 “Be they blood lines, the people he worked with and for, the people he associated with musically, or just someone that he knew, liked, respected and/or admired, for whatever reason, they automatically acquired the status of being part of his family and immediately became sharers of his never ending capacity to love.”  “Every person he worked with became a better person as a result of his being there with his sunny disposition and his obvious joy in bringing out the best in others. And everyone left feeling better about themselves and what they had accomplished."  " He was determined that you were going to do this in someway that would result in you going beyond what you expected of yourself and you were going to feel distinctly better about yourself and what you accomplished. And he loved watching you experience this." Tributes to Phillip Fournier

 “Be they regular parishioners, people the parish worked with and for, or just someone that parishioners knew, liked, respected and/or admired, for whatever reason, they automatically acquired the status of being part of the parish family and immediately became sharers of the parishes never ending capacity to love.”  “Every person the parish worked with became a better person as a result of the parish being there with its sunny disposition and its obvious joy in bringing out the best in others. And everyone left feeling better about themselves and what they had accomplished."  " The parish was determined that you were going to do this in someway that would result in you going beyond what you expected of yourself and you were going to feel distinctly better about yourself and what you accomplished. And the parish loved watching you experience this." Can this be said about your Parish?

Review: 1.Evangelization is an Invitation to: A Loving Relationship with God. 2.The 4 main approaches to Evangelization 3.The importance of Making a Connections

Review: 1. Invitation Goal: To get someone to go, either physically, mentally, intellectually and/or spiritually to a place that is different from where they are now.

The Question:

An Invitation is about getting them there. Hospitality is about getting them to come back.

Whether they come back will be determined primarily by the Hospitality that is offered by the Parish Community.

Pope Francis: “It is important to make people feel welcome. This is something more important than any kind of ornament. When we are generous with people and sharing something with them ____ we are enriched.”

Hospitality is Good Stewardship It is about using our gifts of Time, Talent and Testimony to build a sense of Family within our Faith Communities.

What is Hospitality:  It is actions directed at making persons feel at home.  It is about building community: “Community is a group of people sharing activities directed at a common purpose.”

Jean Vanier: “Community is the bonding together of people in a common ideal with mutual affection to bring each person to freedom; freedom to live and freedom from the fear of things like death, abandonment, prejudice, compulsion, rejection and failure. Community is oriented to the person.”

A reminder: Evangelization is about inviting someone to share in the common purpose of your faith community, namely the spiritual enrichment of all members. It is about our call to holiness.

More about Hospitality  Hospitality is a Ministry;  It has unique characteristics  It is the only ministry in which every parishioner participates, whether they like it or not.  Are you a guests or a host?

Hospitality is a Ministry: It is the ministry of making persons feel: Welcome Warm Wanted Worthy The 4 W’s of Hospitality

Welcome:  People who are welcome get a sense that:  The Parish is better when you are there.  You are a gift from God and  You are accepted for who you are.

Making People Feel Welcome  Greet the person as a person, a friend, a neighbor.  Greet Children enthusiastically and show an interest in them.  Assist persons who need it:  Adequate Parking  Make all parts of the church accessible.  Provide mass guidance brochures.  Provide a coat rack.  Invite them back.

Making People Feel Welcome Ask yourself, as a Parish Community; “What can we do to make the person want to come back?

Warmth: Warmth is about feeling safe, comfortable and at ease. It is about instilling a sense that this place, the Faith Community, is a nice place to be.

Instilling Warmth  Padded/appropriate seats for people with ailments.  Sit in the middle announcements.  Mass guidance brochures.  Parking lot security/observation.  Responsible ministry pride.  Keep things clean; washrooms, pews etc.  Equip washroom with baby change tables.

Instilling Warmth Ask as a parish community : 1.What can we do to make each person’s visit and their faith life more enjoyable? 2. How can we better express our love for you?

Wanted  When you are wanted:  You feel missed when you are not there.  You sense that you are the purpose for which the Church exists.  You sense that you are special and that you make the community more special.  You provide the parish with the ability to be more Christian.

Making people feel wanted:  Include the faith community in your coffee row talk.  Invite them to join in with the social activities as well as the work.  Recognize achievements.  Do acts of “going out of your way”.

Making people feel wanted:  Ask as a parish community: How can we better express how important your are to the community?

Worthy  A sense of worth is a primary benefit of a relationship with God will often be a guide to how we live our lives.  A Parish that instills a sense of worth strives to make their members feel:  That each is worthy of a divine sacrifice  That each persons is uniquely qualified to do what no other can do.  That they have something to contribute, their opinions count.  That who you are and who you can be are important to us.

Worthy  A sense of worth is a primary benefit of a relationship with God will often be a guide to how we live our lives.  A Parish that instills a sense of worth strives to make their members feel:  That each is worthy of a divine sacrifice  That each persons is uniquely qualified to do what no other can do.  That they have something to contribute, their opinions count.  That who you are and who you can be are important to us.

Ways to instill a sense of worth: 1.Show Respect. 2.Recognize giftedness. 3.Express appreciation for the person as well as their gift. 4.Recognize outstanding contributions both to the church community and to the greater community.

Ways to instill a sense of worth: 1.Ask as a parish community: 2.“How can we assist you in being everything that God created you to be?”

Assignment:  Discussion:  What can we do, as a parish community, to make the following members of our community feel welcome, warm, wanted and a sense of worth? 1.Single persons2. Newcomers3.Regular attenders 4. People who are always helping out 5. Visitors 6. Seniors 7. Families with young children 8. First Nations people9. Immigrants 10. Physically, mentally and/or intellectually challenged persons. 11. Youth 12. Tag-alongs 13. People suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. 14. Seasonal residents (snowbirds, etc.)