They are also encouraged to add returning Catholics as friends on social network sites and include them on the mailing list for the diocesan young adult newsletter, "Into the Light."
All returning young adult Catholics will be invited to a special Catholics Come Home Theology on Tap on March 5. The event will feature Matthew Kelly, a Catholic speaker and author who has sold more than 1 million copies of his books.
Fr. Joel Sember, temporary administrator at St. Francis Xavier Parish, De Pere, and St. Mary Parish, De Pere, attended the Jan. 21 gathering.
Fr. Sember shared a story about a man, who, in preparation for marriage, entered the RCIA program. He dropped out after only a couple weeks. Fr. Sember realized that the problem was that, other than his fiancé, he didn't know any other Catholics.
"In the RCIA program, that's the whole point of a sponsor," he said. "He just needs one other Catholic who cares, who he can talk to. That's what you guys can be, Catholics who care. They need somebody who is willing to listen, to walk with them, somebody who cares enough to talk about faith stuff."
If interested in becoming a young adult ambassador, the kickoff event on Feb. 4 or resources for young adults, contact Julianne Donlon at (920) 272-8270 or e-mail:
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